Dr. R. B. Imberski (BPS 3260) ri2@umail.umd.edu Office hours 1:30-3:30 Tuesday and Thursday. Drop in, but for priority and to ensure availability make appointment through secretary in Biology Undergraduate Office (BPS 2227, phone: 301-405-6904). Do not phone or e-mail me for appointment; it will confound the secretary's scheduling.
| TEXTBOOK: | Molecular Biology, 2nd. ed., R. F. Weaver (www.mhhe.com/weaver2 for useful links) | |
| EXAMS: | Oct. 3, Nov.7, (75
minutes each) and a noncumulative final exam on Monday Dec. 16, 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. Each exam is worth 150 points. |
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| REPORT: |
Written report worth 50 points on five recent (2002) research articles due by last class, December 13. Articles must be on original research (not review articles) and pertinent to material covered in class. Reports should be printed, double spaced and have a maximum length of 5 pages. More details given later. |
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SOME JOURNALS OF INTEREST FOR
REPORTS |
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Cell, Molecular Cell, Developmental
Cell |
J.
Molecular Biology Molecular Genetics and Genomics Nature, Nature Genetics Nucleic Acids Research Proc. Natl. Academy of Science Science |
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| (Articles in Trends in Genetics and Bioessays are good guides to recent research, but are themselves inappropriate for reports.) | ||
| COURSE POLICIES AND OBJECTIVE | ||
| Reports
handed in late will not be accepted. Request for regrading
of an exam must be in writing and handed in no later than the date announced
when graded exams are returned. Exams written in pencil will not be accepted
for regrading. Please familiarize yourself with the University policy on
academic dishonesty as published in the Catalog and in the Schedule of Classes.
Make?up exams will be given strictly according to University rules, i.e.,
only because of absence due to illness, death in family, religious
observance, or participation in University activities. Documentation
is required. If an exam date conflicts with a religious holiday, please
make that known at once. Exam grades will not be curved, but course total
may be.
The course objective is for
each student to acquire an understanding of the structure, replication,
variation, and expression of the "genetic material" at the molecular
level. Many of the topics covered should be familiar from introductory
genetics, but here special aspects of them will be treated in greater
depth and with particular emphasis on experimental evidence. Prerequisites
are courses in genetics and organic chemistry (BSCI 222 and CHEM 233). |
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| Final Grades based on 500 points A+: 475 -/A:455-/A-:445-/B+:425-/B:405-/B-:395-/C+:375-/C:355-/C-:345/D+:325-/D:305-/D-:295- | ||
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LECTURE TOPICS
AND READINGS IN TEXT
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TOPICS
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CHAPTERS
(PAGES)
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I.
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Introduction and Review of Basic Concepts |
1-3
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| II. | Structure & Molecular Analysis of DNA | |
| A. Selected Physical Properties and Topology |
2 (23-30,34),
20 (658-661)
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| B. Sequence Complexity |
2(30-33)
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| C. Selected Techniques |
4, 5 (covered
selectively)
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III.
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DNA Transactions | |
| A. Mechanisms of DNA Replication |
20 (643-668),
21
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| B. Modification & Restriction of DNA | ||
| C. DNA Repair |
20 (668-679)
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| D. Mechanisms of Recombination |
22, 23 (748-751)
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| E. Transposable Elements and Related Matters |
23 (753-781)
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IV.
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Transcription
and its Regulation |
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| A. Bacterial & Bacteriophage Systems |
6-9
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| B. Eukaryotic Systems |
10-13
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| V. | Post-Transcriptional Events |
14-16
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| VI. | Translation and Related Matters |
17-19
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| VII. | Genomics: Whole Genome Analysis |
24
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| The
textbook should be used as a learning aid and as a reference book. The lectures
will not necessarily correspond to the textbook in terms of order of specific
subtopics, examples used, or extent of coverage. Exam questions will be
based on the lectures, but for fuller understanding of the material read
the relevant pages in the textbook. If there should be material from the
textbook to be included on an exam that is not covered at all in lecture,
you will be so informed in advance of the exam. There will be material presented
in lecture which does not appear in the text and it will be "fair game"
for the exams. Therefore, attend all lectures! The amount of time
spent on the above topics is variable and no attempt has been made to specify
dates of lectures.
Chapters 4 and 5 describe
many useful techniques employed in molecular genetics. A few of these
will be covered in lecture (II C. above) and others may be mentioned in
describing various experiments in subsequent lectures. You should avail
yourself of the information in these chapters and elsewhere in the text.
It will be useful in appreciating technical points throughout the course,
and it will be especially useful when it comes to reading research papers
for your reports. Also, to locate descriptions of specific techniques,
see list on pages xviii-xix. |
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| SOME
TERMS/CONCEPTS YOU SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH ALREADY (See Chapters 1-3 and Glossary in Textbook) |
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| Purine Pyrimidine Ribose Deoxyribose Nucleoside Nucleotide Polynucleotide Complementary Bases/Chargaff's Rule Watson and Crick Double Helix Antiparallel Strands of DNA Semiconservative DNA Replication DNA Polymerase Reaction RNA Polymerase Reaction Transcription Template Strand Nontemplate Strand (Coding Strand) Consensus Sequence Transcription Unit Primary Transcript Intron Exon RNA Processing mRNA tRNA rRNA Amino Acid Polypeptide Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary Structures of Proteins Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetase Ribosome Polysome (Polyribosome) Translation Reading Frame Codon Anticodon Point Mutation Multisite Mutation (Macrolesion) Missense Mutation (Amino Acid Substitution) Nonsense Mutation (Chain Termination) Transition Transversion Reading Frame Shift Genotype Phenotype
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