BIOL 472 - Molecular Evolution

Credit Hours: 4
Frequency of Offering: Offered in alternate years, usually in the fall semester

Molecular evolution encompasses two basic areas: 1) the study of the rates and patterns of change that occur in DNA and proteins over evolutionary time, and 2) the study of the evolutionary history of genes and organisms. In this course we will examine these two broad areas by focusing on gene structure and mutation, population genetics, change in nucleotide sequences, molecular systematics and evolution by genome organization. Laboratory will reflect topics covered in lecture; students will become skilled in molecular methods, such as DNA sequencing, and various computational methods for analyzing molecular data (for example, PAUP, Maclade, etc.). Lecture and laboratory.

Prerequisite(s): BIOL 271, BIOL 271L.