Microevolution

Evolution of antibiotic resistance in E.coli.

Week 1 - Collection, plating, strain isolation
Week 2 - Test cultures against an array of antibiotics. Isolate resistant strains.
Week 3 - Independent / Group Project: Use strains to investigate dynamics of antibiotic resistance.
Week 4 - Continue antibiotic resistance projects.
Week 5 - Results, presentation of student investigative projects

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Speciation

Evolution of reproductive isolation in the anther-smut fungus, Microbotryum violaceum.

Week 6 - Crosses among geographic isolates
Week 7 - Assessing the strength of pre-zygotic isolation - GenBank Exercise
Week 8 - Write-up / Presentation of data to class

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Reconstructing Evolutionary History

Applied uses of phylogeny: literature, medicine, and biology

Week 9 - Phylogeny reconstruction: principles and practice
Week 10 - Bible and bee projects
Week 11- Molecular evolution and phylogeny reconstruction: self guided project - source of HIV

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Analyzing Genetic Change

Genetic markers and their use

Week 12 - Allozyme variation in Silene alba
Week 13 - Principles of DNA sequencing
Week 14 - Independent projects using DNA sequence data

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Final Student Presentations

Week 15 - Phylogenetics project presentations.

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