209231 Molecular Methods in Genome Research (Pr) (SoSe 2019)

Since sequencing costs are dropping due to the introduction of new sequencing technologies, the investigation of the diversity within populations or even larger taxonomic groups is of increasing interest. Individuals or different populations can have genes that are not present in the reference sequence of the respective species. This holds true for humans from different continents as well as for plants from different regions. Analyzing the diversity within a species can reveal the phylogenetic events that are responsible for the situation we see today.

This practical course teaches molecular biology methods to address questions in the pan-genomics field. Starting from available reference genome sequences, students will learn how to identified regions of interest for molecular investigations. Participants will learn to design oligonucleotides for PCR amplification of selected targets. Extraction of DNA, PCR and gel electrophoresis are just some of the methods that will be practiced in this course. All participants will work an their own project which can be picked from a predefined selection.

In addition to wet lab work, this course teaches some basics about website design (CSS and HTML). Participants will learn how to describe and discuss their experimental results on their own wiki page. These digital lab reports should facilitate the interaction between students and enhance the learning process through cooperation.