BIOLOGY 4562b GENES AND GENOMES II

Instructor: Susanne Kohalmi: 319 WSC; skohalmi@uwo.ca

Hours: send an E-mail and make an appointment
TA: Sara Abolhassani Rad: sabolha@uwo.ca
Hours: send an E-mail and make an appointment

IMPORTANT DATES
Final exam: TBA
Midterm exam: February 16, 2017, 11:30 till 1:30, NCB 117

Marking scheme
Final exam: 55%
Midterm exam: 35%
Assignments: 10%

Permission from the Dean's office is required for special exams.

Course Outline
This course has no assigned textbook. Required reading material will be available
online.

The lecture will cover a broad range of topics on plant and organelle genetics:

(1) Introduction
(2) Genome structures (nuclear versus organelle)
(3) Replication and transcription of organelle genomes
(4) Organelle division
(5) Organelle inheritance
(6) Plant genetics and development (DNA transfer, Transformation strategies,
Forward versus reverse genetic approaches, Analysis and use of transgenic
plants)
(7) Autocatalytic introns
(8) RNA editing
(9) Protein import into organelles

Additional topics which will be covered time permitting.

Recommended textbooks in case of need (available through library):

General: Lewin: Genes
Lodish et al.: Molecular Cell Biology
Organelles: Gillham: Organelle Genes and Genomes
Hopkins: Introduction to Plant Physiology
Plant Molecular Biology: Hughes: Plant Molecular Genetics
Howell: Molecular Genetics of Plant Development
Westhoff: Molecular Plant Development: from Gene to Plant
Plagiarism
Plagiarism: Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words.
Whenever students take an idea, or a passage from another author, they must
acknowledge their debt both by using quotation marks where appropriate and by proper
referencing such as footnotes or citations. Plagiarism is a major academic offence (see
Scholastic Offence Policy in the Western Academic Calendar).

In the Event of a Medical Issue

If you are unable to meet a course requirement due to illness or other serious
circumstances, you must provide valid medical or other supporting documentation to
the Dean's office as soon as possible and contact your instructor immediately. It is the
student's responsibility to make alternative arrangements with their instructor once the
accommodation has been approved and the instructor has been informed. In the event
of a missed final exam, a "Special Examination" form must be obtained from the Dean's
Office immediately.
For further information please see check the appropriate website:
http://www.uwo.ca/arts/counselling/procedures/examinations.html

A student requiring academic accommodation due to illness, should use the Student
Medical Certificate when visiting an off-campus medical facility or request a Records
Release Form (located in the Dean's Office) for visits to Student Health Services.
The form and information can be found here:
http://www.uwo.ca/arts/counselling/procedures/medical_accomodation.html