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301116 SE Molecular Population Genetics of Prokaryotes (2025S)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
Details
max. 20 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
- N Monday 03.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 10.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 17.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 24.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 31.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 07.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 28.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 05.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 12.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 19.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 26.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 02.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 16.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 23.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
- Monday 30.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.4, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.013, Ebene 1
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
The diversity of life on earth exists because of the evolutionary process. This is a course about the dynamics and quantitative characteristics of evolution as they apply to prokaryotes. In other words, this will be a math-heavy course, but not in a scary way! This course aims to be as self-contained as possible, and everyone is encouraged to apply regardless of math proficiency. While population genetics has an incredibly rich (and sometimes shameful) history, this course takes an "experimental first" approach, trying to develop models that describe real experiments done in the lab. These models will turn out to be profound and generalize beyond the confines of the lab.Because of the random nature of variation and the dynamics of populations through time, the tools of probability will be central to this course. We will start by gaining confidence in basic concepts from probability theory such as statistical independence, expectation, variance, central moments. We will also do a lot of approximations in this course, and techniques will be developed in the first part of the course.We will start by exploring the dynamics of bacteria growing exponentially in a flask - How much variation is expected? How long would it take a new mutation to reach high frequency? What does this mean for bacteria in our gut when we take antibiotics? What about bacteria in the ocean?By the end of this course students will be able to better understand the dynamics of evolution, gain intuition of how ecology and evolution influence each other, gain a deeper ability to interpret sequencing data, and understand the models that underlie modern molecular phylogenetic methods (do you know the assumptions needed to calculate a phylogenetic tree?)
Assessment and permitted materials
2 quizzes and 2 homework assignments.
Homeworks contribute 50% to the final grade and quizzes contribute 50%.
A passing grade is >50% of combined assessments.
Homeworks contribute 50% to the final grade and quizzes contribute 50%.
A passing grade is >50% of combined assessments.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
Minimum requirements:
While the course is mathematical, I will try to be as self-contained as possible, and there are no hard minimal requirements beyond high-school level math.Assessment criteria:
Homework will involve working through mathematical problems related to course material. These will not involve a lot of elaborate algebra, but will require a deep understanding of the material.
Quizzes will be about concepts, and will not involve solving math problems.
While the course is mathematical, I will try to be as self-contained as possible, and there are no hard minimal requirements beyond high-school level math.Assessment criteria:
Homework will involve working through mathematical problems related to course material. These will not involve a lot of elaborate algebra, but will require a deep understanding of the material.
Quizzes will be about concepts, and will not involve solving math problems.
Examination topics
Students will be tested on their understanding of concepts learned during the course.
These will include order-of-magnitude estimates, and how different processes influence each other
These will include order-of-magnitude estimates, and how different processes influence each other
Reading list
All material will be covered in class during the lectures.
Extra reading for those who are interested will be provided in Moodle.
Extra reading for those who are interested will be provided in Moodle.
Association in the course directory
MMEI II-2.2
Last modified: Fr 17.01.2025 11:06