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Description
By comparing genes and genomes across the tree of life, we can interpret Nature鈥檚 grand experiment over millions of years of evolution. By comparing genes and genomes across individuals within populations, we can study the same process over the last thousands of years. This information allows us to make key inferences about the past, such as identifying loci that have critical functions or those that have mediated adaptations to the environment. Evolutionary methods allow us to make inferences about the functional significance of each single genomic position; they also allow us to unravel the evolutionary and adaptive histories of populations and species.
In this module, students will learn how comparing genomes across species to reconstruct genome evolution helps us understand species and their genomes. We will explore exciting new developments in comparative genomics, introduce modern bioinformatic tools and techniques of molecular evolution and phylogenetics. Students will become familiar with established methods and recent developments in comparative genomics, phylogenomics and molecular evolution. At the end of the module, they will have deep knowledge of the fundamental concepts in evolutionary genomics and phylogenetics, and a critical understanding of the strengths and limitations of approaches used to infer phylogenetic tree, population history and detect molecular adaptation. They will apply this knowledge to practical case of phylogenetic analysis, and learn how to mitigate the potential biases and limitations that affect phylogenetic reconstruction.听The module also introduces some real-life examples regarding adaptative, human evolution and examines other source of phylogenetic information such as genome structure. In the computer practical sessions students will learn to use some of the most widely used tools in phylogenetics and molecular evolution.
Learning objectives
During the course of the module, students will become familiar with the latest methods in evolutionary genomics, including comparative genomics, phylogenomics and molecular evolution. They will learn about the main applications of these methods to study the evolution of diverse species. At the end of the module they will have deep knowledge of the fundamental concepts in evolutionary genomics and population genetics, and a critical understanding of the strengths and limitations of different approaches. They will also learn about real-life applications of these methods, both theoretically and hands-in during the practical sessions.
Indicative lecture topics 鈥� subject to change
- Introduction Data and Theory of Molecular Evolution
- The neutral theory of molecular evolution Gene structure, mutation and variation Comparison of nucleotide sequences
- Comparison of protein-coding genes
- Phylogeny reconstruction I: Overview, distance & parsimony, likelihood, Bayesian Reliability: Homoplasy and errors in phylogenetics
- Rare genetic changes and case study: Are flies closer to humans or to worms?
- Genome structure and phylogeny
- Coalescent theory and genealogies
- Molecular adaptation: theory and overview, case studies detecting natural selection using population data Population differentiation and theta estimators
- The origins of lactase persistence
- Pathogen molecular evolution
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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