| Department of Large Animal Sciences | |||||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | MSc. 1 year to MSc. 2 year | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | One block | ||||||||||||||
| Credits | 7.5 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||||
| Course Level | MSc | ||||||||||||||
| Examination | oral examination All aids allowed Description of Examination: An individual oral examination is held at the end of the course; 1/2 hour preparation followed by 1/2 examination. 13-point scale, internal examiner | ||||||||||||||
| Organisation of Teaching | Lectures, theoretical exercises, and practical computer exercises. | ||||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 1 Week Structure: A | ||||||||||||||
| Teaching Language | English | ||||||||||||||
| Optional Prerequisites | Statistisk dataanalyse 2, Matematik og modeller eller Matematik og planlægning, Genetics 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Areas of Competence the Course Will Address | |||||||||||||||
| Competences within basic science: Comprehensive understanding of Quantitative and Population Genetic theory which forms the basis of both plant and animal breeding in industrialised and developing countries. Knowledge of aspects of the use of data from DNA-technology. Competences within applied science: Basic knowledge concerning genetic drift, selection mutation, migration, and inbreeding. Application of methods to predict response to selection and designing of selection experiments. genetic evolution. Competences within ethics and values: Ability to discuss the ethic aspects of application of DNA-technology. | |||||||||||||||
| Course Objectives | |||||||||||||||
| After attending the course students should be able to participate in designing selection experiments, use methods for genetic analyses of qualitative and quantitative traits and evaluate the results. Moreover the students should be able to evaluate the future implementation of the results from the DNA-technology including use of QTL's and marker-assisted selection in animal and plant breeding programs. | |||||||||||||||
| Course Contents | |||||||||||||||
| Part 1: Initially, the necessary genetic theory including Ideal populations, gene and genopypic frequencies, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, linkage equilibrium, genetic drift, mutation, migration, relationship and indbreeding will be introduced. Thereafter mathematical and statistical preconditions will be introduced in order to make sure that all students have a basic understanding of topics like vector and matrix operations (i.e., linear algebra), random numbers, Bayes' theorem, distributions (including multivariate and conditional), etc. This introductory part of the course is given in collaboration with the course in Advanced Herd Management and lessons from both courses are used. The duration of this part is between 1 and two weeks. Part 2: Afterwards, the lectures move towards quantitative genetics. Subjects are means, variances and covariances, mixed inheritance model and the infinitessimal model. Different inheritance modes, as dominance and epistasis, are also considered. The effects of selection will be illustrated in simple cases. Part 3: Later on, real populations will be in focus. The theory of long-term genetic contributions will be introduced. A centre of attention will be response to selection that can be predicted, estimated and used in designing and evaluating selection experiments. Breeding schemes for conservation of endangered breeds or species of animals and plants will be introduced and strategies will be discussed. Other subjects are correlated traits, correlated response, natural selection and evolution. | |||||||||||||||
| Teaching And Learning Methods | |||||||||||||||
| Lectures, theoretical exercises, and practical computer exercises. In connection with lectures and exercises, the students are expected to participate actively in mutual discussions. Part 1 will be supported mainly by theoretical problem solving exercises. Part 2 and part 3 will be supported by both theoretical problem solving exercises and computer exercises. | |||||||||||||||
| Course Litterature | |||||||||||||||
| Falconer, D.S. & T.F.C. Mackay. 1996. Introduction to Quantitative Genetics. Longman. | |||||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||||
| Lars Gjøl Christensen, lgc@life.ku.dk, Department of Large Animal Sciences/Populationsbiology, Phone: 35333052 | |||||||||||||||
| Study Board | |||||||||||||||
| Study Committee NSN | |||||||||||||||
| Course Scope | |||||||||||||||
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