Study Programmes 2015-2016
BIOL2043-1  
Application of molecular biology and genetics
Duration :
24h Pr
Number of credits :
Bachelor in bioengineering2
Bachelor in bioengineering2
Master in agricultural bioengineering (120 ECTS)2
Lecturer :
Nicolas Gengler, Ludivine Lassois, Hervé Vanderschuren, Luc Willems
Coordinator :
N...
Language(s) of instruction :
French language
Organisation and examination :
Teaching in the second semester
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Course contents :
The course is subdivided in 4 parts:


  • The first part describes the molecular mechanisms involved in mutability of nucleic acids, in DNA repair and homologous recombination. A series of technical applications in molecular biology will be described.
  • The second part describes the importance of mutations in generating genetic variation for crop plants and illustrates this concept through past and present examples. The second part also describes the importance of epigenetic regulation in the control of essential biological mechanisms and its potential for genetic improvement and breeding.
  • The third part develops case of studies of the use of genetics as a tool of forest diversity analyses and its interest in the development of breeding program in response to productivity and adaptation challenges.
  • The fourth part illustrates the importance of molecular biology in the acquisition of knowledge on the animal genome, the management of the biodiversity of farm animals and their breeding.
 
Learning outcomes of the course :
After this course, the student should be able to:
  • understand and explain the basic principles of DNA mutability, DNA repair, epigenetic control.
  • master main applications of molecular biology.
  • have a basic knowledge of principles of molecular analysis tools used to study genetic variability and improvements in forestry.
  • have a basic understanding and ability to explain the genomic tools used to manage the biodiversity of farm animals and to perform genomic selection.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
BOTA0414-1 - Botany systematics 
ZOOL2020-1 - Zoology : Evolution
STAT2002-1 - Basic statistics , part 1
BIOL2010-1 - Cell Biology
STAT2003-1 - Basic statistics , part 2
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Lecture
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Face-to-face
Recommended or required readings :
- Molecular Biology of the Gene 6th ed. (Watson, Baker, Bell, Gann, Levine, Losik), Pearson International, 2008
- Molecular Biology 2th ed. (Clark and Pazdernik), APCell press, 2013
Assessment methods and criteria :
Written examination
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
Contacts :
Luc Willems  Research Director of the FNRS Professor at ULg Molecular Biology Tel: +32 81 62 21 57 Luc.willems@ulg.ac.be
Hervé Vanderschuren Professor Plant Genetics Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech University of Liège Tel: +32 81 62 25 71 herve.vanderschuren@ulg.ac.be
Ludivine Lassois Forestry genetics University of Liège Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech BIOSE Departement  Passage des Déportés, 2 B-5030 Gembloux Belgium Tel: + 32 81 62 23 21 ludivine.lassois@ulg.ac.be
Nicolas Gengler Professor Numerical genetics, genomics and modeling Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech Université de Liège Tel: +32 81 62 22 06 nicolas.gengler@ulg.ac.be