Applied molecular genetics

The aim with this course is to give a thorough introduction to molecular genetic methods used in modern biological research. All lectures will be closely connected to the practical problems to be solved in the laboratory. Written laboratory reports will be subjects for plenary discussions as well as literature seminars and a mandatory report. The course will give a basis for advanced studies in different areas of microbiology and will therefore contain problems concerning medicine, ecology and food-microbiology.

Four practical problems are planned within the following topics: Taxonomy, genetic diversity, identification and characterisation, molecular microbal ecology and horizontal gene transfer.

The following methods will be used: rep-PCR-fingerprinting, 16S-RFLP, fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), microarray, real-time PCR, Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), conjugation and transformation. The teaching will also address bioinformatic tools for phylogeny and microarray technology.

The language of instruction is English and all of the syllabus material is in English. Examination questions will be given in English, but may be answered either in English or a Scandinavian language.