Fall 2023 – Molecular Evolution (410)

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Class time and location
Sun, Tue, Thur – 12:00-12:50 (Room: SCI-S Room 123)
Textbook, readings, and lecturing style
Fundamentals of Molecular Evolution 2nd edition, by Dan Graur and Wen-Hsiung Li. You do not have to buy the book. I will be handing parts of the book when needed. The lectures will be given using board. It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to come to the lectures and take notes. You will be tested on the material I give in class and the handouts I provide.
Attendance
I will not give points for attending my lectures. You are a RESPONSIBLE student and you want to learn. Missing lectures will significantly affect your performance and grade. I do not intend to give lectures during my office hours or photocopy my lecture notes for you!
Academic dishonesty
DO NOT CHEAT. You are smart and you can get the grade you want. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.
Tests and grading:
Exam1: 20%
Exam2: 20%
Exam3: 20%
(Drop lowest exam grade)
Project work: 10%
Project presentation: 10%
Final exam: 40%
Important dates:
Exam 1: Sunday 15/10/2023 (Lectures: 2-8)
Exam 2: Sunday 12/11/2023 (Lectures: 9-14)
Exam 3: Thursday 14/12/2023 (Lectures: 15-20)
Project Presentation: 17, 19, 21, 24/12/2023
Final Exam: Tuesday 2/1/2024 – 8:00-10:00
(X) Not performing tasks on time
Enrolled students:
  1. Reem Alsayegh – Project animal: Penguin (Paper)./
  2. Nour Alramadhan – Project animal: Seahorse (Paper)./
  3. Kafiah Alenezi – Project animal: Peafowl (Paper).X/
  4. Alla Alharbi – Project animal: Red Panda (Paper)./
  5. Hassen Esseyid – Project animal: Finches (Paper)./
  6. Fatemah Sadeq – Project animal: Dog (Paper)./
  7. Saad Almutairi – Project animal: Bear (Paper)./
  8. Rana Chami – Project animal: Cow (Paper)./
  9. Albandari Alshammeri – Project animal: Butterfly (Paper)./
  10. Lin Ataya – Project animal: Cat (Paper)./
  11. Mariam Chehade – Project animal: Zebra fish (Paper)./
  12. Jenna Almutawa – Project animal: Horse (Paper).X/
  13. Shaha Alfarhan – Project animal: Snake (Paper1, Paper2)./
Lec1: 410_lec1_General_introduction
Lec2: 410_lec2_GeneticsTraditions
Lec3: 410_lec3_NatureOfAlleles
Lec4: 410_lec4_PrinciplesOfGeology
Lec5: 410_lec5_FossilsInWithin
Lec6: 410_lec6_Homologies
Lec7: 410_lec7_DirectObservations
Lec8: 410_lec8_TheoryForEvolution
Lec9: 410_lec9_PopulationGenetics
Lec10: 410_lec10_TheBasicModel
Lec11: 410_lec11_FindingTheAllele1
Lec12: 410_lec12_FindingTheAllele2
Lec13: 410_lec13_FindingTheAllele3
Lec14: 410_lec14_FindingTheAllele4
Lec15: Sequence alignment 
Lec16: Alleles and allele frequencies
Lec17: Genotypes and genotype frequencies
Lec18: Testing HW equilibrium
Lec19: Haplotypes and haplotype frequencies
Lec20: 410_lec20_Phylogeny
Tasks:
  1. Make a folder on your desktop or in your flash-drive named “410 Material”.
  2. Choose an animal species or an animal group that you like.
  3. What is the class and order of your favourite animal?
  4. Why did you choose this animal?
  5. How many species does your class, order, and family have?
  6. Open a powerpoint and save it as (YOUR NAME_410).
  7. What is the subfamily of your selected animal species and how many species belong to that sub-family?
  8. What is the genus of your selected animal species and how many species belong to that genus?
  9. Visit NCBI and using the Taxonomy database, search for your taxonomic group.
  10.