Learn how scientists use inheritance patterns and recombination evidence to map genes and investigate genetic interactions. Drawing on content from Anthony J. F. Griffiths, John F. Doebley, Susan R. Wessler, Catherine Peichel, David Wassarman, and Sean B. Carroll, authors of Introduction to Genetic Analysis, published by Macmillan Learning, this course extends foundational inheritance concepts into chromosome mapping and microbial genetics.
You will analyze independent assortment using Punnett squares, branch diagrams, and dihybrid crosses, and compare these patterns with polygenic and organelle-gene inheritance. You will then use recombinant frequencies, chi-square reasoning, and three-point crosses to detect linkage and construct chromosome maps. You will examine how alleles and genes interact through dominance, complementation, epistasis, and synthetic lethality. The course also introduces bacterial conjugation, transformation, transduction, and bacteriophage genetics, showing how microbial systems support gene mapping and DNA manipulation. Through readings and practice problems, you will interpret genetic evidence and compare recombination maps with physical maps. The course includes approximately ten hours of learning material and builds on basic inheritance concepts. This course is part of the The Science of Genetic Analysis: From Inheritance to DNA Technology Specialization and can also be taken independently.
