1. Barton, N.H., Briggs, D.E.G., Eisen, J.A., Goldstein, D.B., Patel, N.H. Evolution. First Edition. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 2007.

2. Hamilton, M.B. Population Genetics. Second edition. Wiley-Blackwell Publication, Vivar Printing Sdn, Malaysia, 2012, 407 s. ISBN 978-1-4051-3277-0

3. Relichova, J. Genetika populací. Masarykova Univerzita Brno, 2009, 187 s. ISBN 978-80-210-475-2.

4. Hartl, D.L., Clark, A.G. Principles of Population Genetics. Third edition. Sinauer Associates, Inc, Publishers, Sunderland, Massachsetts, 1997, 542 s.

5. Wakeley, J. Coalescent Theory. An Introduction. Harvard University. Roberts & Company Publishers, Greenwood Willage, Colorado, 2009, 326 s.

6. Plomin, R., DeFries, J.C., McClearn, G., McGuffin, P. (2008). Behavioral genetics. 5th Edition. Worth Publishers and W.H. Freeman and Comp.

7. Anholt, R.R.H., Mackay, T.F.C. (2010). Principles of behavioral genetics. Academic Press.

8. Alcock, J. (2009). Animal behavior. 9th Edition. Sinauer Associates, Inc.

9. Bazzett, T.J. (2008). An introduction to behavioral genetics. Sinauer Associates, Inc.

Obtaining at least 60% of points from the course evaluation. The assessment consists of two components: a group project and an individual written exam. A maximum of 20% of points can be obtained for the group project report and the presentation of the group project. The individual written test consists of theoretical questions and computational examples. To obtain grade A it is necessary to obtain at least 92% of points, to obtain grade B at least 85% of points, to obtain grade C at least 77% points, to obtain grade D at least 69% points and to obtain grade E at least 60% of the total course evaluation. Credits will not be awarded to a student who scores less than 60% of the points.

Slovak in combination with English (study literature in English)

the course is provided only in the winter semester

History of population genetics. Probability in population genetics. Genetic variability in populations, its sources: mutations, linkage and recombination, migration and their rates. Hardy-Weinberg's law. Neutral model, random genetic drift and Wright-Fisher model. Effective population size. Inbreeding. Neutral model and coalescent theory. Darwinian selection. Population substructure. Linkage and linkage disequilibrium. Genetics and analysis of quantitative traits, GWAS.

The course will also discuss topics in behavioral genetics, many of which will use the principles of quantitative and population genetics: the history of behavioral genetics, the design of genetic experiments aimed at studying behavior; heritability; methods for identifying genes involved in specific types of behavior; basic principles of cognitive biology; microorganisms as cognitive systems; behavioral genetics of insects, birds, mammals and primates; human behavioral genetics and its methodological tools; neurogenetics; learning and memory; general and specific cognitive abilities; cognitive disorders and their genetic basis; psychopathology and personality disorders; social behavior and its genetic component; genetic reasons for antisocial behavior; sexual orientation; evolutionary aspects of behavior and its genetic control.

Students will gain knowledge about genetic laws, evolutionary forces and their effects on populations of biological species. They will be able to use the acquired skills to determine what factors affect the structure and evolution of the population and to verify various evolutionary hypotheses by studying simple models. They will be able to use the acquired knowledge in the design and evaluation of experiments in which individuals forming populations at different levels of structure are evaluated. Based on the acquired knowledge, they will be able to monitor the evolution of populations, their divergence, the presence of selection, genetic distances, etc. The acquired knowledge can be used in the field of conservation biology in the protection of endangered species. Another goal of the course is that after completing the course, students understand the basic principles and methods of behavioral genetics, know how to use these principles in the study of behavior and have an idea of ​​how to distinguish between different forms of behavioral genetic and non-genetic component. By completing the course, students should gain knowledge of the potential of genetics to understand issues related to cognition, emotions, personality. Ethical issues arising from some areas of behavioral genetics will also be discussed.

Form of Study: lecture

Number of contact hours:

per week: 2 per level/semester: 26

Form of the course: on-site learning, remote

Nosek, J. a kol. (2013) Genomics (in Slovak). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Brown, T.A. (2002) Genomes. 2nd. edition. Garland Science.

Watson, J.D. a kol. (2007) Recombinant DNA: Genes and Genomes – A short course. 3rd edition. CSHL Press.

There will be a written test during the examination period of the semester. The grading scale is as follows: A – 92%, B – 84%, C – 76%, D – 68%, E – 60%. Credits will not be awarded to a student who gets less than 60% from the test.

Slovak in combination with English (textbooks in English)

the course is provided only in the summer semester

Genomics and its importance for modern biomedical research. From individual genes to complete genomes. Physical genome mapping techniques. Experimental strategies for complete genome sequencing projects (from bacterial genomes to human genomes). Genomics and personalized medicine. "Personal genomes" and ethical aspects of genomics. Personalized therapy. Molecular phylogenomics. Paleogenomics. Metagenomics. Determination of DNA sequences of complex biological communities. Analysis of the dynamics of microorganism communities.

New approaches in DNA sequencing technology. From chemical and enzymatic methods to automatic DNA analyzers. Nucleic acid sequencing methods by SBS, SBL and SBH approaches. Nanopore sequencing.

Principles of annotation and sequence analysis of complete genomes. Categorization of genes and functional elements in genomes. Bioinformatics principles of identification of new genes. Genes and genomic databases and datamining.

Comparative and evolutionary genomics. Evolutionary processes taking place at the genome level.

Functional analysis of complete genomes. Principles of transcriptome and proteome analysis. Epigenomics.

Chemical genomics and perturbation biology.

Introduction to systems biology and mathematical modeling. Biological systems as computer models. Fundamentals of mathematical models in biology.

Synthetic biology. The concept of minimal genome. Methods of synthetic biology. DNA synthesis strategies, from oligonucleotide preparation to genome synthesis. Synthetic microorganisms. Biotechnological applications of synthetic organisms.

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During the course, students will gain an overview of experimental strategies that allow them to determine the complete sequences of genomes, identify and annotate genes and then examine their biological functions. After completing the course, students will learn the basics of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, interactomics, epigenomics, systems and synthetic biology, functional and comparative analysis of complete genomes and get acquainted with the importance of these disciplines for modern biomedical research and biotechnological applications.