Part I - Things you should make sure you understand:
(feel free to ask questions about them in class)
- How mutations in developmental genes can lead to relatively rapid evolutionary change.
- The evolutionary significance of the universality of developmental genes across all animal phyla.
- The relationship between development, gene expression, and cell signaling.
- The role of genetic switches in development.
Part II - Things you should make sure you understand:
(feel free to ask questions about them in class)
- The difference in genome sequencing taken by the public human genome project, and the private initiative helmed by Craig Venter.
- Why the human genome project finished sequencing four years ahead of schedule.
- The roles of all major categories of DNA sequences in the human genome.
- The differences between different kinds of gene families found in genomes.
- The relationship between gene duplication and genome evolution.