Molecular Genetics and Animal Models

Overview: selection in farm, companion and lab animals (mainly Rodents). Concepts of kinship and consanguinity. Animal selection pipeline: breeder association, stud books, registers, the concept of genetic evaluation of breed animals (total hours: 2)
Qualitative and quantitative characters (total hours:1)
Genes for animal production. Concepts of mutation and genetic polymorphism. Principles and methods of PCR, PCR / RFLP and electrophoresis techniques. (total hours: 5)
Genes for animal health. Principles and methods of automatised nucleotide sequencing and allele-specific PCR. (total hours: 6)
Molecular markers and their applications: genetic profile, paternity test, traceability, estimation of genetic diversity. Principles and methods of fragments analysis. (total hours: 6)
Segregation, linkage, and mapping and the modifications of Mendel's original genetic model. Molecular markers for gene mapping, concept of haplotype. Outline on SNP microarrays. (total hours: 4)

Exercises
Educational visits in specialized Laboratories working on molecular genetics applied to domestic and lab animals (total hours: 8)
Individual lab practice on the following techniques: animal nucleic acid extraction, Polymerase Chain Reaction, PCR / RFLP, agar and acrylamide electrophoresis, nucleotide sequencing, fragment analysis (total hours: 10)
Individual in silico practice in on the following topics: primer design, restriction sites identification, sequence alignment. Surfing in on-line genome databases. (total hours: 8)

Seminars/practice of bioinformatics (methabolic pathways, protein modeling and prediction softwares and databases. (total hours 6)

Lectures
Management and breeding of mice and rats (total hours: 3)
Management and breeding guinea pig (total hours: 1)
Management and breeding rabbit (total hours: 1)
Environment and welfare of the laboratory animals (total hours: 3)
The legislation in force in the European context and ethical aspects (total hours: 3)
Main animal models in biomedical research and mentions about their molecular biology (total hours: 3)
Job training and biohazard of the personnel (total hours: 2)

Exercises
Visits to breeding of laboratory animals (total hours. 8)
Visits to industries operating in the field of laboratory animal facilities (total hours. 4)
Visits to research centers that use laboratory animals (total hours. 4)