Basic principles of phylogenetics, population genetics and quantitative genetics including molecular evolution, the construction of gene trees, forces affecting the amount and distribution of genetic variation in populations, and the inheritance of multifactorial characters. Specific topics in phylogenetics include tree construction using parsimony, genetic distance, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. Specific topics in population genetics include selection, genetic drift, migration, mutation, recombination, linkage disequilibrium, coalescence, and population genomics. Specific topics in quantitative genetics include genetic models, heritability, selection, QTL mapping, association mapping, and the evolution of quantitative traits. 

Text: There is no required or recommended text for the course. However, we provide the follow guidance for students who wish to read more on the topics.

Phylogenetics: In addition to the assigned reading (see below), students may find “Inferring Phylogenies” by Joseph Felsenstein a useful general reference on phylogenetics.

Population Genetics: Either “Genetics of Populations” by Philip Hedrick, or “A Primer in Population Genetics” by Daniel Hartl would be useful references.

Quantitative Genetics: (1) “Principles of Population Genetics” by Daniel Hartl and Andrew Clark has a relatively long, easily read chapter on quantitative genetics that covers the field well and has an evolutionary perspective. (2) “Introduction to Quantitative Genetics” by Douglas Falconer and Trudy MacKay provides in-depth, but accessible, coverage of the field, especially as related to plant and animal breeding. (3) “Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits” by Michael Lynch and Bruce Walsh is a comprehensive and detailed treatment of the field including appendices on statistical methods and matrix algebra.