Teacher
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CIAFFI Mario
(syllabus)
The course is organized into four major sections: 1) Summary of basic genetic principles (Mendelian and molecular genetics) 2) Population genetics 3) Quantitative genetics 4) Basic principles of genetic improvement of forest trees.
1) SUMMARY OF BASIC GENETIC PRINCIPLES - Genetic terminology: trait, gene, locus, allele, genotype and phenotype.
a) Mendelian genetics - Mendel's principles Monohybrid crosses: the principles of dominance and segregation; dihybrid crosses: the principle of independent assortment. - Extension of Mendel's principles: partial dominance, codominance, multiple alleles, epistasis, genetic linkage, pleiotropy.
b) Molecular genetics and cytogenetics - Structures of DNA and RNA. - The central dogma of molecular biology: replication, transcription and translation, the genetic code. - Gene structure and regulation. - The organization of DNA in chromosomes, mitosis and meiosis, chromosome theory of inheritance, - Genomics. - Mutations. - Polyploidy.
- Causes and types of variability in forest stands: phenotypic, genetic and environmental variability; experimental methodologies to separate genetic and environmental effects.
3) POPULATION GENETICS - Hardy-Weinberg law. - Effect of inbreeding and evolutionary factors (mutation, migration or gene flow, selection and genetic drift) on the genetic structure of forest species populations. - Geographic variation: races, clines and ecotypes
4) QUANTITATIVE GENETICS. - Characteristics of quantitative traits. - Study of the amount of phenotypic variation for a quantitative trait; statistical tools: samples and populations, frequency distributions, mean, variance and standard deviation, correlation and regression analyses. - Estimating the relative contribution of environmental and genetic effects on the observed phenotypic variability: heritability and its estimation in forest species. - Estimating the genotypic value of parental phenotypes by the analysis of offspring: clonal and breeding values; general combining ability and specific combining ability. - Genetic gain or genetic progress in a tree improvement program: realized gain and predicted gain on the basis of quantitative genetics theory; clonal and breeding genetic gain. - Genetic correlations: genetic correlations between two distinct traits (traits/traits correlations); genetics correlations of the same trait expressed at different ages (juvenile/mature correlations); genetic correlations of the same trait expressed in different environments (genotype x environment interaction).
5) BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF FOREST TREES. - Genetic improvements under natural regeneration systems. - Scope and structure of forest tree improvement programs. - Population types and activities in the breeding cycle of tree improvement programs. - Characteristics of different types of populations: base population, selected population, breeding population, external population. - Propagation population: clonal seed orchards, seedling seed orchards. - Objectives and functions of genetic tests in the breeding cycle of tree improvement programs.
(reference books)
Notes and slides of the lectures provided by the teacher.
Textbooks Forest Genetics (2009), Editors: White T.L., Adams W.T., Neale D.B. ISBN 9781845932855; G. Barcaccia e M. Falcinelli, Genetica e Genomica, Vol. II Miglioramento Genetico, Liguori Editore, 2005.
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