Class Genetics Applied to Veterinary Sciences

The aim of this Curricular Unit is to give a perspective of the interest of Molecular Biology in the Veterinary Medicine practice. The fundamentals of laboratorail technologies such as PCR (real-time PCR, multiplex PCR), RFLP, molecular markers analysis, DNA sequencing, quantification of nucleic acids, will allow individual and population analysis, diagnosis of susceptibility vs resistance to diseases, quantification of viral load and a glimpse of the power of bioinformatic analysis. Moreover, the discussion of cases related to genome manipulation, its applications in industry, and aspects related to safety, ethics and animal welfare will be covered. Such information will be provided through theoretical, practical/experimental classes, and discussion of specific clinical cases. Additionally, attendance at seminars organized by the teaching team is required.

Not applicable

1. Molecular Biology: genes and their function 2. The flow of information from genes to proteins in complex organisms 3. Bioinformatics: databases and tools for genetic data analysis 4. Molecular methods for sexing birds 5. Molecular methods for individual identification at the forensic level applied to wild fauna 6. Management of populations in a human-protected environment 7. Detection of genetically modified organisms (GMO) 8. Diagnosis 9. Safety, ethics and animal welfare

During experimental classes each student, within a group , has to design an experiment that proves one piece of evidence. Various pieces of evidence will be questioned for different sets of materials and reagents. In this case, the student needs to understand the concept of the experiment and apply his/her knowledge about the functionality of cell structures or cell metabolism processes. Students are required to apply their knowledge of biochemistry, cell biology or molecular biology in an integrated way.

Nicholas, F. W. (2009). Introduction to veterinary genetics. John Wiley & Sons. Abubakar, M. (Ed.). (2017). Trends and Advances in Veterinary Genetics. Cunha, M. V., & Silva, J. I. (2014). Abordagens Moleculares em Veterinária-Como desvendar a etiologia e a epidemiologia da infeção.