MOLB: Building blocks of nucleic acids and proteins
SLO 1. Explain the “Central Dogma” of molecular biology.
SLO 2. Describe the general structure of nucleotides and consequences of nucleic acid base deamination.
SLO 3. Describe DNA and RNA secondary structure, polarity and forces that stabilize the DNA double helix, including the role of water.
SLO 4. Explain how cells overcome three major challenges to replicate their genomes.
SLO 5. Summarize the structure of the peptide bond and key properties of amino acid side chains (charge, polarity/hydrophobicity, aromatic character, reactivity) influencing polypeptide structure.
MOLB: Gene Expression: Transcription, mRNA processing and Translation
SLO 1. Explain why different genes are expressed at different rates, in different cells, at different times.
SLO 2. Describe the roles of mammalian RNA polymerases and key components in the RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) transcription preinititiation complex, including gene promoters and transcription factors.
SLO 3. Describe a generic structure of a mammalian gene and its mRNA transcripts, including basic gene regulatory elements and processing reactions that precede export of an mRNA from nucleus to cytoplasm.
SLO 4. Outline the major steps of protein synthesis including the roles of mRNA, tRNA, tRNA synthetases and ribosomes.
SLO 5. Describe the basic ways in which microRNA (miRNA) molecules control gene expression.
SLO 6. Predict the molecular consequences of missense, nonsense, frameshift, synonymous and silent point mutations, and mutations caused by insertions, deletions, inversions, DNA expansions and amplification, in various parts of a gene or gene regulatory sequences.
BIOCHM: Protein Structure and Function
SLO 1. Summarize the elements of protein secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure.
SLO 2. Describe the roles of hydrophilic vs. hydrophobic aminoacyl residues in protein folding.
SLO 3. Explain the importance of correct protein folding, chaperone proteins, and how misfolding can lead to pathology.
SLO 4. Describe the concept of a dissociation constant, Kd, for a general ligand-receptor pair.
SLO 5. Describe the quaternary structure of hemoglobin and explain the function of the heme prosthetic group.
SLO 6. Explain how allosteric cooperativity in hemoglobin enhances oxygen delivery to peripheral tissues, especially during exercise.
SLO 7. Describe how carbon monoxide affects the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen.
SLO 8. Explain a biochemical reason for how a fetus concentrates oxygen from its mother.
BIOCHM: Hemoglobin disorders
SLO 1. Describe the major types of structural hemoglobinopathies.
SLO 2. Describe the organization of the globin gene loci and developmental switch from gamma to beta globin gene expression as a foundation for understanding hemoglobin disorders.
SLO 3. Describe the mechanistic bases of hemoglobin disorders including sickle cell disease and thalassemia.
GENET: Epigenetics
SLO 1. Understand the fundamentals of chromatin structure and remodeling.
SLO 2. Describe the mechanisms by which covalent histone modifications and DNA methylation result in epigenetic regulation of gene expression.
SLO3. Demonstrate how epigenetic modifications result in imprinting and distinguish how imprinting leads to Prader-Willi or Angelman syndromes.
SLO4. Illustrate how non-coding RNAs and covalent epigenetic modifications cooperatively regulate mammalian X-inactivation
MOLB: Sickle Cell Disorder Mutations, Lab Techniques, Integration
SLO 1. Describe the effect of common beta globin gene mutations on hemoglobin structure and function.
SLO 2: Explain how mutations in globin genes can reduce severe presentations of malaria.
SLO 3. Explain how mutations in globin genes can result in anemia and pain associated with sickle cell disease (SCD).
SLO 4. Describe various treatments for sickle cell disorder including gene addition and gene editing technologies.
SLO 5. Interpret results of electrophoretic assays used in diagnosing sickle cell trait and sickle cell disease.
MOLB: Cystic Fibrosis and Mutation-Specific Therapies
SLO 1. Explain the molecular and cellular basis of cystic fibrosis.
SLO 2. Explain how a single mutation can cause different manifestations in a variety of tissues.
SLO 3. Explain how CF treatments can ameliorate symptoms and predict difficulties implementing them effectively in patients.
SLO 4. Describe the advantages and limitations of mutation-specific molecular therapies.
MOLB: DNA Replication and Repair
SLO 1. Illustrate DNA replication and identify proteins that are targets for inhibiting DNA replication.
SLO 2. Explain why telomere replication presents special problems and the disorders that could develop if defective, such as dyskeratosis congenita.
SLO 3. Describe the major sources of DNA damage and errors and the pathways used to recognize and correct these errors.
SLO 4. Analyze how defects in different DNA repair pathways lead to specific syndromes, including cancer-predisposition syndromes: Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Lynch syndrome, Xeroderma pigmentosum, Ataxia telangiectasia and hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndromes.
SLO 5. Describe how DNA repeat expansion relates to the presence and severity of specific disorders: Fragile X syndrome/Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), Huntington disorder, myotonic dystrophy.
SLO 6. Describe how repeated DNA sequences and homologous recombination contribute to the appearance of interstitial deletion syndromes.
MOLB: Cell Cycle
SLO1: Summarize the cell cycle and the events that occur in Go, G1, S, M, G2, and M phases.
SLO 2: Describe multiple regulators of the cell cycle, including cyclin, cyclin dependent kinase (CDK), and CDK inhibitors.
SLO 3: Describe the roles of the retinoblastoma protein (Rb) and the transcription factor p53 in cell cycle regulation and the cancers associated with defects in these genes.
Prepared by A.J. Merz, Ph.D. and T. Cherry, M.D. with assistance from Y. Kwon, Ph.D. Autumn, 2020, and modified by Max Kullberg, Ph.D. and Pamela Langer, Ph.D.
