Explore how scientists use patterns of inheritance to map genes, understand chromosome variation, and trace the movement of genetic information in bacteria and viruses. These tools help explain how traits are inherited, how chromosome changes affect organisms, and how genes move through populations and microbial systems.

Drawing on trusted content from genetics experts, including Benjamin A. Pierce, author of Genetics Essentials published by Macmillan Learning, you will examine why linked genes do not assort independently and use recombination frequencies and three-point testcross data to infer gene order and map distances. You will also explore how genome-wide association studies can help identify genes associated with traits. You will investigate chromosome mutations and rearrangements, examine the genetic consequences of aneuploidy and polyploidy, and interpret chromosome variation using karyotypes and related evidence. The final part of the course turns to bacteria and viruses, where you will explore their biological and societal importance and examine how conjugation, transformation, and transduction move genes among bacteria. You will also apply bacterial and viral genetic concepts to mapping and genetic analysis. Through readings, dialogues, practice activities, and graded assignments, you will apply these concepts to examples involving dogs, wheat, chromosome-number changes, leprosy, and viral evolution, connecting genetic principles to real biological questions. This course is part of the Genetics Essentials Specialization but can also be taken independently.