BIS 101 – 001 CRN 15621
Winter 2023
BIS 101: Genes and Gene Expression
Tue/Thur 12:10 – 2:00 PM SocSci 1100
Course Website: https://canvas.ucdavis.edu/courses/749577
Piazza Forum: https://piazza.com/ucdavis/winter2023/bis101w2023
Instructor: Dr. Marina Ellefson (Crowder)
Email: mecrowder@ucdavis.edu
Teaching Assistants:
Amanda Crofton aecrofton@ucdavis.edu
Devin Romines dcromines@ucdavis.edu
Undergraduate Tutors: Megan Mindte mmmindte@ucdavis.edu
Tasneem Mukarrama tmukarrama@ucdavis.edu
Shaian Mostaghni smostaghni@ucdavis.edu
Aman Singla amssingla@ucdavis.edu
OFFICE HOURS:
Office hours are held in-person in 3061 SLB (3rd floor) or online over Zoom as
indicated. See the Office Hours Page on Canvas for office hour zoom links.
Monday
12:10 –1:00PM Megan (3061 SLB)
6:10 – 7:00PM Shaian (ZOOM)
Wednesday
1:10 – 2:00PM Dr. E (ZOOM)
6:10 – 7:00PM Aman (ZOOM)
Tuesday
3:10 – 4:00PM Dr. E (3061 SLB)
4:10 – 5:00PM Tasneem (3061 SLB)
Thursday
4:10 – 5:00PM Tasneem (ZOOM)
6:10 – 7:00PM Aman (3061 SLB)
Friday
12:10 –1:00PM Megan (ZOOM)
Emergency Academic Flexibility - Given unexpected emergencies that arise, course
instruction, schedule, and assignments are subject to change. If course delivery is given inperson, the in-person lecture is video recorded via lecture capture and there are no points
associated with attending lecture. Exams are scheduled to be held in-person. If a situation
arises where in-person instruction is moved to remote learning, the lecture material will be
delivered asynchronously with recorded video lectures and all assignments will be moved
online. In this case, the course syllabus, schedule, and grading structure may be subject to
change in response to transitioning to remote learning and course delivery. Any changes will
be communicated to the class as soon as possible via Canvas announcements.
Prerequisites: Course BIS 2A, 2B; Chemistry 8A or 118A or 128A; Statistics 100 or 13 or
102 or 130A.
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BIS 101 – 001 CRN 15621
Winter 2023
Course Materials:
• Textbook (Strongly Recommended): An Introduction to Genetic Analysis, Griffiths et al.
10th, 11th, or 12th edition.
• Strongly recommended: Solutions Manual for An Introduction to Genetic Analysis by
W. D. Fixsen and D.K. Lavett (authors vary depending on edition)
(The textbook and solutions manual are strongly recommended but not required. Meaning there
are no points associated with purchasing the textbook and there will not be assigned textbook
readings that cover material beyond the content provided to you in class and through Canvas)
Overall Learning Goals: This course will enable students to describe the fundamental
concepts in transmission, molecular and applied genetics. This includes understanding the
following:
• The meaning of fundamental genetic terms such as allele/locus/genotype/genome/
phenotype/trait and heritability.
• How alleles and genes segregate
• How alleles and genes influence phenotype/trait display in organisms
• Exceptions to Mendelian genetics
• How molecular biology can be used to manipulate genes and genomics.
• How Mendelian genetics and quantitative genetics are connected.
• The information available from modern genomics technology
Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to apply these concepts to:
1. Demonstrate fluency in genetic language
2. Describe how meiosis drives inheritance of genetic information
3. Illustrate the mechanisms, and explain the results chromosome segregation in meiosis
4. Analyze crosses to infer the genotype of an organism, predict the nature of alleles and
genes segregating, and calculate genotype and phenotype probabilities
5. Describe the process of information flow from genotype to phenotype
6. Explain mechanisms and regulation of replication, transcription, and translation
7. Identify different types of mutations and predict their phenotype consequences
8. Explain how various forms of DNA damage is repaired
9. Describe gene isolation and manipulation techniques
10. Interpret data from genetic experiments
11. Illustrate how genomic tools are applied in research and analysis
12. Evaluate the implications and ethical considerations of genetic advances in the 21st
century.
Learning Skills: In addition to the content goals listed, this class also has the goal of
providing opportunities for students to further develop skills in problem solving, critical
thinking, and reading comprehension.
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BIS 101 – 001 CRN 15621
Winter 2023
--COURSE RESOURCES-Course Website: https://canvas.ucdavis.edu/courses/749577
All course information, content, assignments, announcements, online office hours, etc. will be
administered using the Canvas Course website. Announcements will be on the Canvas
course website. Note that within each topic page, material listed in black is required content
for you to review. Material listed in purple is supplemental resources to help your learning but
not required content.
Piazza Discussion Forum: https://piazza.com/ucdavis/winter2023/bis101w2023
Piazza is a place to post questions so that everyone can benefit from the answers. All
questions pertaining this course are encouraged. Your posts are anonymous to your
classmates but not to the instructor and TA’s. Please post your questions here instead of
emailing directly. Please check Q&A for your question(s) before you post or e-mail. You are
encouraged to answer your classmate’s questions.
BIS101D- Genes and Gene Expression Discussion: The BIS101D discussions sections
will be held in person on the day/time they are listed. You should only attend the discussion
section you are enrolled in. Enrollment in BIS101D is optional and designed to give additional
practice for BIS 101 problem-solving discussion offered for 1 unit of PASS/NO PASS credit.
Please make sure you are enrolled in one of the sections listed below It will not be helpful to
enroll in a discussion section associated with another BIS101 course and instructor.
To earn the passing grade you must 1) attend 7 of the 10 scheduled discussions and 2)
submit 7 of the 10 completed discussion homework assignments on Canvas. BIS 101D
discussion homework is due by 10:00PM (PST) on MONDAY. Please submit your
BIS101D discussion homework via the canvas assignment in your BIS 101D Discussion
Canvas page. Late submissions of the BIS101D Discussion will not be accepted.
BIS101D DISCUSSION SECTIONS:
Section
001
002
003
004
005
006
007
008
CRN
15624
15625
15626
15627
15628
15629
15630
15631
Day/Time
Fri 10:00 – 10:50 AM
Fri 9:00 – 9:50 AM
Wed 1:10 – 2:00 PM
Fri 12:10 – 1:00 PM
Wed 4:10 – 5:00 PM
Thur 5:10 – 6:00 PM
Thur 6:10 – 7:00 PM
Wed 12:10 – 1:00 PM
Location
TLC 3210
TLC 3210
Hoagland 108
TLC 1212
Giedt 1007
Young 192
Young 192
Hoagland 108
TA
Amanda
Amanda
Amanda
Amanda
Devin
Devin
Devin
Devin
Please ensure that you are registered for one of the BIS101D sections associated with
this lecture section. BIS101D discussions will begin the week of 1/09 – 1/13.
There are NO FINALS for the discussion sections.
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BIS 101 – 001 CRN 15621
Winter 2023
--COURSE COMPONENTS—
Class Questions Set: Questions will be presented in each lecture with time to solve and
discuss the questions in class. To earn participation points for keeping up with course
material, a set of the in-class questions will be assigned in Canvas Each week. These
questions are intended to provide you practice and help with your understanding of the
material. You will earn 3 points for submitting a completed Class Question Set on-time each
week (regardless of whether your answers are correct or not). Class Question Sets are due
by 10:00PM (PST) Monday via Canvas. Late submissions will not be accepted or
awarded any points and no partial credit is given.
Quizzes: Three quizzes will be administered over the quarter, each worth 20 points. The
quizzes will be given as take-home/online quizzes where you submit your answers through
the Canvas under the ‘Quizzes’ page. These quizzes will be open for 5 days prior to their due
date. During the open quiz window you can open and close the quiz without any limits, there
is no time limit on the quiz. There will be no make-up quizzes given. You are encouraged to
work together to complete the quizzes, however, simply copying another person’s answers is
a violation of the academic code and will be dealt with harshly. You will receive a zero for the
quiz and be referred to the Student Judicial Affairs office.
Quizzes are due online by 10:00PM:
Monday January 30th
Monday February 27th
Friday March 17th
Exams: Exams will be held in person in SocSci 1100. Exams consist of multiple choice
and true/false questions. Please bring a UCD 2000 scantron, number 2 pencil, eraser, and
photo ID to each exam. A basic non-graphing calculator is allowed. Use of cell phones is
prohibited during exams.
Exam 1: Thursday February 2nd 12:10 – 2:00 PM in SocSci 1100
Exam 2: Thursday March 2nd 12:10 – 2:00 PM in SocSci 1100
Final Exam: Friday March 24th 10:30AM – 12:30 PM in SocSci 1100
Please check your schedules carefully as we will not offer alternative exams. There are other
sections of BIS 101 offered this quarter that have finals scheduled at different times.
Make-up/Missed examination: Unfortunately, due to the size of the class, no alternative
exam dates or times will be offered. A missed exam will be excused ONLY if the absence
is verified by a medical excuse from a treating physician or other valid excuse with
documentation, which must be submitted to Dr. Ellefson within three days of the missed
exam. A failed daily symptom survey is NOT valid documentation for missing an exam.
If an exam is missed due to a valid emergency with proper documentation, the missing exam
score will be calculated based on the student’s performance on other two exams. If no valid
reason or documentation is submitted, or if it is submitted after three days from the scheduled
exam date, the student will be given a zero for the exam. If a student has a legitimate
scheduling conflict (for example team travel) and will not be able to take an exam, a request
to reschedule must be submitted in writing in advance, at least 14 days before the exam.
Such requests must be accompanied by appropriate documentation to be approved. For
approved conflicts, the exam may be rescheduled, or the exam grade will be calculated
similar to what is described above for a medical excuse.
If a student misses two exams due to a verifiable documented emergency, or misses the
Final Exam, this will result in an Incomplete grade if the student is otherwise passing the
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BIS 101 – 001 CRN 15621
Winter 2023
course (70% or above) and will need to resolve the incomplete by taking the missed BIS 101
exams in a future quarter. If a student misses two exams without a valid, documented
excuse, this will result in a non-passing grade (F) for the course. If you require
accommodations as designated by the Student Disability Center, you must notify the
instructor no later than Friday January 20th to ensure accommodations are made.
Video Assignment: This is a two-part assignment that is graded for completion and effort.
Part 1 (due by Mon 3/6 at 10PM) will include a short video related to the topic of the ethical,
social, and technological implications of genetic engineering and a survey of questions
related to the impact of the video. This video and survey will be open during week 9. Part 2
will be a follow-up survey in Canvas related to the video that will be open in week 10. The
video assignment is worth 10 points total. To receive all 10 points you must complete both
part 1 and part 2, no partial credit.
Grade Determination: There are a total of 400 points possible to earn in the course:
Course component
Points
% of grade
Video Assignment
10 pts
2.5%
Class Question Sets
30 pts
7.5%
Quizzes
60 pts
15%
Exam 1
100 pts
25%
Exam 2
100 pts
25%
Final Exam
100 pts
25%
-----------------------------------------------------------------TOTAL
400 pts
Grades are assigned on a percentage basis, not by a curve using the standard academic
grade scale. You are not competing with classmates for your grade. You are encouraged to
help one another learn the material and to work together towards the learning goals. The
specific +/- cutoffs will follow a standard grade scale.
A- / A / A+: ≥90%
B- / B / B+: ≥80% **If the median end of quarter grade for the class is below a C+,
C- / C / C+: ≥70% the letter grade cutoffs will be adjusted so that the median grade
D- / D / D+: ≥60% grade is a C+. Such an adjustment would improve all grades.
F: < 60%
--COURSE POLICIES-Contacting Dr. Ellefson: If you have any question related to the course or course material,
post the question to Piazza so that all students can benefit from the answer. If you email Dr.
Ellefson with a general course or content question, you will receive a reply to post your
question to Piazza. If you would like one-on-one help with course material, please attend one
of the office hours offered. Unfortunately, due to the large size of the class, Dr. Ellefson is not
able to offer regular one-on-one tutoring sessions. If you have any personal issues,
concerns, or have questions that entail personal information please do email Dr. Ellefson
directly at mecrowder@ucdavis.edu
Accommodation Policy: If you are in need of accommodation due to disability, please
contact the instructor immediately. If you require accommodations for exams, you must
present written documentation to Dr. Ellefson by Friday, January 20th. We will make every
effort to meet special exam accommodations but can not guarantee an accommodation if not
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BIS 101 – 001 CRN 15621
Winter 2023
given proper notice. Please refer to the Student Disability Office for more details to apply for
support and accommodation (https://sdc.ucdavis.edu/).
Academic Dishonesty: Students are expected to follow the University Code of Academic
Conduct (http://sja.ucdavis.edu/cac.html). Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and
will result in a zero on the exam. All suspected cheating/plagiarism will be reported to the
Office of Student Judicial Affairs.
Regrade Policy: An answer key will be available on canvas. If a mistake is found in an
answer key, the scores of all students will be adjusted. There will be no individual exam regrades. No requests for grade changes will be accepted after final grades are submitted to
the Registrar’s Office.
Incompletes: At the end of the quarter an Incomplete will only be assigned with written
documentation of a medical or family emergency that prevents a student from completing the
final exam only if prior to the final exam the student’s completed work meets a passing grade
of C or better. An incomplete will not be assigned to a student who has a below passing
grade prior to the final exam. In this case, a non-passing grade will be assigned if the final
exam is missed
Adding/Dropping: All departmental policies/deadlines apply for adding/dropping this course.
Classroom Conduct: Together we will create a respectful community that learns from and
supports one another in a welcoming environment that is inclusive of all, supporting a diversity of
thoughts, perspectives and experiences, and honoring our multiple identities, including race, gender,
class, sexuality, religion, abilities. We will view our background and lived experiences as a source of
collective strength and in this spirit, we will enter classroom conversations and discussions in a
manner that honors all of us. In order to create a supportive learning environment, there will be
sustained mutual respect among students, instructor(s), TA’s, and tutors.
Course Advice - Genetics is an analytical problem-solving discipline that cannot be learned
(or the course passed) simply by memorizing information. Of course, you will need to
memorize some information, but the critical skill will be to apply your understanding of the
concepts to problem solving. To do this effectively, you must work through problems yourself
- not just understand the solutions given. We highly recommend practicing and studying by
attempting the practice problems made available through the various course resources.
Health and Wellness: Challenges presented by university studies and life can result in a
lack of attention to mental health, triggering anxiety, depression, and other problems. UC
Davis offers various forms of support for students in addition to academic care. If you, or
anybody you know, could benefit from mental health care, please refer to the following
campus resources.
Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) or 24-Hour Advice Nurse
Phone Number: (530) 752-2349
https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/counseling-services
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Winter 2023
Biological Sciences 101-001 (CRN 15621) Winter 2023- Course Schedule (This is an
intended schedule that is subject to change)
Lecture
Reading (Chapter/pages)
Date
Topic
Topic
12th Edition
1
Intro to Genetics
1/1-12
1/10 Tue
2
Mendelian Genetics
2/29-36, 3/79-86, 3/90-95
Week 1
BIS 101 – 001 CRN 15621
1/12 Thur
2
Mendelian Genetics
2/36-45, 2/75-77, 3/90-95
3
Meiosis
2/29-36, 3/79-86, 3/90-95
Week 2
1/16 Mon
1/17 Tue
1/19 Thur
Class Question Set 1 Discussion HW #1 DUE 10PM
3
Meiosis
2/29-36, 3/79-86, 3/90-95
4
Linkage
2/48-52
4
Linkage
2/48-52
5
Pedigree Analysis
2/52-61
Week 3
1/23 Mon
1/24 Tue
1/26 Thur
Class Question Set 2 & Discussion HW #2 DUE 10PM
6
Recombination & Mapping
4/113-130, 4/131-132
7
Allele Interactions
2/42-45, 5/153-162
8
Gene Interactions
5/162-174
Class Question Set 3 & Discussion HW #3 DUE 10PM
Week 5
Week 4
1/30 Mon
1/31 Tue
Week 6
9
Bacterial Genetics
6/193-209
10
DNA Structure
7/239-249
2/2 Thur
Exam 1
2/6 Mon
Class Question Set 4 & Discussion HW #4 DUE 10PM
2/7 Tue
2/9 Thur
Week 7
QUIZ #1 DUE 10PM
11
DNA Replication
7/249-262
12
Transcription
8/267-291
12
Transcription
8/267-291
13
Euk. Transcription Processing
8/267-291
2/13 Mon
Class Question Set 5 & Discussion HW #5 DUE 10PM
2/14 Tue
14
Translation
9/301-320
2/16 Thur
15
Prokaryotic Gene Regulation
11/369-383
2/20 Mon
Class Question Set 6 & Discussion HW #6 DUE 10PM
2/21 Tue
16
Eukaryotic Gene Regulation
12/431-442; 8/292-295
2/23 Thur
17
Epigenetic Regulation
12/420-424
7
Week 10
Week 9
Week 8
BIS 101 – 001 CRN 15621
2/27 Mon
2/28 Tue
Winter 2023
Class Question Set 7 & Discussion HW #7 DUE 10PM
QUIZ #2 DUE 10PM
18
DNA Damage & Mutations
15/501-523; 17/557-570
3/2 Thur
Exam 2
3/6 Mon
Class Question Set 8 & Discussion HW #8 DUE 10PM
3/7 Tue
19
Repair & Recombination
15/501-523
3/9 Thur
20
Recombinant DNA Technology
10/331-353
3/6 Mon
Class Question Set 9, Video Assignment Due & Discussion HW #9 DUE 10PM
3/14 Tue
20
Recombinant DNA Technology
10/331-353
3/16 Thur
21
Genetic Engineering
10/353-363, 14/448-493
3/17 Fri
Class Question Set 10 & Discussion HW #10 DUE 10PM
QUIZ #3 DUE ONLINE
CUMULATIVE FINAL EXAM FRIDAY 3/24 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM 1100 SocSci
8