Genomes, diversity, environment and human health
Twenty years ago the human genome was sequenced. Since this symbolic date, by drastically reducing the cost of DNA sequencing, engineering sciences have revolutionized biological research. The result has been the emergence of an integrative discipline central to all biology: genomics. By combining genetics, molecular biology and evolution, this discipline aims to decipher the DNA molecule and characterize its content at the functional level in order to answer essential questions: how changes in DNA sequence can result in organisms as diverse as viruses, bacteria, trees or mammals, how these variations can explain differences between between cells within an organism, between individuals within a population, and how to use this knowledge to understand how organisms function, disfunction or adapt.
Because genomes contain thousands to billions of base pairs, tens to tens of thousands of genes, genomics is a quantitative science that relies not only on the multiplicity of approaches we mentioned but also on engineer sciences. The objective of this course is to enable students to understand in detail the approaches used to study genomes, what are their limits, implications and power with regard to the problems that human societies are and will be confronted with: diseases, nutrition, polution, global warming.
We will use genetics to map the origin of genetic variation in the genome; molecular biology and comparative methods to identify the functional parts of genomes and understand the emergence of new functions; and an evolutionary approach will allow us to unravel the adaptive history of species and to predict their future responses. We will address topics as diverse as genetic pathologies and cancer, agronomy, plant and animal domestication, the adaptive response of species to climate change, the microbiota and its contribution to the health of individuals and ecosystems, and human history. Throughout the courses, we will also present concrete examples of applications ranging from the design of a new generation of biofuels, to bioremediation or medical diagnosis and gene therapy.
The chapters are as follows :
• How to sequence a human genome for 1000 euros with a USB key
• How to map a rare genetic disease with 3 genomes
• How to predict the metabolism of a bacterium from its sequence
• Why I am short or tall and how tall will my children be
• How to orchestrate genome expression and manage 1 million genomic parasites
• The architecture of the genome: evolvability and complexity of organisms
• From polymorphisms to the evolutionary history of populations: the case of homo sapiens, its plants and animals and their potential response to climate change
• Bacterial ecology from digestive microbiota to climate control
• Modifying genomes: from synthetic biology to biofuels to gene therapy and their ethics.
Requirements: completion of at least one Biology module during the second year.
Langue du cours : English and/or French
Credits ECTS : 4
- Teaching coordinator: Tenaillon Olivier