In this course the student will become familiar with a range of analytical methods used to characterise the genetic structure of bacterial and fungal populations and to explore the evolution of pathogens. The course will cover:

• Methods relevant to a variety of molecular and phenotypic data.
• Discuss the relevant merits of different markers that can be used.
• Issues related to sample design and the pitfalls associated with various designs will be an important part of the course.
• Analyses to be covered, will for example, include basic summary statistics, methods for assigning genotypes to clonal groups, and techniques designed to identify and quantify the contribution of recombination to shaping the genetic structure of a population.
• Particular emphasis will be placed on the interpretation of the output of the different analytical methods covered in this course.

Postgraduate LOs

On satisfying the requirements of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Analyse molecular population genetic data with web-based analytical programs
2. Understand the principles of Bayesian analyses and Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations
3. Evaluate analysis programs for their applicability to a particular data set 
4. Understand the principles and theory of population genetics
5. Interpret and discuss outputs of analyses

Postgraduate assessment will be based on:

1. Completion of computer-based tutorials to demonstrate skills in using analysis programs (20%; LO 1-4)
2. Reflective tutorial reports to evaluate knowledge (40%; LO 2, 3, 4, 5)
3. Essay to demonstrate critical analyses of data and understanding of computer-based analysis outputs (40%; LO 1-5) 

Intensive workshop over 5 to 7 working days and supporting tutorials

Bachelor’s degree; Completion of BIOL6006 (Introductory Genetics), BIOL6016 (Population Genetics)

Standard IT and library access