The course aims to provide the student with knowledge related to the origin of genetic and phenotipic variability, the genetical theory of natural selection and the neutral theory of molecular evolution and to show the convergence of advanced studies of molecular and developmental genetics with the general principles of neo-darwinian evolution.
Main topics. Genetic variation in natural populations. Genetic drift. Natural selection. Evolution of phenotipic traits. Genetic changes and speciation. Evolution of genes and genomes. Evolution and development. Genomic databases and phylogenetic analysis