Physics 239 --- Quantitative Molecular Biology

Fall 2009



Instructor: Prof. Terence Hwa; Urey 7246
phone: 4-7263
e-mail: hwa@ucsd.edu
Time: MW  9:30am -- 10:50 am  (Sept 28th through Dec 2nd; no class Wed Nov 11)
Location: Note of room change: Mayer Hall 5301
Class size: no restriction
Office Hour: After class or by appointment.
Course URL: http://matisse.ucsd.edu/~hwa/class/f09 (this page)
Grade: combination of problem sets and final or term project report
Homework: to be posted below
Prerequisite: undergraduate thermodynamics and statistical mechanics and introductory molecular biology, or consent of instructor  

 Course description

 Reference Books

Course outline

•    Introduction and overview: central dogma, gene regulation, genetic circuits
•    Molecular interaction: kinetics, equilibrium, cooperativity; protein-DNA interaction
•    Transcriptional control by activators and repressors; cooperativity and combinatorial control
•    Post-transcriptional control: attenuation, termination, and degradation
•    Simple genetic circuits with feedback: bistability and oscillation
•    Stochastic gene expression
•   
Metabolic control and growth physiology

Course activity:


date
topics
assignments
L1 Mon, Sept 28
overview: intro to quantitation; basic biochemistry and molecular biology 

L2
Wed, Sept 30
overview: flow of genetic information; gene regulation; comparison to eukaryotes
HW1 due Oct 7
L3
Mon, Oct 5
protein-DNA interaction: intro and thermodynamics

L4
Wed, Oct 7
protein-DNA interaction: thermodynamics and kinetics
HW2 due Oct 21
L5
Mon, Oct 12
introduction to transcriptional control: machinery and mechanisms

L6
Wed, Oct 14
transcriptional control: basic models

L7
Mon, Oct 19
transcriptional control: cooperativity
soln to HW1
L8
Wed, Oct 21
transcriptional control: DNA looping, combinatorial regulation
HW3 due Nov 4
L9
Mon, Oct 26
transcriptoinal control: combinatorial regulation

L10
Wed, Oct 28 case study: combinatorial control of the lac operon

L11
Mon, Nov 2
transcriptional elongation, termination, and anti-termination
soln to HW2
L12
Wed, Nov 4
translation and translational mechanims
HW4 due Nov 18
L13
Mon, Nov 9
translational control; proteolysis


Wed, Nov 11
Veteran's Day (no class)

L14
Mon, Nov 16
genetic circuit I

L15
Wed, Nov 18
genetic circuit II