Course: Evolutionary Cell Biology
This course provides a rigorous and comprehensive introduction to the emerging interdisciplinary field of evolutionary cell biology, which provides an evolutionary framework for the origin and development of cellular structures, processes and functions. This course includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: origin of cells, genetic mechanisms of cellular evolution, evolutionary scaling laws, evolution of cellular structures, energetics and metabolism, information processing, and the evolution of organismal complexity. This course is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students studying the life sciences that have completed at least one course in evolutionary biology and one course in cell biology.
Course materials (readings, lectures, and video recordings) are open to collaborators and others interested in evolutionary cell biology. If you are interested in learning more about the course, please email Michael Lynch ([email protected]) or Josh Hoskinson ([email protected]).
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Course schedule
Theme 1: Introduction to Evolutionary Cell Biology
| Class Session | Reading | Lecture | Recording |
| 1 | Evolutionary Cell Biology | Lecture 1 | |
| 2 | The Origin of Cells | Lecture 2 | |
| 3 | The Major Lines of Descent | Lecture 3 |
Theme 2: The Genetic Mechanisms of Evolution
| Class Session | Reading | Lecture | Recording |
| 4 | The Population-genetic Environment | Lecture 4 | |
| 5 | Evolution as a Population-Genetic Process | Lecture 5 | |
| 6 | Evolution of Cellular Complexity | Lecture 6 |
Theme 3: Basic Cellular Features
Theme 4: Structural Evolution
| Class Session | Reading | Lecture | Recording |
| 12 | The Protein World | Lecture 12 | |
| 13 | Multimerization | Lecture 13 | |
| 14 | Protein Management | Lecture 14 | |
| 15 | Lipids and Membranes | Lecture 15 | |
| 16 | Cytoskeleton, Cell Shape, and Motility | Lecture 16 |
Theme 5: Energetics and Metabolism
| Class Session | Reading | Lecture | Recording |
| 17 | The Costs of Cellular Features | Lecture 17 | |
| 18 | Resource Acquisition and Homeostasis | Lecture 18 | |
| 19 | Enzymes and Metabolic Pathways | Lecture 19 |
Theme 6: Information Processing
| Class Session | Reading | Lecture | Recording |
| 20 | Intracellular Errors | Lecture 20 | |
| 21 | Intracellular Communication: Transcription | Lecture 21 | |
| 22 | Environmental Sensing and Extracellular Communication | Lecture 22 |
Theme 7: Organismal Complexity
| Class Session | Reading | Lecture | Recording |
| 23 | Endosymbiosis | Lecture 23 | |
| 24 | Origins of Organismal Complexity | Lecture 24 |