Course Details

Course Information

Semester	Course Unit Code	Course Unit Title	T+P+L	Credit	Number of ECTS Credits	Last Updated Date
7	MBG411	MODEL ORGANISMS	3+0+0	3	5	14.05.2025

Course Details

Language of Instruction	English
Level of Course Unit	Bachelor's Degree
Department / Program	MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS
Type of Program	Formal Education
Type of Course Unit	Elective
Course Delivery Method	Face To Face
Objectives of the Course	Understanding model organism in science Defining advantages and disadvantages of model organism.
Course Content	In this course, model organisms will be introduced intensively in molecular and biological studies. Mice, frogs, zebrafish, drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans and cell culture are the main model organisms to be focus on the course. The model organisms have advantages and disadvantages according to different studies which will be also covered in the course.
Course Methods and Techniques	theoretical course, presentation, project, evaluation
Prerequisites and co-requisities	None
Course Coordinator	None
Name of Lecturers	Asist Prof.Dr. Sebiha Çevik sebiha.cevik@agu.edu.tr
Assistants	None
Work Placement(s)	No

Recommended or Required Reading

Course Category

Mathematics and Basic Sciences	%30
Engineering	%0
Engineering Design	%0
Education	%0
Science	%30
Health	%40

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Activities are given in detail in the section of "Assessment Methods and Criteria" and "Workload Calculation"

Assessment Methods and Criteria

In-Term Studies	Quantity	Percentage
Yarıl yılSonu Sınavı/Dönem Projesinin Başarı Notuna Katkısı	1	% 20
Quiz/Küçük Sınav	6	% 15
Ödev	1	% 15
Sunum/Seminer	1	% 15
Final examination	1	% 35
Total	10	% 100

ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload

Activities	Quantity	Duration	Total Work Load
Yazılı Sınav	1	1	1
Sınıf İçi Aktivitesi	14	1	14
Sunum için Hazırlık	1	8	8
Sunum	1	1	1
Proje	1	1	1
Kısa Sınav	6	1	6
Okuma	14	1	14
Kişisel Çalışma	14	2	28
Ders dışı çalışma	14	2	28
Yüz Yüze Ders	15	3	45
Final Sınavı	1	1	1
Total Work Load			Number of ECTS Credits 5 147

Course Learning Outcomes: Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

No	Learning Outcomes
1	Describe the importance of model organisms in biological and biomedical research, and explain historical and contemporary uses.
2	Compare and contrast major model organisms (e.g., C. elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish, Xenopus, mouse, and cell culture systems) in terms of genetics, development, experimental tools, and translational relevance.
3	Critically evaluate the advantages and limitations of each model organism depending on specific biological questions.
4	Propose an appropriate model organism for a given scientific hypothesis or disease model, with justification based on biological and technical criteria.

Weekly Detailed Course Contents

Week	Topics	Study Materials	Materials
1	Introduction: Why use model organisms?	Research short background info on selected model organisms	Lecture Slides, Papers
2	Overview and classification of model organisms	Reading literature on "model organism" concept	Lecture Slides
3	Caenorhabditis elegans: History and usage in science	Lecture Slides, WormBook	Selected sections from WormBook
4	Drosophila melanogaster: Development and role in genetics	Review genetic mapping examples in Drosophila	Lecture Slides
5	Danio rerio (Zebrafish): Embryonic development and genetic tools	Explore Zebrafish genomic databases	Lecture Slides
6	Xenopus laevis/tropicalis: Cell and developmental biology	Browse Xenbase for example projects	Lecture Slides
7	Mus musculus (mouse): Disease models and functional genomics	Search mouse genome projects	Lecture Slides
8	Cell culture and organoid systems	Read a review on pros/cons of organoid models	Lecture Slides
9	Comparative advantages and limitations	Prepare comparison chart of model organisms	Lecture Slides
10	Genetic tools in model organisms: CRISPR/Cas9, RNAi	Lecture Slides	Read a case study on CRISPR in a selected model
11	Functional genomics and phenotype analysis	Query model organism databases (ZFIN, FlyBase, WormBase)	Lecture Slides
12	Model organisms in translational research	Lecture Slides	Case analysis on disease modeling
13	Student Project Presentations I	Prepare project presentation	Student presentation
14	Student Project Presentations II	Final presentation preparations	Student preparations

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

Contribution: 1: Very Slight 2:Slight 3:Moderate 4:Significant 5:Very Significant

https://sis.agu.edu.tr/oibs/bologna/progCourseDetails.aspx?curCourse=75977&lang=en