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Level of Understanding of Basics of Genetics and Molecular Biology by Students of Secondary Education
Machová, Markéta ; Ehler, Edvard (advisor) ; Zrzavá, Magda (referee) ; Králík, Miroslav (referee)
Genetics has been part of secondary education for decades. However, research on the outcomes of science education has long shown that pupils have various types of misconceptions and are not able to deeply understand the basic principles of heredity and genetics. This results in their inability to navigate in daily-life problems related to this topic and make informed decisions in their life. Deeper diagnostics of these problems as well as identification of their origin is still missing both abroad and in the Czech Republic, which unable to design effective steps leading to improvement of educational outcomes. Several analyses were conducted to describe the current state of genetics education at lower and upper secondary level in the Czech Republic from the perspective of the curriculum, textbooks, students understanding of the topic, conduction of the lessons and its impact on the students. Questionnaire was used as a main research tool. The questionnaire for pupils combined knowledge test and attitude items, while the questionnaire for teachers was used to reveal their approach and attitudes towards genetics lessons and teaching conditions of their school. Content analysis was used to analyse relevant documents affecting education (curricula and textbooks). The results pointed to problems at...
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Evolution of sex determination systems in toxicoferan reptiles
Augstenová, Barbora ; Rovatsos, Michail (advisor) ; Zrzavá, Magda (referee) ; Trifonov, Vladimir (referee)
(English) Sex determination plays an important role in the viability of populations and species evolvability. This is one of the reasons why sex determination has become an important subject of many studies during more than the last 100 years. The thesis focuses on the evolution of sex determination systems in toxicoferan reptiles. Toxicofera is a group of squamate reptiles containing more than 6000 species. Their species richness is also reflected in the diversity of their sex determination systems. The presence of environmental sex determination (ESD) as well as genotypic sex determination (GSD) with either XX/XZ or ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes, was reported among the toxicoferan species; however, the current knowledge on sex determination in toxicoferan reptiles is not equally distributed across their lineages. The main aim of the theses is to expand our knowledge on sex chromosome evolution using cytogenetic methods in snakes, chameleons and anguimorphan lizards. The first part of the thesis deals with the sex chromosome evolution in caenophidian and henophidian snakes. It is focused mainly on the variability in the distribution of repetitive content as well as heterochromatinization of the W chromosome of caenophidian snakes. While the sex chromosomes of Caenophidia are cytogenetically quite well...
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Analysis of karyotype and sex chromosome differentiation in African annual killifish of the genus Nothobranchius (Teleostei: Nothobranchiidae)
Lukšíková, Karolína ; Sember, Alexandr (advisor) ; Zrzavá, Magda (referee)
Teleost fishes (Teleostei) encompass more than half of the extant vertebrate biodiversity. Their genomes display considerable plasticity and flexibility, going hand in hand with polyploidization events and repetitive DNA dynamics. Teleosts also display a striking diversity in mechanisms of sex determination and differentiation. The aim of the present thesis was to study the mechanisms underlying the karyotype and sex chromosome differentiation through cytogenetic mapping of repetitive DNA (by fluorescence in situ hybridization, FISH) in selected representatives of the African annual killifishes of the genus Nothobranchius (Teleostei: Nothobranchiidae). Nothobranchius spp. evolved a unique adaptation to freshwater temporary water pools whose existence is limited to periods of rainy season in African savannahs. Recent diversification, allopatric speciation in non-overlapping generations and small-sized populations together with known cytogenetics collectively suggest fast dynamics of chromosomal changes in Nothobranchius killifishes. The study took advantage of the availability of i) more populations of several closely related species for analysis and ii) data on specific repetitive DNA composition in selected Nothobranchius genomes as revealed by RepeatExplorer analysis. My work showed considerable...
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Karyotype analysis of mesothelid spiders
Prokopcová, Lenka ; Král, Jiří (advisor) ; Zrzavá, Magda (referee)
Cytogenetics of mesothelid spiders is largely unkown. The presented diploma thesis is focused on the karyotype evolution of these spiders. As it is the most basal group of spiders, the analysis of its cytogenetics can bring important data about ancestral spider karyotype. In the framework of my thesis, I analysed diploid chromosome numbers, chromosome morphology, meiotic division, sex chromosomes and the pattern of selected molecular markers that were detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization. According to my results, mesothelid spiders have a high number of chromosomes and the prevalence of monoarmed chromosomes. Unlike other spiders, mesothelids have little differentiated sex chromosomes. Key words: evolution, spider, chromosome, karyotype, fluorescence in situ hybridization, nucleolar organiser region, sex chromosomes
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Evolution of sex chromosomes in reptiles
Mazzoleni, Sofia ; Rovatsos, Michail (advisor) ; Zrzavá, Magda (referee) ; Liehr, Thomas (referee)
- ABSTRACT - Among vertebrates, reptiles represent the ideal group for the study of sex determination. Reptiles include lineages with environmental sex determination (ESD) as seen in crocodiles and tuatara, lineages with genotypic sex determination (GSD), like e.g. iguanas, chameleons, skinks, lacertid lizards and birds, and few groups which possess variability in sex determination mechanisms, i.e. geckos, dragon lizards and turtles. This thesis is focused on the evolution of sex chromosomes and sex determination in turtles. The majority of turtle species exhibit ESD, which is considered the ancestral sex determination system of this group, while GSD either as male or female heterogamety evolved independently at least five times. We investigated the presence of sex chromosomes in representative species of turtles by cytogenetic analyses. The analyses included the reconstruction of karyotypes, distribution of constitutive heterochromatin (C-banding, methylation analysis) and repetitive elements (fluorescence in situ hybridization) and comparative genome hybridization (CGH), which often characterize the degenerated Y or W and can be helpful in the identification of "cryptic" sex chromosomes. We described XX/XY sex chromosomes in seven previously unstudied Australasian chelids (Pleurodira) from the genera...
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Karyotype analysis of mesothelid spiders
Prokopcová, Lenka ; Král, Jiří (advisor) ; Zrzavá, Magda (referee)
Cytogenetics of mesothelid spiders is largely unkown. The presented diploma thesis is focused on the karyotype evolution of these spiders. As it is the most basal group of spiders, the analysis of its cytogenetics can bring important data about ancestral spider karyotype. In the framework of my thesis, I analysed diploid chromosome numbers, chromosome morphology, meiotic division, sex chromosomes and the pattern of selected molecular markers that were detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization. According to my results, mesothelid spiders have a high number of chromosomes and the prevalence of monoarmed chromosomes. Unlike other spiders, mesothelids have little differentiated sex chromosomes. Key words: evolution, spider, chromosome, karyotype, fluorescence in situ hybridization, nucleolar organiser region, sex chromosomes
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Evolution of sex chromosomes and karyotypes in iguanas (Squamata: Pleurodonta)
Altmanová, Marie ; Kratochvíl, Lukáš (advisor) ; Kejnovský, Eduard (referee) ; Zrzavá, Magda (referee)
Evolution of sex chromosomes and karyotypes in iguanas (Squamata: Pleurodonta) PhD Thesis Marie Altmanová Abstract This PhD thesis is composed of five published articles and one manuscript, and is focused on the evolution of the sex chromosomes and karyotype of the iguanas (Pleurodonta). Based on our primary research of available data, only male heterogamety (XX/XY) with ancestral karyotype 2n = 36 chromosomes was recorded in iguanas. However, in many species sex chromosomes have not been uncovered by classical cytogenetics, probably due to their homomorphy. The partially-known X chromosome content of Anolis carolinensis allowed us to compare the relative gene doses of X-specific genes between male and female of representatives of all iguana families, and to reveal homologous and well-differentiated sex chromosomes across all iguanas, with the exception of basilisks. Thus, due to the comparable age with sex chromosomes of mammals and birds, the results put into question the importance of endothermy for the formation of stable sex chromosomes. The striking feature of the iguanas is the relatively frequent occurrence of multiple sex chromosomes in their karyotypes. Using the ancestral state analysis of the type of sex chromosomes, it has been found that these multiple sex chromosomes developed at least twelve...
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Evolution of karyotype and sex determination in iguanas (Squamata: Pleurodonta)
Altmanová, Marie ; Kratochvíl, Lukáš (advisor) ; Zrzavá, Magda (referee)
Squamate reptiles in general possess an unusual variability in karyotype and sex determining mechanisms. However, in these two aspects, iguanas (Pleurodonts) are considered as a relatively conservative group of lizards. So far only genotypic sex determination with male heterogamety has been detected in this lineage. However, the sex chromosomes have not been revealed in many species by classical cytogenetics, probably due to their homomorphy. Significant variability in karyotype was observed only in the species-rich genera Anolis, Sceloporus and Liolaemus. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the genome of available species from the main iguanid lineages using classical and molecular cytogenetic methods. As well as finding the karyotype characteristics, which may represent synapomorphies of main iguanid lineages, the other aim was to try to identify sex chromosomes. This study confirmed previously published karyotypes of 13 species and established new descriptions of karyotype for eight species. The chromosomes of all studied specimens were examined by methods of classical and molecular cytogenetics, 21 species covering eight iguanid families were analysed in this thesis. The majority of studied species shared the apparently ancestral karyotype of the group, with diploid chromosome number...
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