Molekulinė evoliucija. Genomų evoliucija.

A series of five lectures for final year BSc and first year MSc students delivered as a last minute substitute for the genome evolution section of a molecular evolution course in 2022. The first lecture covers RNA viruses and their genome organisations as well as some of the modern methods currently used in molecular evolution research. The second lecture covers a study of MERS-CoV and its epidemiology using the structured coalescent. The third lecture explains the study that dissected the factors associated with Ebola virus spread in West Africa during the 2013-2016 epidemic. The fourth lecture describes the SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance programme of Lithuania and its discoveries. The fifth lecture is an overview of how metagenomic data have been used to find new viruses and the current state of understanding of RNA virus diversity.