Teaching code

4S00997

Teacher

Elisabetta Trabetti

Coordinator

Elisabetta Trabetti

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

BIO/13 - EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY

Period

Semester 2 dal Mar 6, 2023 al Jun 16, 2023.

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course purposes are: (i) to give basic knowledge about living organism characteristic: procariots, eucariots, viruses, through the acquisition of the fundamental concepts of biology and of the structural, functional and molecular principles of cellular processes; (ii) to describe the fundamental concepts of genetics and the transmission of hereditary characters in different organisms, with specific exam-ples of pathological traits in humans; (iii) to provide basic knowledge on the mechanisms governing the flow of genetic information and the development of organisms; (iv) to provide basic knowledge of animal behavior; (v) to educate to the critical evaluation of experimental data, describing and discuss-ing past and contemporary important experiments; (vi) to provide the up-to-date methodologies used in the biological molecules studies. At the end of the course, students should demonstrate to have acquired notions to become fruitful for a critical analysis of the mechanisms which regulate intra/intercellular activities, cellular interactions and reproduction, organism-to-organism interactions and organisms-to-environment interactions and cause mutations. Students are expected to be autonomous in the evaluation of the mentioned process-es. They should also demonstrate to have acquired knowledge of the flow of genetic information, growth and development of living organisms, Mendelian genetics and of animal behavior. Students should also demonstrate to have acquired basic knowledge of methodologies used in the biological molecules studies and their capability to expose reasoning in a critical and precise manner using ap-propriate scientific language. Students will be able to use the specific notions of biology and genetic bases of life to propose appropriate and original solutions in computer applications; students will also acquire the ability to read and understand advanced biological topics and will therefore be able to attend more advanced courses (including a master's degree) both in the biotechnology and bioinformatics field.

Prerequisites and basic notions

There is no prerequisite.

Program

• OVERVIEW ON BIOLOGY. Characteristics of the living beings: prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell, growth and development, regulation of metabolism, ability to respond to stimuli, reproduction, evolution and adaptation. Levels of biological organization. Transmission of information between organisms and across generations. Evolution and hierarchical classification of living organisms. Energy flow through ecosystems.
• CHEMICAL ELEMENTS OF LIFE. Chemical elements in living organisms. Covalent, ionic, polar, nonpolar, hydrogen bonds; intermolecular interactions, the van der Waals forces. Redox reactions, pH. Functional groups. Organic molecules and macromolecules: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids. Characteristics and properties of water, essential constituent of life.
• PRINCIPAL INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS OF CELL INVESTIGATIONS: cell size; basic concepts of optical and electron microscopy and cell fractionation.
• PROKARYOTIC AND EUKARYOTIC CELL. Cell theory. Organization of the cell. Internal membranes and compartmentalization. Organelles, characteristics and functions: Nucleus, ribosomes, RER, REL, Golgi, lysosomes, peroxisomes, cytoskeleton (microtubules, microfilaments, intermediate filaments, centrioles), cilia, flagella, cell wall, extracellular matrix. Animal and plant cells. Mitochondria and plastids (chloroplasts, amyloplasts, chromoplasts) and endosymbiont theory.
• BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANES. Structure and proposed models. Kinds of membrane lipids and proteins. Function of membrane constituents. Movement trough the plasma membrane: osmosis, passive transport (facilitated diffusion and simple), directly and indirectly active transport, co-transport. Exocytosis and endocytosis. Cell junctions in animal and plant cells.
• CELL COMMUNICATION. Types of cellular communication: endocrine, paracrine, autocrine and iuxtacrine. Sending and receiving the signal. Surface and intracellular receptors. Signal transduction and second messengers. Cellular response to signals. Negative signal transduction.
• ENERGY FLOW THROUGH LIVING ORGANISMS.
Energy and metabolism: energy and biological work; exo-, endo-ergonic reactions, metabolism, anabolism and catabolism, energy coupling; ATP; energy transfer systems: transport of phosphate groups, electrons and other active groups.
Enzymes. Activation energy, active site, features, functioning, control systems, activation and inhibition of enzyme activity, metabolic pathways, cofactors, coenzymes, prosthetic groups.
• ATP SYNTHESIS AND METABOLIC PATHWAYS THAT RELEASE ENERGY. Redox reactions. Glycolysis, aerobic respiration (Krebs cycle, electron transport chain, oxidative phosphorylation and chemiosmosis). Anaerobic respiration. Fermentation.
Photosynthesis. Chlorophyll and other pigments, antenna pigments. Light-dependent reactions: photosystems I and II. Cyclical and not-cyclical transport of electrons. Chemiosmosis and photophosphorylation. Light-independent reactions and C fixation: Calvin Benson cycle. C4 cycle. Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). Photorespiration.
Heterotrophic, autotrophic, phototrophic, chemotrophic organisms.
• ORGANIZATION OF DNA IN CHROMOSOMES, MITOSIS AND MEIOSIS. DNA packaging: chromatin, nucleosomes and chromosomes. The cell cycle and its regulation, apoptosis, deregulation and cancer. Mitosis, meiosis and sexual reproduction.
• PRINCIPLES OF MENDEL’S HEREDITY. Definition of phenotype, genotype, locus, gene, dominant and recessive allele, homozygosity and heterozygosity. Segregation and independent assortment. Physical association of genes on a chromosome. Crossing-over and recombination. Genetic determination of sex. Extension of mendelian genetics.
• DNA AS THE HEREDITARY MATERIAL. Transforming principle in bacteria. Bacterial Transformation and Griffith experiments. Hershey and Chase experiments. DNA structure and replication. Meselson and Stahl experiments and semiconservative replication. DNA synthesis and error repair.
• GENE EXPRESSION IN DIFFERENT ORGANISMS. Gene/protein relationship. Gene/enzyme hypothesis, Beadle and Tatum experiments. Genetic information pathway. Transcription, mRNA synthesis and maturation. Genetic code, tRNA and translation. Post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications. Coding and noncoding sequences. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic genes. Several types of RNA and gene expression control. DNA mutations and mutagenesis.
• GENERAL ASPECTS OF GENE REGULATION IN PROKARYOTES AND EUKARYOTES. Operons, promoters, inducible and repressible genes, repressors and activators. Positive and negative control of gene transcription. Post-transcriptional and post-translational controls. Epigenetic inheritance. Imprinting. Gene amplification. Promoters, TATA box and UPE. Transcription factors, enhancers. RNA maturation and alternative splicing. RNA stability. Maturation of proteins.
• RECOMBINANT DNA TECHNOLOGY AND GENOMICS. DNA cloning, restriction enzymes, vectors and genomic libraries. DNA amplification in vitro by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). DNA analysis by means of electrophoresis: Southern, Northern and Western blot. Polymorphisms and DNA sequencing. Transgenic organism, plant and animal cloning: an overview. Bioinformatics examples.
• HUMAN GENOME. Basic concept on: karyotype, pedigree analysis, chromosomal abnormalities and genetic mutations. Basic knowledge on transmission of genetic traits in humans.
• DEVELOPMENT BIOLOGY. Cell differentiation and morphogenesis. Differential gene expression. Somatic and germ cells. Stem cells. Genetic control of development. Model organisms. Maternal effect genes, segmentation genes, homeotic genes.
• DARWIN AND EVOLUTION. Natural selection. Micro and macro-evolution. Synthetic theory of evolution (neo-Darwinism). Effect of chance. Evidence for evolution: fossils, comparative anatomy, developmental biology and evolutionary patterns. Molecular comparison among organisms. Universality of the genetic code, evolutionary changes in proteins and DNA.
• GENERAL BIOLOGY OF VIRUES AND PROKARIOTES. Basic classification of virus, their origin hypothesis. Lytic and lysogenic cycle. Examples of viruses and type of infections; viroids and prions.
Prokaryotes: Archea and Bacteria domains. Binary fission and reproduction of bacteria. Transmission of genetic information. Evolution of bacterial populations, sporulation, biofilm. Metabolism: oxygen and other energy sources. Colonization of extreme environments. Prokaryotes and environment: parasites, saprophytes, symbionts. Examples of diseases and commercial processes.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Teaching methods consist of frontal lessons. In addition to the suggested texts, insights might be offered at the e-learning platform of the teaching webpage.
Students can make an appointment directly with the teacher every time they need it throughout the academic year, by email.
Students are advised to choose a book among those indicated at the University Library System’s Bibliography.
Students unable to attend classes due to COVID positivity, can contact the teacher to define their personalized support methods.

Learning assessment procedures

The exam consists of overcoming a written test (40 multiple-choice questions) that spans the entire program.
The exams are scheduled in 4 sessions, as follows: 2 exams in the Summer Session at the end of the course, 1 exam in the Fall Session and 1 exam in the Extraordinary Session.

Evaluation criteria

To pass the test, students shall demonstrate to possess the comprehension and the knowledge of teaching topics, skills of reasoning and personal re-elaboration of notions. The ability to present their arguments accurately and synthetically, using the adequate scientific language will also be assessed.
The Biology test is considered passed if the evaluation is at least 18/30.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

Single test examination

Exam language

ITALIANO