Unit BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
- Course
- Veterinary medicine
- Study-unit Code
- GP005362
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Elisabetta Chiaradia
- CFU
- 5
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2022
- Offered
- 2022/23
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa integrata
SYSTEMATIC AND COMPARATIVE VETERINARY BIOCHIMISTRY
| Code | GP005392 |
|---|---|
| CFU | 2 |
| Teacher | Luca Avellini |
| Teachers |
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| Hours |
|
| Learning activities | Base |
| Area | Discipline della struttura, funzione e metabolismo delle molecole di interesse biologico |
| Academic discipline | BIO/10 |
| Type of study-unit | Obbligatorio (Required) |
| Language of instruction | Italian |
| Contents | Understand how metabolic pathways are linked and regulated by signal transduction. Biochemical specialization of tissues; in particular: breast, liver and rumen. Biochemistry of the digestive processes in mono- and poly-gastric species. |
| Reference texts | Nelson DL, Cox MM - Principi di Biochimica. Zanichelli, Bologna. |
| Educational objectives | KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING The student must have knowledge of: - biochemical specialization of tissues; in particular: breast, liver and rumen; - the main metabolic differences among different animal species, in particular between mono- and poly-gastric species. APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING At the end of the course the student must have developed the following skills: - understand the basis of a specie-specific nutrition; - understand the specie-specific management of diseased animals. AUTONOMY OF JUDGMENT The student must be able to: - argue critically and independently the expected homeostatic adaptations following changes, both normal and pathological, on metabolism or diet; - understand how homeostasis is linked to and regulated by signal transduction COMMUNICATION SKILLS At the end of the course, the student must be able to organize and expose the acquired knowledge supporting them with argumentative rigor, completeness, language properties and connection skills into other contexts both in written and oral form. LIFELONG LEARNING SKILLS At the end of the course the student will be able to: - integrate autonomously the acquired knowledge by consulting and understanding scientific texts, bibliographic updates, so as to employ them in different contexts, including research; - use the acquired know-how to understand the contents of the subsequent teachings such as systematic and comparative biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, general pathology, nutrition as well as pharmaco-toxicology. |
| Prerequisites | |
| Teaching methods | The course is organized as follow: - Lectures (17 hours) on all subjects of the course - n° 2 practical lesson (overall 3 hours/student) will be done as cooperative learning. Students will be divided into 4 groups (maximum 20 students per group). |
| Learning verification modality | |
| Extended program | Introduction: overview of the topics of General Biochemistry. Metabolic similarities and differences among different tissues. (1.5 hrs). Digestion, absorption and transport of carbohydrates and lipids in monogastric species. Lipoproteins: biosynthesis and role; cholesterol biosynthesis. (2.5 hrs). Digestion, absorption of protein and overview on metabolic fate of aminoacids. Biogenic amines. (2 hrs) Introduction to Rumen metabolism. Structure and function of plant carbohydrate; cellulose, hemicellulose, pectins. Hydrolitic step. Oxidative step of ruminant carbohydrate digestion carbohydrates: anaerobic glycolysis, the pentose phosphate phosphoketolase and Entner Doudoroff pathways. Reductive step of ruminant carbohydrate digestion carbohydrates: propionate. butyrate and acetate Conversion of pyruvate to lactate, formic acid, H2, Methanogenesis. (6 hrs). Rumen biohydrogenation (1 hrs) -The isomers of conjugated of Linoleic acid (CLA). (1 hr) Rumen metabolism of proteic and non-protein nitrogen- Nitrogen excretion, uric acid synthesis (2 hrs) Mammary Gland: Biosynthesis of lactose and the role of alpha-lactoalbumin (1 hr). Liver detoxification and oxidative stress. (1 hr). |
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
| Code | GP005393 |
|---|---|
| CFU | 3 |
| Teacher | Elisabetta Chiaradia |
| Teachers |
|
| Hours |
|
| Learning activities | Base |
| Area | Discipline della struttura, funzione e metabolismo delle molecole di interesse biologico |
| Academic discipline | BIO/11 |
| Type of study-unit | Obbligatorio (Required) |
| Language of instruction | Italian |
| Contents | Introduction, Nucleic Acid Structure, Replication of DNA, DNA repair systems, Transcription, Protein Synthesis, Regulation of gene expression, Nucleic acid extraction, DNA, Recombinant DNA, PCR, Fingerprinting, Microarrays Outline of proteomic methodologies |
| Reference texts | Dai geni ai genomi. Dale - von Schantz. EdiSES Edizioni Scientifiche ed Universitarie Edizione: II / 2008 or: David L Nelson, Michael M Cox I principi di biochimica di Lehninger Quinta edizione-2010 ZANICHELLI James D Watson, Tania A Baker, Stephen P Bell, Alexander Gann, Michael Levine, Richard Losick Biologia molecolare del gene Sesta edizione- 2009 Zanichelli. Elisabeth Allison Fondamenti di Biologia Molecolare Zanichelli |
| Educational objectives | The main aim of this teaching is to provide students knowledge on function and chemical -physical properties of nucleic acid, details of DNA replication, transcription, translation, DNA repair systems and gene expression regulation as well as knowledge of some methods and basic experimental techniques for necleic acids and protein analysis. D1 - KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING The aim of the course is to provide the knowledge of the structural aspects of nucleic acids and the molecular mechanisms underlying the processes of replication, repair, transcription, regulation of gene expression and translation of DNA. This knowledge will form the bases for course of following years the for which Molecular Biology is required. The student will also acquire knowledge on the basic methodologies applied to study protein. DNA and RNA. D2 - APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING To provide basic skills related to understand of molecular aspects of life and to evaluate of molecular concerns. During the practical lessons the student have to demonstrate to have acquired an adequate theoretical and practical background and the necessary manual skills (ability / know-how) to analyse biological samples as well as nucleic acids, and proteins D3 - MAKING JUDGMENT: To stimulate students to performed critical and speculative evaluation of the topics of course. To stimulate critical evaluation of data from scientific literature and laboratory experience. D4- Communication The student must acquire the ability to clearly present the topics using an appropriate scientific terminology (also in biochemical terms). D5 - LIFELONG LEARNING SKILLS The student must acquire the ability to deepen and integrate the topics using alternative teaching tools and scientific literature. To provide tools to learn and deepen molecular biology topics constantly updated |
| Teaching methods | The course is organized as follows: -Lecture on all subjects of the course; -Laboratory experiences - Students will be divided into four groups (maximum 20 students) |
| Extended program | Introduction - DNA discovery, Genomics, Transcriptomics and Proteomics. (1 hrs) Structure of Nucleic Acids- Structure of nucleotides, common and less common bases, tautomeric forms, non-enzymatic modification of nucleotides. Structure of DNA. Supercoiling of DNA, nucleosome, the role of histones, heterochromatin and euchromatin. Denaturation and renaturation of the DNA, hyperchromic effect, Tm. Structures and roles of RNA: mRNA, tRNA, rRNA miRNA, siRNA. The genome and the non-coding sequences. (2 hrs) Replication of DNA: the chemical synthesis of DNA, proteins involved in the initiation phase and progression of duplication. DNA polymerases. DNA ligase. The reverse transcriptase. DNA repair systems. (2 hrs) Transcription:. RNA polymerase of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Starting elongation, and termination of transcription. (2 hrs) The post-transcriptional RNA modification: capping, poly adenilation . Splicing: the chemistry of splicing, snRPN, splicesoma. Alternative splicing. Editing. Maturation of tRNA. (2 ore) The Ribo-enzyme Protein Synthesis - The genetic code: tRNA: three-dimensional structure. Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase and activation of amino acids, codon-anticodon interactions. Ribosomes: composition, structure. Translation. Post-translational modifications.( 2 hrs) gene expression regulation (2 hrs) Nucleic acid extraction - choice of protocol, main components of extraction buffer for RNA and DNA. extraction of genomic DNA, plasmid DNA and mRMA. Using the kit. (2 hrs) Electrophoresys and nucleic acid analysis, quantitative spectrophotometric measurement (1 ora). PCR: principles and methodology- thermostable DNA polymerase and primers. Primer design . RT-PCR one-and two-step, quantitative PCR: use of fluorescent probes, examples of possible applications in veterinary medicine. (2 hrs) DNA sequencing - the theoretical principles of Sanger sequencing, NGS and nanopore. Description of the methodology. Automatization. Fingerprinting - principles, description of methodology, use of probes. (2 hrs) Microarrays: principles, description of methodology, examples ( 30 mins). Cloning: a brief outline (1 hrs) Outline of proteomic methodologies - two-dimensional electrophoresis (2.5 hrs) Practical training - DNA extraction from lymphocytes, electrophoresis and quantitative evaluation of the extract. Design of a primer and use databases ( 4 ore) |