CELLULAR, MOLECULAR AND THERAPEUTIC TECHNOLOGIES - BIOLOGY, GENOMICS, HUMAN AND MEDICAL GENETICSModule TECNOLOGIE CELLULARI, MOLECOLARI - BIOLOGIA E GENOMICA
Academic Year 2022/2023 - Teacher: DAVIDE BARBAGALLOExpected Learning Outcomes
1) Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course, the student will have to demonstrate knowledge of the theoretical and experimental bases of the main cellular and molecular technologies.
The student will have to demonstrate to know in general terms the main technologies for the study of genomics and epigenomics and to apply the latter for the integrated study of the cell and living organisms purposes of translability.
2) Practical application of acquired knowledge
At the end of the course, the student must be able to identify the essential elements of a biological experiment and hypothesize the best technologies for carrying it out.
Course Structure
The course is organized in 35 hours of frontal teaching through lessons with the help of slides and videos and 12 hours of laboratory exercise.
Theoretical-practical activities and exercises organized with the support of tutors
If the teaching is given in mixed mode or at a distance, the necessary variations may be introduced with respect to what was previously declared, in order to comply with the program provided and reported in the syllabus.The course is organized in 35 hours of frontal teaching through lessons with the help of slides and videos and 12 hours of laboratory exercise.
Theoretical-practical activities and exercises organized with the support of tutors
If the teaching is given in mixed mode or at a distance, the necessary variations may be introduced with respect to what was previously declared, in order to comply with the program provided and reported in the syllabus.
Required Prerequisites
Knowledge of the structure and function of cells, genome and cellular epigenome
Attendance of Lessons
Mandatory attendance
Detailed Course Content
· CELL BIOLOGY TECHNIQUES:
- setting up and life of a cell culture
- cultures of primary and immortalized cell lines
- techniques of transfection of mammalian cells by physical and chemical methods
- general principles of microscopy
· MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES:
· NUCLEIC ACID ANALYSIS AND SEPARATION TECHNIQUES
Extraction and purification of nucleic acids from cell lines, biological fluids and biopsies
Spectrophotometric techniques for DNA and RNA analysis
· CLONING VECTORS
- definition and role of the main components of prokaryotic plasmids and
eukaryotics.
· QUANTIFICATION OF GENE EXPRESSION BY PCR AND REAL-TIME PCR
Low- and high-throughput methods and data analysis
· QUANTIFICATION OF GENE EXPRESSION BY ddPCR
· METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF DNA METHYLATION
Non-specific methods
Specific methods
DNA modifications with bisulfite
Pyrosequencing
· METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF HISTONE MODIFICATIONS
Chip
Sites hypersensitive to nucleases
· TECHNIQUES FOR THE STUDY OF NON-CODING RNAs
microRNAs, circRNAs and lncRNAs
Identification of ncRNA through in vitro and in silico methods
NcRNA extraction and analysis
· INTERACTIONS BETWEEN BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
RNA binding proteins
Interactions between RBPs and ncRNAs
Physical and functional interactions between ncRNAs
· BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS FOR THE STUDY OF GENOMES AND TRANSCRIPTOMES
· MOLECULAR EVOLUTION OF GENES AND GENOMES
· LABORATORY EXERCISES
Textbook Information
1. Francesco Amaldi, Piero Benedetti, Graziano Pesole, Paolo Plevani. Techniques and methods for molecular biology. Zanichelli (Italy)
2. Massimo Romani. Epigenetics. Zanichelli (Italy)
NOTE: It is necessary to use the most recent edition of the reference texts.
Author | Title | Publisher | Year | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
Francesco Amaldi, Piero Benedetti, Graziano Pesole, Paolo Plevani. | Tecniche e metodi per la biologia molecolare | Zanichelli | 2021 | |
Massimo Romani. | Epigenetica | Zanichelli | 2022 |
Course Planning
Subjects | Text References | |
---|---|---|
1 | CELL BIOLOGY TECHNIQUES | Material provided by the teacher |
2 | NUCLEIC ACID ANALYSIS AND SEPARATION TECHNIQUES | Amaldi et al. |
3 | CLONING VECTORS | Amaldi et al. |
4 | QUANTIFICATION OF GENE EXPRESSION BY PCR AND REAL-TIME PCR | Amaldi et al. |
5 | METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF DNA METHYLATION | Romani |
6 | METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF HISTONE MODIFICATIONS | Romani |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
Oral exam
The test consists of an interview in which 3 questions will be asked that focus on at least 3 different topics of the program. The test allows to verify: i) the level of knowledge of the integrated study of the cell and living organisms, as well as of advanced biomolecular technologies, including recombinant technologies and the use of transgenic animals, and of classical and molecular genetics; ii) the ability to apply this knowledge for the resolution of specific problems inherent in the study of Biology and Genomics (problem solving and autonomy of judgment); (iii) clarity of presentation; iv) the property of scientific language.
For the assignment of the final grade, the following parameters will be taken into account:
Grade 29-30 laude: the student has an in-depth knowledge of Biology and Genomics, can promptly and correctly integrate and critically analyze the situations presented, independently solving problems even of high complexity; has excellent communication skills and masters scientific language.
Grade 26-28: the student has a good knowledge of Biology and Genomics, manages to integrate and analyze in a critical and linear way the situations presented, manages to solve complex problems quite autonomously and exposes the topics clearly using an appropriate scientific language;
Grade 22-25: the student has a good knowledge of Biology and Genomics, although limited to the main topics; manages to integrate and analyze in a critical but not always linear way the situations presented and exposes the arguments in a fairly clear way with a discrete language property;
Grade 18-21: the student has the minimum knowledge of Biology and Genomics, has a modest ability to integrate and critically analyze the situations presented and exposes the topics in a sufficiently clear way although the property of language is poorly developed;
Exam not passed: the student does not have the minimum required knowledge of the main contents of the course. The ability to use the specific language is very little or nothing and is not able to independently apply the acquired knowledge.
The assessment of learning can also be carried out electronically, if the conditions require it.
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
Describe the main nucleic acid purification techniques
Describe the main cell culture techniques
What is the transfection technique and how it can be used to deduce the function of a gene
Main techniques used for the study of epigenetics
Bioinformatics applications for the study of the evolution of a genome