CELLULAR, MOLECULAR AND THERAPEUTIC TECHNOLOGIES - BIOLOGY, GENOMICS, HUMAN AND MEDICAL GENETICSModule TECNOLOGIE CELLULARI, MOLECOLARI - BIOLOGIA E GENOMICA
Academic Year 2026/2027 - Teacher: DAVIDE BARBAGALLOExpected Learning Outcomes
Course Structure
Required Prerequisites
Attendance of Lessons
Detailed Course Content
- Preparation and life of a cell culture
- cultures of primary and immortalized cell lines
- 2D and 3D cell cultures
- iPSCs technology
- techniques for the 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
eukaryotes
· TECNICHE DI EDITING GENOMICO
- Zinc‐finger nucleases (ZFNs) (1° generation)
- Transcription activator‐like effector nucleases (TALENs) (2° generation)
- RNA‐guided nucleases that use the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) and a conserved CRISPR‐associated protein (Cas) (3° generation)
· 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
· METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF HISTONE CHANGES
·
- Chip
· TECHNIQUES FOR THE STUDY OF NON-CODING RNAs
- microRNAs, circRNAs and lncRNAs
- Identification of ncRNAs through in vitro and in silico methods
- ncRNA extraction and analysis
· INTERACTIONS BETWEEN BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
- Physical and functional interactions between ncRNAs
- RNA-Protein and protein-protein Interactions
BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS FOR THE STUDY OF GENOMES AND TRANSCRIPTOMES
LABORATORY EXERCISES
Contribution of teaching to the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Goal No. 3: Health and well-being
Target 3.d: Strengthen the capacity of all countries, especially developing countries, to prevent, reduce and manage national and global health risks
Textbook Information
3. Teaching materials provided by the instructor
| 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 | GENOMIC EDITING | Material provided by the teacher |
| 5 | QUANTIFICATION OF GENE EXPRESSION BY PCR AND REAL-TIME PCR | Amaldi et al.; Material provided by the teacher |
| 6 | METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF DNA METHYLATION | Romani; Material provided by the teacher |
| 7 | METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF HISTONE MODIFICATIONS | Romani; Material provided by the teacher |
| 8 | METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF RNA-RNA INTERACTIONS | Material provided by the teacher |
| 9 | METHODS FOR THE STUDY OF RNA-PROTEIN AND PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERACTIONS | Material provided by the teacher |
| 10 | IN SILICO ANALYSIS OF GENOMES AND TRASCRIPTOMES | Classroom demonstration |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
Learning assessments may also be conducted online, if circumstances require.
To ensure equal opportunities and in compliance with applicable laws, interested students may request a personal interview to plan any compensatory and/or extenuating measures, based on their learning objectives and specific needs. Students may also contact the CInAP (Center for Active and Participatory Integration — Services for Disabilities and/or DSA) contact teacher in their Department (https://www.cinap.unict.it/content/referenti).