OVERVIEW

The course deals with leading edge molecular biology principles and techniques and their application in biomedical research. In particular the course will extensively review the genetic and epigenetic control of gene expression and will show how the transcriptomics and genomics data changed our understaning of these key aspects. The course focus as well on the experimental methods that the biotechnological and biomedical research are currently developing to address these topics.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The objective of the course is to deepen the molecular biology basic knowledge tackling in detail the functional mechanisms of nuclear biomolecular processes. Furthermore, students will develop methodological instruments to be able to face molecular biology challenges in applied research.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The objective of the course is to teach the students the bases of epigenetics tackling in detail the functional mechanisms of nuclear biomolecular processes in the cell nucleus and the role of RNAs, both in the nucleus and outside of it, in the regulation of gene expression. Furthermore, the course aims to teach cutting-edge techniques in the field of molecular biology as up to date molecular cloning methods and the next generation sequencing technology.

In the practical part, students will be able to use the modern biomolecular instruments and experimental techniques generating library for next generation sequencing and will learn how to handle the data obtaining from NGS.

TEACHING METHODS

There will be frontal lessons for the theoretical part of the course and experimental laboratories for the practical part. Students will be involved in discussions throughout the course to evaluate their level of knowledge and understanding of the topics treated during the lessons, and they will be required to prepare and discuss a presentation in english on a particular topic of interest that will be decided during the course.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The topics of the frontal lessons will be the following:

The structure and significance of gene regulatory elements

Structural and functional organization of chromatin in the cell nucleus

Chromatin modification and remodeling processes

Epigenetic control of gene expression by DNA methylation and acetylation, methylation, ADP-rybosilation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination/sumoylation of histones

Classification, roles and significance of non coding RNAs (long non coding and micro)

The induced pluripotent stem cells as a paradigm of catastrophic epigenetic reprogramming of the somatic cell

History and modern development of genome editing tools: meganucleases, zinc finger nucleases, TALE nucleases, CRISPR/CAS nucleases

At the end of the first part of the course (12 lessons) students will be divided in groups and requested to prepare a presentation for each group deepening a particular topic of interest discussed during the lessons.

Molecular cloning methods: Gibson Assembly; Golden Gate/MoClo; BioBrick Assembly

Next generation sequencing: Sequencing-by-synthesis; Sequencing by ligation (SOLiD sequencing); Nanopore Sequencing;

NGS Library preparation: Exome sequencing; targeted genome sequencing; RNAseq

Single cell sequencing (10X genomics)

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

IRENE APPOLLONI (President)

SONIA SCARFI' (President)

PAOLO MALATESTA

LESSONS

LESSONS START

first week of october 2018

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will be an oral discussion on the themes treated during the lessons and in the experimental laboratories. Part of the final mark will derive from an oral (english) presentation students will be required to produce developing a particular topic discussed during the frontal lessons.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The preparation of the students and the skills developed during the course will be assessed by the teachers by answering to specific questions posed dealing with both practical and theoretical problems/topics. Their level of knowledge and understanding will also be tested by an oral presentation for each student developing a particular theme of interest picked among the topics treated during the theoretical lessons.

Exam schedule