BIOLOGIA CELLULARE E MOLECOLARE

The course of Molecular biology aims to provide to the students the basis to understanding the physical, chemical and biological contexts in which molecules, reactions and metabolic pathways play their role. Particular attention will be given to the structure and function relationship of the major classes of macromolecules as also to the metabolic regulation at the molecular and cellular level. In order to stimulate student interest the topics will be explained emphasizing the logical and consequential interconnections emphasizing the clinical aspects and introducing experimental methods. At the end of the present course the student will understand the structure-function relationships of the main biological molecules, essential biochemical mechanisms that underlie a proper metabolic function and the consequences of their alterations.

The course will be delivered as direct lectures ex-cathedra, with the support of ppt slides.

The course content will be the following:

NUCLEIC ACIDS: STRUCTURE

EUKARYOTIC GENOMES AND GENES

GENETIC INFORMATION AND MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF HEREDITY. RNA CLASSES - REPLICATION

PROTEIN SYNTHESIS – Ribosomes - inhibitor of protein synthesis

GENETIC CODE

TRANSCRIPTION – MECHANISM - PROMOTER . RNA POL

TRANSCRIPTION REGULATION IN PROKARYOTES - OPERONS

TRANSCRIPTION REGULATION IN EUKARYOTES : RNA pol - TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS

Splicing AND alternative Splicing

THE MAIN TECHNIQUES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

RESTRICTION ENZYMES, Southern e Northern blot – DNA sequencing

VECTORS - Cloning

PCR

The suggested textbooks are italian translations of english books. The student can refer to the same work in the original language.

Watson, J.D. et al., Biologia Molecolare del gene VII ed., Zanichelli 2015

Zlatanova & van Holde, Biologia molecolare, Zanchelli 2018

In the last chapters of the Biochemistry book here listed, there is a resumè of the course contents.

Nelson & Cox, I principi di Biochimica di Lehninger, Zanichelli 2010