Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
---|---|---|---|
2500502 Microbiology | OB | 3 | 2 |
It is recommendable to have studied or are studying Microbiology, Genetics, Molecular Biology of Eukaryotes, Virology and Molecular Biology of Prokaryotes.
The main objective of this course is that the student will be able to design procedures for the genetic manipulation of microorganisms.
Therefore, during the development of the subject, the student must reach the following capacities:
• To know how to identify different types of microbial vectors, recognize their applications and design new ones
• To know how to apply methodologies and strategies of cloning
• To recognize the implication of the characteristics of each microorganism (immunity systems, recombination capacity, codon usage, etc.) in the proposed experimental design
• To know how to choose the most appropriate genetic transfer technique in each proposed case
• To be able to design efficient strategies for obtaining, enriching and selecting mutants
• To know how to build gene fusions and recognize their possible applications
• To recognize the main characteristics of potential bacterial targets for drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic reagents development.
The content of the course consists of the following topics*:
Unit 1. Introduction of exogenous DNA in bacteria for transduction and conjugation. Specialized transduction. Generalized transduction. High transduction frequency bacteriophages. Molecular mechanisms associated with conjugation. Mobilizable vectors and conjugative vectors. Conjugation biparental and triparental. Donor strains.
Unit 2. Bacterial transformation. Natural transformation. State of competition. Molecular mechanisms associated with natural transformation. Induced transformation. Electrotransformation.
Unit 3. DNA vectors in bacteria. Requirements of cloning vectors. Vector expression. T-type vectors. Suicide vectors. Shuttle Vectors. Integrational vectors. Molecular bases of vector replication. Genetic characteristics of vector accepting cells.
Unit 4. Bacterial gene fusions. Operon and protein fusions. Fusion constructing methods. Fusion vectors: general characteristics. Use of transposons and bacteriophages. Applications of gene fusions.
Unit 5. Construction of Genomic DNA Libraries. General concept. Representation. Strategies for obtaining genomic DNA libraries. Phage DNA libraries. Cosmid DNA libraries. BACS, PACS and YACS. Systems by the screening of genomic DNA libraries.
Unit 6. Random Mutagenesis for genetic modification of bacteria. Use of chemical or physical methods. Criteria and methods for the selection and enrichment of mutants. Transposons. Minitransposons. Plasposons. Transposomes. Methods for the identification and confirmation of bacterial mutants.
Unit 7. In vitro mutagenesis of cloned genes. Methods of introducing point mutations. Insertional mutagenesis: use of transposons. Non-polar mutagenesis of polycistronic transcriptional units. Systems of mutated genes reintroduction. Synthetic genes.
Unit 8.Gene replacement in bacteria. Molecular mechanisms of homologous recombination. Mutant strains obtaining. Mechanisms of recombination based on bacteriophages. CRISPR Systems. Counter-selection systems, obtaining scarless mutants. Methods for the identification and confirmation of mutants.
Unit 9. Application of omics to genetic engineering of microorganisms. Pyrosequencing. SMRT technology. Transcriptomics. Proteomics. The "metaomics": metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metabolomics.
*Unless the requirements enforced by the health authorities demand a prioritization or reduction of these contents.
Genetic Engineering of Prokaryotes course is organized in two modules:
Seminar module: in which through collaborative learning, students work on different aspects of actual experimental designs present in recent scientific articles. At the beginning of the course, students choose, following the guidelines set by the teaching staff, a scientific article related to the field of genetic engineering of microorganisms from which they make a poster. The schedule of activities as classroom work sessions, exhibition and discussions, as well as the delivery dates of the proposed activities will be defined at the beginning of the course by the teachers.
Theoretical module: where participatory master classes are combined with problem-based learning sessions where theoretical concepts are worked through the resolution of practical cases.
(The proposed teaching methodology may experience some modifications depending on the restrictions to face-to-face activities enforced by health authorities.)
Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|
Type: Directed | |||
Participatory Master Classes | 30 | 1.2 | 15, 17, 16, 14, 12, 11, 6, 4, 5, 8, 7, 10, 9, 2 |
Seminars | 14 | 0.56 | 15, 17, 16, 14, 12, 11, 6, 4, 5, 3, 8, 7, 10, 13, 9, 2, 1, 18 |
Type: Supervised | |||
Tutorship | 1 | 0.04 | 15, 17, 16, 14, 12, 11, 6, 4, 5, 3, 8, 7, 10, 13, 9, 2, 18 |
Type: Autonomous | |||
Preparation of posters and questionnaires | 38 | 1.52 | 15, 17, 16, 14, 12, 11, 6, 4, 5, 3, 8, 7, 10, 13, 9, 2, 18 |
Reading recommended texts | 15 | 0.6 | 15, 17, 16, 14, 12, 11, 6, 4, 5, 8, 7, 10, 13, 9, 2, 18 |
Study | 50 | 2 | 17, 16, 14, 12, 11, 6, 4, 5, 3, 8, 7, 10, 13, 9, 2, 1, 18 |
Seminar module evaluation
The evaluation of the seminars is done through the evaluation of different activities related to a scientific article:
A) Autonomous deliveries that will be delivered through the moodle classroom and deliveries in the classroom work sessions. With a maximum rating of 2 points out of 10.
B) The poster and questionnaire associated with the chosen scientific article. With a maximum rating of 5 points out of 10.
C) The defense of the poster during its classroom exhibition. With a maximum rating of 1 point out of 10.
D) The resolution of the questionnaires related to the presented seminars. With a maximum rating of 1.5 points out of 10.
E) Individual and workgroup self-evaluation. With a maximum rating of 0.5 points out of 10.
To pass this module the student must obtain a grade equal or superior to 5.
Theoretical module evaluation
The evaluation of this activity is done through an individual written exam. The maximum rating of this section is 10 points out of 10.
To pass this module it is necessary to obtain a score equal to or greater than 5 points.
If the grade obtained is less than 5, the student must take the retake examination. This test will have a maximum qualification of 8 points out of 10 and a score equal to or greater than 4 will be necessary to pass the module.
To be eligible for the retake process, the student should have been previously evaluated in a set of activities equaling at least two-thirds of the final score of the course or module.
Students who have passed the module may submit to a grade improvement test waiving the grade obtained previously in the individual written exam. The scheduled date for the second chance test is that of the second chance examination. Students wishing to take the grade improvement test must communicate it by mail to the teacher responsible for the subject at least 72 hours before the day scheduled for the second chance examination.
The final grade of the course will be the average of the grades obtained in both modules, being necessary to have passed separately each of them.
The student will be graded as "Non-Avaluable" if the weighting of all conducted evaluation activities is less than 67% of the final score.
Student’s assessment may experience some modifications depending on the restrictions to face-to-face activities enforced by health authorities.
Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Classroom and virtual classroom submissions | 10% | 0 | 0 | 6, 5, 3, 13, 1, 18 |
Discussion and participation in the classroom | 5% | 0 | 0 | 6, 1 |
Poster | 25% | 0 | 0 | 15, 17, 16, 14, 12, 11, 8, 7, 10, 13, 2, 18 |
Resolution of questionnaires in the classroom | 7.5% | 0 | 0 | 15, 17, 16, 14, 12, 11, 6, 4, 5, 8, 7, 10, 9, 1 |
Written test (resolution of practical cases) | 50% | 2 | 0.08 | 15, 17, 16, 14, 12, 11, 6, 4, 5, 3, 8, 7, 10, 9, 2, 1 |
team-work or individual self-evaluation | 2.5% | 0 | 0 | 15, 17, 16, 14, 12, 11, 6, 4, 5, 3, 8, 7, 10, 13, 9, 2, 1, 18 |
As reference bibliography of basic concepts it is recommended:
Larry Snyder and Wendy Champness. Molecular Genetics of Bacteria (3rd gold 4th Edition). ASM press (ISBN: 978-1-55581-399-4 and ISBN: 978-1-55581-627-8). On line version available at UAB library repository:
http://resolver.ebscohost.com.are.uab.cat/openurl?sid=EBSCO:nlebk&genre=book&issn=&ISBN=9781555816278&volume=&issue=&date=20130101&spage=&pages=&title=Molecular%20Genetics%20of%20Bacteria&atitle=Molecular%20Genetics%20of%20Bacteria&aulast=Snyder,%20Larry&id=DOI:&site=ftf-live&direct=true
Jeremy W. Dale and Simon F. Park. Molecular Genetics of Bacteria, (5th Edition) Wiley-Blackwell (ISBN: 978-0-470-74184-9)
Other recommended texts as well as links of interest will be available to the student in the Moodle classroom of the subject.