Molecular Microbiology
Code: 100874 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2500252 Biochemistry | OT | 4 |
Contact
- Name:
- Susana Campoy Sanchez
- Email:
- susana.campoy@uab.cat
Teachers
- Jordi Barbé García
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
- Students are advised to review the scientific-technical content on which this subject is based
- It is advisable to take this course once all the subjects programmed in the first and second years of the Degree of Microbiology have been studied, especially the subjects of Microbiology, Genetics, Molecular Biology of Eukaryotes and Virology, since it is essential to have reached the competences of all of them to reach those associated to the subject of Prokaryotic Molecular Biology.
Objectives and Contextualisation
It is a compulsory subject of the Microbiology Bachelor Degree, which introduces students to the knowledge of Molecular Biology of Prokaryotes. This subject is fundamental in the formation of the student since it enables him to understand the functioning of prokaryotes at the molecular level, allowing an understanding of the potential of microorganisms in the productive sector as well as their possible applications.
The specific objectives to be achieved in this subject are the following:
- Know how to identify at the molecular level the mechanisms and microbiological processes
- Know how to identify the structure of the prokaryotic genetic material, know its mechanisms of replication and repair as well as the organizational variability they present and the relationship between these mechanisms and the cell cycle.
- Recognize the factors that control gene expression in prokaryotes and relate them to existing environmental conditions.
- To know the molecular mechanisms existing in prokaryotic organisms to control the entry of exogenous genetic material.
- Know the different genetic elements existing in prokaryotes, their distribution capacity, and control systems for the expression of the genes they include.
- Recognize the molecular basis of antibiotic resistance, its origins, transmission mechanisms, and the impact they have on infectious processes.
Competences
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Describe the structural, physiological and biochemical characteristics of the different types of cells and explain how their properties fit in with their biological function.
- Integrate knowledge of biochemistry and molecular biology with that of microbiology and biochemical engineering, especially in their application to biotechnological processes.
- Integrate scientific and technological knowledge.
- Interpret experimental results and identify consistent and inconsistent elements.
- Introduce changes in the methods and processes of the field of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and demands of society.
- Manage bibliographies and interpret the information in the main biological databases, and also know how to use basic ICT tools.
- Manage information and the organisation and planning of work.
- Read specialised texts both in English and one's own language.
- Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Understand the language and proposals of other specialists.
Learning Outcomes
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Describe the molecular, cellular and physiological bases of the organisation, functioning and integration of microorganisms.
- Describe the principal techniques for using microorganisms and their structures and molecules in biotechnological processes.
- Identify the genetic, physiological and metabolic properties of microorganisms that can potentially be used in biotechnological processes.
- Identify the physiological and metabolic characteristics of microorganisms.
- Interpret experimental results and identify consistent and inconsistent elements.
- Introduce changes in the methods and processes of the field of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and demands of society.
- Manage information and the organisation and planning of work.
- Master the nomenclature of microorganisms.
- Read specialised texts both in English and one's own language.
- Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Understand the language and proposals of other specialists.
Content
The subject will be organized into two different parts:
- Participatory theoretical classes
- Resolution of practical cases, in which theoretical concepts are applied to solve problems and real cases associated with the subject matter.
The content of the subject consists of the following lessons:
Lesson 1. The bacterial chromosome. Structure of the bacterial chromosome. Start replication. Replication, termination, and segregation of the bacterial chromosome. Cellular division. The bacterial cell cycle.
Lesson 2. Gene Expression in Prokaryotes I. Structure of bacterial promoters. Monocistronic and polycistronic RNAs. Start and elongation of the bacterial transcript. Bacterial transcription terminators. Degradation of the mRNA. Transcription in archaea. Transcriptional attenuation and regulation of transcription.
Lesson 3. Gene expression in prokaryotes II. Global modulators of gene expression. Multigenic networks. Stressful response. Repression by catabolite. Positive and negative transcriptional regulation. Transcriptional regulators. Bacterial operons. Posttranscriptional regulations. Regulones. Regulatory RNAs.
Lesson 4. Mutagenesis and DNA repair systems in bacteria. Conditional lethal mutations. Suppressor muttations. Mismatch repair. Photoreactivation. Reparation by excision. Adaptive response to alkylating agents. Emergency repair response or SOS system.
Lesson 5. Bacterial Restriction. DNA restriction and modification systems. Types of restriction enzymes. In vivo regulation of restriction-modification. Mcr / Mrr System. CRISPRs and other immunity systems of bacteria.
Lesson 6. The bacterial-bacteriophage cell system. Attenuated and lytic bacteriophages. Lambda and P22 bacteriophages as attenuated bacteriophage models. Transduction. Phage conversion.
Lesson 7. Mobile genetic elements in bacteria. Insertion sequences. Transposons. Transposition mechanisms and their regulation. Mutagenesis with transposons. Mobile pathogenicity islands. Integrons. Other Mobile genètic elements.
Lesson 8. Plasmids and conjugation. Molecular structure and property of plasmids. Mechanisms of maintenance. Aggregation and cointegration of plasmids. Replication. Incompatibility groups. Plasmid conjugation in Gram-negative and Gram-positive cells. Mobilization of the bacterial chromosome. Other conjugative elements (ICEs). Importance of the conjugative elements in the evolution of the microbial world.
Lesson 9. Mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance. Plasmid resistance. Chromosomal resistance. Mechanisms of antimicrobial inactivation. Synthesis of alternative enzymes. Resistances by alternative metabolic pathways. Modifications of cellular structures by plasmid enzymes. Mechanisms of distribution of plasmid resistances.
Lesson 10. Molecular biology of bacterial infection. Molecular aspects of the host-pathogen interaction. Concept and types of bacterial virulence factors. Regulation of virulence gene expression. Methods of study of virulence genes.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Participatory master classes | 30 | 1.2 | 2, 3, 9, 13, 5, 4 |
| Practical cases resolution | 15 | 0.6 | 2, 3, 9, 13, 5, 4, 6 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Individual tutorials | 1 | 0.04 | 2, 3, 9, 13, 5, 4 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Autonomous practical cases resolution | 30 | 1.2 | 2, 3, 9, 13, 8, 4, 6 |
| Reading recommended texts | 8 | 0.32 | 10 |
| Study | 60 | 2.4 | 9, 13, 5, 4, 6, 10 |
The subject of Molecular Biology of Prokaryotes consists of two modules face-to-face of activities:
Theoretical module: composed of participatory master classes.
Case resolution module: consisting of sessions in which practical cases and problems will be solved.
These classes are sessions with a reduced number of students with the dual mission of:
a) To facilitate the understanding of the knowledge exposed in the theoretical classes. The resolution of practical cases should enable the student to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical aspects.
b) To train the student to design basic experiments associated with the subject of the subject and to know how to interpret the obtained data.
At the beginning of the course the student will receive a dossier with a proposal of problems that must be developed during the course. The sessions of this module deal with methodological aspects and solve some of the problems of the dossier.
With the aim that the concepts to be used in the sessions of resolution of practical cases are always coordinated with the contents already developed in the theory classes, in certain moments of the course reordering and / or exchanges between the classes of theory and problems.
The autonomous activities of this subject are: study, reading of texts and resolution of problems. Finally, the student also has individual tutorials, which will be held in office C3-421 or C3-323 during hours previously agreed with the teaching team.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two in-person written evaluation tests and the delivery of the resolution of a case | The value of each evaluation test will be 45% of the final grade and the delivery of the case solved correctly will be 10% | 6 | 0.24 | 1, 12, 11, 2, 3, 9, 13, 8, 5, 4, 6, 7, 10 |
The evaluation of the course, which will be individual and continuous, consists of three activities of two different types without any of these activities exceeding 50% of the final grade:
i) Two written tests in which the student must demonstrate the degree of achievement of theoretical concepts through the resolution of problems;
ii) The delivery of the resolution of a concrete practical case for which it will have to apply in a global way the knowledge developed in the different subjects of the course interconnected among them.
If any student is 30 minutes late from the start of any of the written tests, he/she will have a non-evaluable mark for the corresponding test.
The final score will be the average of the marks obtained in the two partial tests (90% of the final grade) to which the qualification of the practical case will be added (10% of the final grade) that must be delivered, a maximum of one week. before the exam of recovery from the course. To approve the assignment, it will be necessary to obtain, at least, a final score of 5.
The first test will take place in the middle of the semester and will include all the concepts worked on so far in the theoretical sessions and in the resolution of practical cases. The second will be carried out at the end of the semester and will include all the concepts addressed in the theory and problem-solving classes that have not been subject to evaluation in the first test. In order to be able to perform the average of the grades obtained in both partial tests none of them may be less than 4.
Students who have not passed the value of 4 in any of the partial tests or in any of them, must examine the partial or partial pending on the day of the recovery test. If only the recovery of a written test is made, the grade obtained in it will average(provided it is equal to or greater than 4) that would have been in the test exceeded to which will be added the score obtained in the practical case delivered. If the recovery is made for the two partials, the final grade will be the one obtained in this final exam plus the grade obtained in the practical case delivered.
Students who have passed the two written tests may take a grade improvement test that will take place on the date scheduled for the recovery test. The presentation to the grade improvement test may be for one or for both written tests, and implies the resignation of the qualification previously obtained for the performed grade improvement test/s. If the improvement is for the two written tests, the final grade for the subject will be the one obtained in the former plus the score achieved in the practical case resolution delivered. If the improvement is only for a single written test, then the final grade will be the average of the former (if it is greater or equal than 4) with that obtained in the written test that has not been reassessment plus the qualification in the submitted case.
Students who wish to take the grade improvement test, either for one or both partials, must notify the professor responsible for the subject in writing at least 72 hours before the day scheduled for the recovery evaluation, explicitly indicating the waiver of the grade. obtained in the previous exam for which they want to improve the grade
Due to the existing limitations for the awarding of honor qualifications, specific tests may be scheduled for this purpose.
Students who have not participated in 50% of the evaluation activities will be considered NO RATING ASSESSABLE.
Single evaluation:
The single evaluation consists of a single summary test in which all the contents of the theory program and the ability to solve problems will be assessed. The grade obtained in the test will mean 100% of the final grade of the subject. The test will bescheduled on the same day as the test of the second written test of the continuous assessment. To pass it, the grade must be equal to or greater than 5. Otherwise, it will be necessary to take the recovery evaluation, which will be as the former, and in which the student must obtain a grade equal to or greater than 5 to be able to pass the subject.
Bibliography
Larry Snyder and Wendy Champness. Molecular Genetics of Bacteria (5th Edition). ASM press (ISBN: 978-1555819750)
Larry Snyder and Wendy Champness. Molecular Genetics of Bacteria (4th Edition). ASM press (ISBN:978-1555816278)
Availaible on line (https://bibcercador.uab.cat/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/1eqfv2p/alma991010432874206709)
Jeremy W. Dale and Simon F. Park. Molecular Genetics of Bacteria (5th Edition). Wiley- Blackwell (ISBN: 978-0-470-74184-9)
Software
Not done
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 731 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 732 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 73 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |