BIOLOGIA MOLECOLARE E BIOINFORMATICA

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 mainly derived with ex-cathedra lectures that will be available also by remote.

If possible, laboratories will be made avialble too.

Bioinformatics practice and exercise will be performed too.

Nucleic Acid: primary and secondary structure

Genomes: from pro-to eukaryotes; concept of interrupted genes

Transmission of genetic information and RNA classes

Replication. DNApolymerases

Translation or protein synthesis - Ribosomes - inhibitors

The Genetic Code: discovery, variants and utilization

Transcription: mechanisms - machinery of the trascription initiation - Promoters - Mechanism of transcription - transcript classes - termination and terminators - transcription regulation as a regulatory step of expression - operons - RNApolimerases -Transcription factors

RNA processing - splicing, alternative splicing and other

Recombination

DNA repairing

Techniques

Basic manipulation of nucleic acids: electrophoresis, restriction analysis, blotting, sequencing

Vectors: plasmids - clonong principles

PCR – various methods – result analysis

Bioinformatics

Biological Databases: storage and retrieving

Sequences aligning methods

Multialigning

Database mining - BLAST, FASTA

Protein 3 D Structures in Bioinformatics

Zlatanova & van Holde, Biologia Molecolare: Struttura e dinamica dei Genomi e Proteomi, Zanichelli 2018

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

Pascarella Bioinformatica, Zanichelli 2013

The first two books are italian translations of the respective english texts, thus it is possible to utilize the original versions by the intereste reader.