Molecular Genetics and Bio-Engineering
Full course description
In a number of cases the desired biobased building blocks and/or biobased materials can be directly isolated from plants and microbes or be obtained by chemical modification of such building blocks or materials. However, an alternative is to genetically modify plants or microbes in such a way that they produce a novel molecule that can be used for
synthesis of biobased materials with different properties. This elective course aims at providing a deeper understanding of the genetic elements and cellular factors that play a
role when designing a strategy to engineer a plant or microbe. The criteria to select a host and the techniques available for creating genetically modified organisms (GMOs) with
changed properties and enzymatic activities will be studied. Furthermore, the use of fermenters to achieve large-scale production of specific plant- or microbe-derived compounds will be highlighted in the course.
Course objectives
This course covers the most advanced principles, methods and techniques available to generate genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It aims at providing students with the ability to design a strategy to address an issue related to biobased materials via a biotechnology approach. At the end of the course students can:
- Explain the different characteristics of organisms commonly used for bioengineering
- Describe the molecular biology and genetic techniques used to genetically modify plants and bacteria
- Compare different production hosts and expression technologies for the optimal production of a recombinant protein in terms of quality and quantity
- Give examples of alternative methods to isolate a recombinant protein
- Analyze the production process of a biobased material, devise a strategy to optimize it using a biotechnology approach and present it to peers
- Discuss the legal and societal implications that a specific biotechnology process might have
- Perform a genetic engineering experiment, understand the principles behind it and propose adaptations of the experimental procedures in case of unexpected results.
Recommended reading
Several textbooks could be useful for this course. However, these books are often very specific and detailed, and do not cover all the topics of the course and/or contain a large
amount of information we will not be able to cover in this course. Additionally, in this course we will make use of review and research articles.
The lectures and your notes are the most valuable resources for information. Finally, searching for academic publications (e.g. via Pubmed at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) will be required to obtain all the necessary information for the tutorial tasks.
Suggested literature:
- Molecular biology of the cell. Bruce Alberts and Alexander D. Johnson. ISBN-13:978-0815344322
- Specific literature for specific assignments will be provided by the coordinator during the course.