Molecular Biology and Physiology of Plants and Microbes

Volledige vakbeschrijving

This mandatory course aims to introduce students with limited biological background into the biology of plants and microbes. A deepened understanding of the molecular mechanisms and metabolic routes in plants and microbes is the main aim of this course. Most biobased materials are of plant origin, and therefore students should expand their knowledge of plants, plant products and how these products are produced. In addition to study of natural plant materials and how the metabolic routes work, the possibility of genetically modified organisms in biobased materials or building block production will be studied. The molecular biology of microbes will in part concentrate on the isolation of building blocks from these organisms. Another focus will be the microbial enzymes that can be used to synthesize interesting building blocks. These enzymes can be used in vitro to produce novel biobased building blocks and/or materials. Description of skills training during the course: The course will be divided up into weekly topics which are introduced in the lecture and further analysed in the tutorial sessions using PBL and RBL. The laboratory sessions will be used to make the students familiar with plant and microbial biology techniques. Isolation, purification, enzyme characterization will be included in the practical sessions.