ANIMAL ORGANISMS OF BIOTECHNOLOGICAL INTEREST
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2020/2021
- Teacher
- MILVIA CHICCA
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/13
Training objectives
- The course “Animal Models in Biotechnology” provides general information about model organisms and in detail about model organisms belonging to the Kingdom Animalia, currently used in research fields related to Environmental and Health Biotechnology. The course also provides information about emerging model organisms and their applications in advanced studies of Biotechnology and Biomedicine.
The main educational purposes of the course are the following:
- general information about model organisms
- knowledge about the most relevant model organisms belonging to the Kingdom Animalia and their applications in research fields related to Environmental and Health Biotechnology
- knowledge about emerging model organisms and other advanced fields related to Biotechnology and Biomedicine
The main abilities the students should develop are the following:
- understanding and learning the general characteristics of model organisms
- understanding and learning the biology, physiology and genomics of the most relevant model organisms belonging to the Kingdom Animalia and their applications to studies related to Environmental and Health Biotechnology
- knowledge about emerging model organisms and other advanced fields in biotechnology and biomedicine
- ability to retrieve information about model organisms in databases and/or web sites
- ability to communicate the acquired information in a clear and synthetic way, using a correct terminology
- critical reading of articles about model organisms and their applications in biotechnology and biomedicine
- ability to communicate data about model organisms and other advanced research fields through poster or oral presentations Prerequisites
- No formal preparatory courses are required, but the student must have acquired the basic knowledge provided in university courses dealing with General Biology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Genetics and Microbiology.
Course programme
- The course (University Credits 5+1, 52 hours) includes 40 hours of lectures and 12 hours of laboratory exercises.
The lectures (University Credits 5, 40 hours) will deal with the following topics:
Introduction to model organisms and their general applications. Relevant model organisms belonging to the Kingdom Eubacteria, Archea, Protista, Fungi and Plantae. Introduction to Kingdom Animalia (Metazoa). Biological bases of the extreme animal diversity. Classification of Metazoa. Protostomia and Deuterostomia. General biology, physiology and genomics of model organisms belonging to the main animal phyla: Porifera, Ctenophora, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Mollusca, Annelida, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, Chordata. Model organisms among Tetrapoda: Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves, Mammalia.
Animal models in biotechnology and biomedicine. Emerging model organisms. Evo-Devo. Life in extreme environments and quasi-living structures. Applications of model organisms to advanced research fields and to studies on emerging diseases. Relevant databanks concerning model organisms and their use.
Laboratory reports. Presentation of data to meetings: posters and oral communications. Writing for science. Reference styles, international journals and databases related to model organisms. How to publish: journal choice, impact factor, journal ranking, DOI, ISBN, ISSN, ORCID.
According to current state and regional laws concerning the SARS-CoV-2 pandemics, the laboratory exercises will be held in presence of the students but, if not possible, they will be held through online meetings on GoogleMeet dealing with practical aspects of the program topics, supported by discussions on experimental details of recent studies.
The laboratory exercises (University Credit 1, 12 hours) will deal with the following topics:
Basic model organisms among Eubacteria, Archea, Protista, Fungi and Plantae.
Model organisms of the Kingdom Animalia: Protostomia.
Model organisms of the Kingdom Animalia: Deuterostomia.
Databanks related to model organisms and scientific writing (posters, oral communications, publications, reference styles, journals and reviews). Didactic methods
- The course (5 + 1 CFU) is organized in 40 hours of frontal teaching through videotaped lessons with the aid of animations, documents and publications, and in 12 hours of laboratory exercises.
According to current state and regional laws concerning the SARS-CoV-2 pandemics, the laboratory exercises will be held in presence of the students but, if not possible, they will be held through online meetings on GoogleMeet dealing with practical aspects of the program topics, supported by discussions on experimental details of recent studies. Learning assessment procedures
- The exam at the end of the course has the purpose to verify the level of acquisition of the educational aims. The exam will be oral and composed of a Power Point presentation, followed by six oral questions. The Power Point presentation (either in Italian or in English) will deal with the content of an article, published in English and related to the course content, chosen by the student among those proposed by the teacher during the course. A maximum of 4 points will be assigned to the Power Point presentation. Afterwards, six oral questions on the course program will be presented to the student and a maximum of 4.5 points will be assigned to each answer. The total points that could be assigned will be at the maximum 31, corresponding to 30/30 magna cum laude. To pass the exam the student must obtain a minimum score of 18 points. If the final score is less than 18 points, the student must repeat the exam.
Overall, the exam will evaluate:
- the degree of general knowledge about model organisms and in detail the knowledge about the most relevant model organisms belonging to the Kingdom Animalia
- the degree of knowledge of the most relevant applications of model organisms to research fields related to Environmental and Health Biotechnology structures and functions of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
- the knowledge about emerging model organisms and advanced research fields in biotechnology and biomedicine
- the ability to communicate the acquired information using a correct terminology and presenting it in a synthetic, logic and critical way
- the knowledge about basic techniques for publishing results through poster, oral communications and papers on international journals Reference texts
- There are no suggestions concerning specific textbooks. The lectures and the laboratory handouts will be made available to the students according to the scheduled dates. Other public domain handouts in Italian and English will be provided for the students, including references to published papers and/or reviews, websites and “open access” publications related to the lecture topics.
Warning: No handouts and/or course notes sold at any copy shop have been authorized or verified by the teacher. Students are cautioned against wasting money to purchase unauthorized materials that are liable to copyright infringement.
