MICROBIOLOGY

Teaching is one of the basic training activities of the degree course in Environmental Sciences, and allows the student to acquire the knowledge and understanding of the main concepts of the biology of prokaryotes, which is the fundamental cultural baggage in every discipline in the biological field. Educational objectives of the course are: 1) to develop the ability to understand the basic mechanisms of primordial cell functioning; 2) to encourage and stimulate interest in the evolution of metabolic processes; 3) develop the ability to learn the terminology and function of precursor molecules with biological functions important for life. 4) Understanding the genetic processes of mutations and vertical and horizontal transfer of basic physiological functions between microorganisms to adapt to sudden changes in the environment.

1. Knowledge and understanding
A) To know the main physiological functions and the enormous metabolic variability of prokaryotes.
B) Understanding the correlation between physiological and genetic processes in prokaryotes.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
A) Know how to understand and use the knowledge of microbiological biodiversity to processes and environmental changes
B) To be able to understand how the products of metabolic processes can be useful to modify the environment by triggering the activity of specialized prokaryotes.

3. Ability to judge
A) Know how to evaluate how microbial transformations can influence environmental physico-chemical variables.
B) Knowing how to recognize and distinguish microbiological processes from chemical and physical ones

4. Communication skills
Knowing how to communicate the knowledge learned and the result of their application using appropriate terminology.

5. Learning skills
To be able to study and understand the microbiology handbooks, models, patterns and icons of the molecular, metabolic, physiological and genetic processes of prokaryotes.

A knowledge of organic chemistry is required and possibly (but not necessarily), the student should have passed the examination of this course. The student should have a basic knowledge of organic molecules and their molecular structures which are involved in the main metabolic processes of prokaryotic cells.

Introduction to Microbiology: the beginnings and pioneers of microbiology. The discovery of bacteria and viruses and introduction to various microbiological sciences. Microbial biodiversity: Differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Prokaryotes: archea and bacteria. and phylogenetic trees. Structures and function of prokaryotes. The walls and membranes of prokaryotes, the structures for movement and processes of chemotaxis, phototaxis and magnetotaxis. Cellular protection structures. The various types of nutrient transport. The metabolism of prokaryotes: the bases and functions of metabolism. Catabolism and anabolism Catabolic processes: fermentation and substrate phosphorylation, glycolysis, pentose-phosphate cycle. The respiration and the cycle of tricarboxylic acids, the glyoxylate cycle. The final electron acceptors, the transport of electrons and protons and the proton-driving force. The reverse transport of electrons in chemolitotrophic bacteria. The various bacterial photosynthesis: the anoxygen and the oxygene. Non-chlorophyll photosynthesis of extreme halophile archea. The anabolic processes: the formation of amino acids, purine nitrogenous bases and pyrimidines, fatty acids and lipids, carbohydrates and polysaccharides. Cultivation of prokaryotes: classification of bacteria according to their nutritional requirements. Role of oxygen in the physiological classification of prokaryotes. Cultivation techniques and production of culture media. Importance of the various types of sterilization. The four levels of biological safety. Conservation techniques of microbial strains. The phases of cell fission in bacteria. Various direct and indirect techniques for counting microorganisms. The stages of bacteria growth in "bacth" and in chemostat, The genetics of bacteria: molecular characteristics of nucleic acids :. The phases of DNA duplication in bacteria. Transcription of genes, and RNA polymerase and promoters. The translation of the messenger RNA and the role of the other RNAs in protein synthesis. Importance of codons and the genetic code. Role of ribosomes in protein formation. Allosteric enzymes and enzymes. Structure and function of the operon, the operator, the repressor and the effectors: inductors, co-repressors and co-activators. Description of the lac operon. Negative and positive control of the transcription. Co-activation of weak promoters and cAMP. Gene control with "leader" sequences, post-transcriptional and post-translational control. Viruses: historical information on the discovery of viruses as they are classified: Baltimore's classification according to the genetic replication strategy. Mechanisms of viral infection. The phages and how they multiply: case of the phage T4 and T7. Virus count and growth phases. The lambda tempered phage, lysogeny, infection and phage insertion in host DNA, phage control mechanism. Mutations: origin and function of mutated strains, determination of mutants with "replication plate". The genetic code and "frameshift mutations". Mutants and complementation analysis with mutants. The homologous recombination protein (RecA) and the exchange of DNA strands. Function of the DNA repair system with the "SOS regulon". Role of RecA in genetic lesions, activation of the LexA regulator. Horizontal gene transfer: Genetic transformation in Pneumococcus, and competent cells. Genetic conjugation and plasmids. The plasmid F + is characteristic of the plasmids. The HFR strains and the bacterial chromosome transfer. General and specialized genetic transduction through lytic viruses. Importance of genetic insertions and transposons. Role of integrons in gene transfer.

Madigan M.T., Martinko G.M., Stahl D.A., Clark D.P.
Curatela: Baldi F., Barbieri P., Gribaudo G., Mastromei G.
Titolo: Brock - Biologia dei Microorganismi - Volume 1°, Microbiologia Generale
Edito da: Pearson Italia – Milano

The oral exam consists of a series of questions concerning the parts of the program reported in the "Contents" section: the student must demonstrate both the learning of the topics taught in class and the ability to expose them in a formal manner with particular attention to the terminology that the discipline requires. The oral exam lasts about 30 minutes. In some cases, after warning of the students enrolled in the exam session, the exam could be done in written mode with 12 open questions to be completed in two hours.

Projections of lectures in "power point" mode of the teacher with additional explanatory data and references to the presentations prepared by Pearson Italia publishing house. The purchase of the volume gives electronic access to additional teaching materials. Teaching is organized in lectures and their presentation is on the University's "moodle" platform.

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