Molecular biology and microbiology

This UE (teaching unit) contains 2 courses (teaching activities or TA)

1 - Medical microbiology : virology and bacteriology

a) Basics of virology

Cellular and molecular basis of the antiviral response and pathogenesis associated with some typical viral infections (Influenza, HIV, Hepatitis C, Ebola, HPV)
Use of molecular (real-time PCR, flow cytometry) and cellular (cell culture of viruses) biology techniques and corresponding machines to answer a practical virology question (practical work)

b) In-depth knowledge of bacteriology (Dr Anne Botteaux)  

• Theory (10h: 5x2h)
  • Basis of molecular biology
    • GENOME
      • DNA Composition - Structure – Properties
        Genome Size – Chromosome number - Number of genes
        The Human Genome - Types of genomic DNAs
      • Chromatin Structure+epigenetics notions
      • DNA Replication
      • DNA Alterations and Mutations
    • TRANSCRIPTOME
      • RNAs sub-types
      • Transcription
      • Regulation of transcription (enhanceur, transcription factors, miRNA,…)
      • mRNA maturation
      • Splicing
    • PROTEOME
      • Translation
      • Export
      • Post-translationnal modification…
    • Applications of molecular biology
      • In vitro (6h)
        • How to modify gene expression in cell?
          Overexpression (cloning, vectors,transient vs stable…)
          Downregulation (siRNA, shRNA, CRISPR)
          Mutation
          Transfection
        • How to evaluate gene expression in cell?
          RT, qPCR classical, in real time
          RNA-seq
          ChiP-seq, etc.
        • How to evaluate protein expression in cell?
          WB
          Proteomics, etc.
      • In vivo (1h)
        • Transgenic Mice KnockOuts
          + group project explanation and distribution
• Applications of molecular biology (Group project) (14h: 7x2h)

After this courses, the students will be able to:

• use notions of virology to understand virological problems

• understand the molecular basis of issues related to nosocomial contaminations, biofilms, sterilization, developement od anti-microbian materials (Dr A. Botteaux)

• interprete results from virologial analysis (qPCR, RTPCR, flow cytometry)

• use notions of nucleic acids biochemisty (molecular biology)

• understanf the tools, techniques and applications of molecular biology

• Medical microbiology : lectures 24h - practical courses 12h

The presence at the practical work is mandatory. The absence at the practical work will prevent the validation of the UE.

• Molecular Biology: lecture (10h) and project-based learning (14h)

Contribution to the teaching profile

This teaching unit (TU) contributes to the following competences:

• Measure physical quantities related to living organisms, both morphological and functional


• Communicate effectively, both in writing and orally, with engineering colleagues, but also with other actors in the biomedical field and integrate into a multidisciplinary team

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

Microbiology medical:

• virology : Fields Virology 6th edition, Editors Knipe & Howley, 2013
• bacteriology : Prescott’s Microbiology 9th édition, Willey, Sherwood and Woolverton, McGraw-Hill International Edition

• Molecular Biology of the Cell 6th Edition
• Molecular Cell Biology 8th Edition

Course notes

• Université virtuelle

Contacts

Anne Op de beeck
Tél.: 02 555 60 81 - e-mail : Anne.op.de.beeck@ulb.be

Campus

Erasme, Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• Oral examination
• Oral presentation
• Group work

Oral examination

Oral presentation

Group work

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

The final grade of the teaching unit is the weighted harmonic average of the final grades obtained for each learning activity (LA). If the first decimal place is equal to or greater than 5, the mark will be rounded up, if the first decimal place is less than 5, the mark will be rounded down.

Molecular biology: 50%.
- Project defence (50%)
- Knowledge evaluation (50%)
Molecular microbiology: 50%.
- The mark for the Molecular Microbiology TU will include 25% Bacteriology and 75% Virology.

Only those learning activities for which the mark is less than 10/20 will be repeated in the second session. The marks for learning activities passed in the first session will be carried over to the second session average.

In the 2nd session, the weighted harmonic average of the final marks obtained for each learning activity (LA) must equal 10/20 or more for validation of the UE

Carry-over of marks from one year to the next:
The grades of the learning activities within a UE can be carried over from one year to the next as long as these grades are 12 or more and the average of the UE was 10. However, this can only be done once.

Language(s) of evaluation

• french
• (if applicable english )