General characteristics of the living organisms.Inorganic and organic constituents of the living organisms.Structure,classification and reproduction of viruses.Structure and function of the biological membranes.DNA:structure and duplication.Transcription, translation and control of the gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.Eukaryotic genome.Processes of cell division.The reproduction in the living organisms and the transmission of the hereditary characters.
Solomon, Berg, Martin Fondamenti di Biologia, EdiSES ed.
De Leo, Fasano,Ginelli Biologia a Genetica EdiSES ed
Campell et al. Biologia e Genetica, Pearson ed.
N.A. Campbell , J.B.Reece “ Principi di Biologia” Ed. Pearson
Bonaldo, Duga, Pierantoni, Riva, Romanelli Biologia e Genetica, EdiSES ed.
Jeff Hardin, Gregory Paul Bertoni, Lewis J. Kleinsmith, Bercker “il mondo della cellula” edizione Pearson
Gerard Karp “Biologia Cellulare e Molecolare”EdiSES edizione
Learning Objectives - Part A
Objects of the course are to give basic information on the fundamental characteristics of the living organisms, and, in particular, on their principal inorganic and organic constituents. Moreover, notions must be acquired on the structure of virus, and of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, on the structure and functions of the biological membranes, particularly as regards trans-membrane transport systems, on the mechanisms of transcription, translation and control of genic expression in prokaryotic and eukaryotic, on cellular division, on reproductive phenomena in prokaryotic and eukaryotic and on basis of genetic.
Prerequisites - Part A
Propedeuticity approved by degree course
Teaching Methods - Part A
Frontal lessons
Type of Assessment - Part A
Oral test
Course program - Part A
The concept of life and of living beings. The characteristics of living organisms. The cellular theory. The evolution. The levels of organization in the living world. Principles of classification of the living organisms. The prokaryote cell: structure and features. The bacterial wall. The energy sources of prokaryotes.
The extremophiles: some examples. Eukaryotes. Comparison between the prokaryotic cell and the eukaryotic cell. Metabolism and the energy bases of the vital phenomena. The functions performed by ATP.
Autotrophism an eterotrophism. Aerobic and anaerobic organisms. The cycles of the matter in the biosphere. Cycle of carbon. Cycle of nitrogen.
Viruses: structure and classification based on the geometry of capsid, on the type of nucleic acid, on the type of infected cell. Mode of infection in a prokaryotic cell and in a eukaryotic cell. Viruses containing RNA. The replication of viruses containing RNA. Retroviruses and the cellular transformation. Bacteriophages: lytic cycle and lysogenic cycle.
Chemical composition of the being organisms. Main chemical constituents of protoplasm. The oligoelements: their biological importance. Chemical properties of the water: the consequences of the hydrogen bond. Biological functions of the water and its content in the living organisms. The biological molecules fundamental constituents of the living organisms. Glucides: monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Lipids: fatty acids, triglycerides, phospholipids and their biological meaning. Proteins: structure, biological role and significant examples (insulin, myoglobin and hemoglobin, collagen, etc.).
Mosaic fluid model of the cellular membrane constituted by lipids and proteins. The transport through the membrane: the simple diffusion and the mediated transport. Passive transport and active transport.
Exocytosis and endocytosis. Receptor-mediated endocytosis.
Nucleic acids: their localization in the cell. DNA: molecular architecture (the double helix of Watson and Crick), physical-chemical properties and function. Gene value of the nucleic acids and its experimental demonstration. The DNA semi-conservative replication (the experiment of Meselson and Stahl, description of the replication process, referring in particular to the action of DNA polymerase).
RNA: structure. The different types of RNA (messenger RNA, ribosomial RNA, transfer RNA). Formulation of the concept of messenger RNA. The transcription process and RNA polymerase. The promoter sites. Initiation, elongation and termination of the RNA chain.
RNA processing. The transformation processes of the primary transcripts of rRNA, tRNA and mRNA. The splicing mechanism.
Characteristics of the genetic code and its decryption.
Structure of tRNA and function of aminoacyl-tRNA syntethase. Ribosomes of prokaryotes and of eukariotes: structure and functions.
The translation process: the mechanism of the protein synthesis. Initiation, elongation and termination of the polypeptide chain. Post-translational modifications of the proteins. Inhibitors of the macromolecular biosynthesis: examples.
The organization of the eukaryotic genome. State of condensation of chromatin and gene activity: euchromatin and eterochromatin. Fibrillar nature of chromatin. The nucleo-histonic fibril.
Cellular cycle: description of the phases of the cycle. Cellular cycle regulation. The cellular division in eukaryotes: mitosis. Chromosomes: morphology and number.
Techniques of study and counting of chromosomes. The human karyotype, normal and pathological (the most common chromosomal aberrations and aneuploidies). The giant chromosomes: politenic chromosomes and lampbrush chromosomes.
Mutations: classification. Spontaneous and induced mutations. Gene, chromosomal and genomic mutations. Sickle cell anemia.
Reproduction in prokaryotes. The recombination in bacteria: transformation, conjugation and transduction.
Meiosis: phases and biological significance of meiosis.
Gametogenesis (spermatogenesis and ovogenesis).
The fertilization: biological and chemical events.
Genetic: genes and characters. Hereditary and acquired characters.
Phenotype and genotype.
The methods of the genetic research. Mendel’s laws.
Associated characters. Construction of genetic maps. Human chromosome mapping.
Multifactorial heredity.
Sex chromosomes and transmission of the genes associated to them: heredity depending on the sex (diaginic heredity and holoandric heredity). Congenital errors of metabolism.
Blood groups: AB0 system and Rh system.
Regulation of the gene expression.
Prokaryotes: operon system, lac-operon, arabinose regulation, tryptophan operon.
Eukaryotes: transcriptional control. Regulatory proteins, structural models of such proteins and interaction with DNA.
Nucleosomes as regulators of the gene expression.
Post-transcriptional, translational and post-translational regulation.