Thesis Internships for Bachelor and Master Degree students in Genomics, Biotechnology and Biology are available in the MEM-Lab.
Contact us for further information!
By the end of the module the student has knowledge of the main approaches for genomic data analysis and annotation in prokaryotes, with an emphasis on the use of next generation sequencing for the functional and structural analysis of genomes. In particular the student is able to: understand the structure of genetic variability and its phenotypic effects, browse prokaryotic genomes, apply methods for genomic data analysis, and correctly interpret and plan genomic studies in bacteria.
The Prokaryotic Genomes course (Module1+Module2) will focus on the following topics:
By the end of the course, the student has knowledge on the integrative approaches and strategies to study a microorganism as a complex system and to discover and model its properties in the context of synthetic biology, gene regulation, and microbial genome engineering across multiple scales. In particular, the course provides the student with systems and synthetic biology understanding of microorganisms and microbial ecosystems with industrial and environmental interest for biotechnological applications.
Introduction to the basic concepts in the field of systems and synthetic microbiology; genome-wide engineering approaches and targeted genome editing methods for synthetic microbiology purposes; the idea of networks and their representation as graphs; the structure, dynamics, and evolution of metabolic networks; the building of biological parts and their function on the microbial systems level; the synthetic biology as a tool to build biological systems; synthetic biology tools for microbial genetic and metabolic engineering (e.g. BioBrick, pSEVA); genetic and metabolic circuits in microbial systems; design, construction and expression of synthetic pathways in microorganisms; synthetic and minimal genomes; systemic disciplines applied to microbial biotechnology (several case studies will be the subject of students analysis)
At the end of the course the student will have the basic knowledge on a few topics of industrial and environmental biotechnologies. In particular the student will know the molecular and metabolic features of those microorganisms used for i) biodegradtion of contaminants, ii) production of alternative energy sources as biogas, iii) enzyme production, and iv) development of commercial products with a high social impact.
Laboratory
The student will acquire:
1) basic methods for the isolation and characterization of environmental samples with specific physiological features.
2) a few molecular methods to characterize complex microbial communities aiming to search for specific functional genes involved in biotech applications