ECTS credits ECTS credits: 6
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Student's work ECTS: 99 Hours of tutorials: 3 Expository Class: 24 Interactive Classroom: 24 Total: 150
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: Microbiology and Parasitology
Areas: Microbiology
Center Faculty of Biology
Call: First Semester
Teaching: Sin docencia (Extinguida)
Enrolment: No Matriculable
To acquire knowledge on the main metabolic activities of microorganisms and their biotechnological applications.
To acquire knowledge on the basic mechanisms involved in generic regulation in prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms.
To acquire knowledge on the mechanisms of evolution and exchange of genetic information in regulation in prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms.
To acquire knowledge of the biotechnological applications of viruses.
To learn how to evaluate and summarise critically scientific publications in the field of microbial biotechnology, applying the acquired theoretical knowledge.
To understand the basic methodologies for the selection of microorganisms and viruses of biotechnological interest.
Theory (27 hours)
Section I. Fundamental aspects of microbial biotechnology (10 hours)
Unit 1. Microbial metabolism and biotechnological applications.
Unit 2. Identification of novel strains and compounds of biotechnological interest.
Section II. Microbial genetics (13 hours)
Unit 3: Fundamentals of bacterial genetics.
Unit 4: Regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes.
Unit 5: Genetics aspects of yeasts of biotechnological relevance.
Unit 6: Microbial expression vectors: Bacteria, viruses, and yeasts.
Section III Biotechnological applications of microorganisms (4 hours)
Unit 8: Introduction to Environmental and Health Microbial Biotechnological applications
SEMINARS (11 hours)
In the first seminar, the Professor will review the concept of the Scientific methods and will explain the structure of scientific publications and scientific presentations.
In seminars 2-11, Scientific publications selected by the Professor will be presented individually by the students. The publications that will be analyzed will be related to some of the theoretical contents (mainly those present in Units 2 and 8) including to some of the following applied aspects: Biotechnological applications of microalgae, Microbial degradation of polymers and plastics, Microbial Biodegradation and corrosion, Microbial biofuels and biorefineries: production of biodiesel, bioethanol, and methane, Bio-batteries, Biopolymers of microbial origin, Probiotics, Bioterrorism, Synthetic biology, vaccines, novel antimicrobials, etc.
LABORATORY PRACTICES (10 h total)
Bacterial conjugation
Functional screening techniques: selection of bacteria with Quorum Quenching activity
Selection and quantification of bacteriophages
TUTORIAL SESSIONS (3 h)
Individual tutorial sessions will be programmed in order to supervise the preparation of the work that will be presented in the seminars.
Basic bibliography
- Madigan, M.T., J.M. Martinko, y col . 2015. Brock Biología de los Microorganismos. 14ª ed. Pearson, Madrid.
- Martín, A., V. Béjar, J.C. Gutiérrez, M. Llagostera y E. Quesada. 2019. Microbiología esencial. Ed. Médica- Panamericana. Madrid.
- Willey, J.M. Sherwood, L.M. & Woolverton, C.J. 2009. Microbiología de Prescott, Harley Y Klein. 7ª ed. McGraw-Hill Interamericana. Madrid.
- Thieman, W.J., & M.A. Palladino. Introducción a la Biotecnología. 2010. 2ª ed. Editorial Pearson. Madrid.
Bibliography for the laboratory practices
- Gamazo, C., Sánchez, S. y Camacho, A.I. eds., 2013. Microbiología Basada en la Experimentación. Barcelona: Elsevier.
- Gamazo, C., Lopez-Goñi, I. y Díaz, R. eds., 2005. Manual práctico de microbiología. 3ª ed. Barcelona: Masson.
Complementary Bibliography
- Atlas, R.M.& R. Bartha. 2001. Ecología Microbiana y microbiología ambiental. 4ª ed. Addison-Wesley. Madrid.
- Tortora, G.J., B.R. Funke, & C.L. Case. Introducción a la Microbiología. 2017. 12ª ed. Editorial Médica-Panamericana. Buenos Aires.
Scientific articles from the following journals will be used:
Trends in Biotechnology
Current Opinion in Biotechnology
Journal of Biotechnology
Nature Biotechnology
The Scientist
Basic and general competencies
CB1- That students demonstrate to have and understand knowledge in a field that, starting from a basic high-school level, achieves a level that requires not only the use of advanced textbooks but also includes knowledge that constitutes the state-of-the-art in the field of study.
CB2-That students are able to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner and have competences that are required to elaborate and defend arguments and solving problems within their field of study
CB3- That students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data, to make judgments that include a reflection on relevant topics of social, scientific, or ethical nature.
CB4- That students can transmit information, ideas, problems, and solutions to a specialized or non-specialized public.
CB5- That the students have developed the necessary learning skills to undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy.
CG1- To know the most important concepts, methods, and results in the different fields of Biotechnology.
CG2- To apply the obtained theoretic and practical knowledge on the definition of problems and the search of solutions in academic and professional contexts.
CG3- To obtain and to understand relevant information and results and to be able to achieve conclusions in different fields of Biotechnology.
CG4- To be able to communicate, written and orally, and to discuss ideas related to Biotechnology, in front of a general or specialized audience.
CG5- To be able to study and learn new knowledge and techniques in Biotechnology in an autonomous way, being able to organize the time and select the sources and to carry out team-work.
General/Transversal competences
CT2- To search, process, analyze, and synthesize information obtained from diverse sources.
CT3- To organize and plan their own work.
CT4- To analyze results and identify consistent and inconsistent elements.
CT5- Team-working.
CT6- Critical reasoning.
CT7- To maintain an ethical commitment.
Specific skills
CE3- To compile the instrumental techniques and protocols to be used in a microbiological laboratory, identifying and applying the norms and techniques related to safety, waste management and quality.
CE9- To identify different types of viruses, microorganisms, and animal and vegetal tissues, to understand their development, organization, and physiology, and to know their applications in Biotechnology.
CE11- To know the molecular basis and gene modification techniques in microorganisms, animals and plants, and to be able to apply adequately those techniques in different biotechnological fields.
Scenario 1.
- Classroom lectures: 27h. The contents of the theory program will be explained as classroom lectures with the use of graphical support. Graphical support will be available in the e-learning platform (Aula Virtual). The attendance to the classroom lectures is not obligatory and will not be evaluated.
- Seminars. 11 seminars of 1 hour. Scientific papers will be presented by the Professor and the students. The papers will be selected and assigned by the Professor and will be related to the subjects of the Theory Program (Mainly Unit 8). Students will prepare the presentations individually. After every seminar session, a questionnaire will be available in the e-learning platform (Aula Virtual) on the contents explained in the seminar. The questionnaires will be answered individually in the nest 48 hours after the seminar. The attendance to the seminars, the preparation of the works, and answering the questionnaires are not obligatory, but it is necessary to achieve the maximal score.
- Tutorial sessions: Group tutorial sessions will be used to supervise the individual work of preparation of the seminars. They will be programmed individually, preferentially in groups of 2 students, since the same research paper will be presented in the seminar by 2 students, each belonging to different seminar groups. These students will be evaluated individually and therefore they are not obligated to work together in the preparation of the seminar. These tutorial sessions will be done in the Professor’s room or though TEAMS or Skype.
- Laboratory practices: 5 laboratory hours, distributed in 5 sessions of 1 hour, that will be organized consecutively in the same week. Additional tasks will be programmed through the e-learning platform (Aula Virtual), including problems and questionnaires, that will be answered individually. These tasks are compulsory and will be evaluated. Attendance to the laboratory practices is compulsory and needed in order to be able to pass the course.
Alternative, voluntary activities related to the contents of the theoretical program or the laboratory exercised could be proposed by the Professor. The scoring and timing of these tasks will be announced by the Professor and the score will be added to the final score.
Scenario 2.
-Classroom lectures: In the case that the presential teaching is not possible due to room restrictions, the lectures will be done through TEAMS.
-Seminars: In the case that the presential teaching is not possible due to room restrictions, the lectures will be done through TEAMS in separate sessions for each seminar group. Questionnaires will be done as in Scenario 1.
-Tutorial sessions: Will be developed as in Scenario 1. They will be programmed individually and will be held through TEAMS or Skype.
-Laboratory practices: will be held as explained in Scenario 1.
Scenario 3.
Classroom lectures will be done through TEAMS
Seminars and Tutorials sessions: will be held as in Scenario 2, through TEAMS or Skype.
Laboratory practices: The number of on-line activities and questionnaires will be increased. These activities will be available in the e-learning platform (Aula Virtual). At least 1 hour of class will be programmed thorough TEAMS for each laboratory group to correct and explain the exercises.
Final exam: It will account for 60% of the final mark. The final exam will include the contents of the theoretical program. IN scenarios 1 and 2, the exam will be done in the classroom. IN Scenario 3 it will be done through the e-learning platform (Aula Virtual0). A minimum score of 4.5 is required in order to add the points of the other activities.
Continuous evaluation: It will account for 40% of the final mark. It will be calculated as:
- Seminar work. 15% of the final mark. The individual work of students for the preparation of the presentations will be evaluated. This work is not compulsory.
- Seminars: Evaluable questionnaires on the content of the seminars will be available in the e-learning platform (Aula Virtua)l after each seminar session. This activity is not compulsory.
- Laboratory practices: 15% of the final mark. In scenario 1 and 2, the attendance to the laboratory practices is compulsory in order to be able to pass the course. The realization of on-line questionnaires is also compulsory within this activity. Students should reach at least a 40% of the total score in these activities in order to pass the course.
The mark of this activity will be maintained for 2 academic courses only in the case of Scenarios 1 and 2. The score obtained in the presentation of the scientific work (seminar) will be maintained for 2 academic courses.
In the second evaluation period, besides the theory exam, the students that did not reach the minimum score in the laboratory practice activities will be allowed to take a dedicated exam.
For the case of fraudulent behaviour in exercises or exams, the terms stated by the “Normativa de evaluación del rendimiento académico de los estudiantes y de revision de calificaciones” will be applied.
The final exam will evaluate the following competencies: CB1, CB5, CE9, CE11.
During the laboratory exercises and seminars, the following competencies will be evaluated: CB2, CB3, CB4, CB5, CT2, CT3, CT4, CT5, CT6, CT7, CE3,
Classroom and laboratory hours: 49
- Classroom lectures: 27 hours
- Seminars: 11 hours
- Laboratory Practices: 5 hours
- Tutorial sessions: 3 hours
- Evaluation: 3 hours
Personal student work: 101 hours
Total number of hours: 150 hours
- For a better assimilation of the contents of the Block I, students are recommended to review, during the first week of the course, the basic concepts on Biochemistry acquired during high-school.
- Attendance to lectures and seminars is highly recommended to facilitate the assimilation of the contents.
- The materials provided by the Professor should be completed with other bibliographic support.
- It is recommended that the contents of the course Genetics I are prepared in parallel in order to facilitate the comprehension of the contents related to Microbial Genetics.
- The use of tutorial sessions for the preparation of the work that will be presented in the seminars is highly recommended.
- The use of individual, non-programmed tutorial sessions is highly recommended.
In Scenarios 1 and 2, those students that did not take the Laboratory practices of the course Microbioloxía I in the academic year 19/20 will have a 2-hours session the week before the week of the laboratory practice of the present course, in order to learn the aseptic technique and the basic cultivation techniques in bacteriology.
All the presentations and materials of the different activities will be available in the online learning platform (Aula Virtual). Non-presential activities will be done preferentially through TEAMS. No doubts will be solved by e-mail.
Contingency plan:
Scenario 2: Classroom lectures, seminars, and tutorial sessions will be done through the TEAMS platform in case that the presential activities are not allowed. The laboratory practices will be done presentially as in Scenario 1.
Scenario 3. Classroom lectures and seminars will be done through TEAMS. All the evaluation activities will be done individually in the e-learning platform (Aula Virtual) in a synchronous way for the final exam and asynchronous for all other activities. Laboratory practices will be substituted by different activities that will be made available through the e-learning platform (Aula Virtual).
Ana Maria Otero Casal
- Department
- Microbiology and Parasitology
- Area
- Microbiology
- Phone
- 881816913
- anamaria.otero [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
| Tuesday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00-20:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Virtual classroom |
| Wednesday | |||
| 17:00-18:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Spanish | Virtual classroom |
| 01.25.2021 10:00-14:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Main Hall Santiago Ramón y Cajal |
| 07.01.2021 10:00-14:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 01. Charles Darwin |