Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Defenses

Code:

B4043

Acronym:

B4043

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Biology

Instance: 2014/2015 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Biology
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Cell and Molecular Biology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
M:BCM	26	Official Study Plan until 2023/2024	1	-	6	42	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

- To enable students to identify the factors affecting the stress response and the production pathways of the reactive oxygen species.
- To describe the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defense systems and explain their physiological function.
- To provide students with knowledge of the physiological and biochemical processes underlying the damage caused by abiotic stresses and the mechanisms of adaptation and acclimation of plants and animals to stressful situations.
- To identify strategies to increase the tolerance of plants and animals to certain types of stress.
-Planning an ecotoxicological test to assess oxidative stress

Learning outcomes and competences

 

Upon conclusion of the course, the student should be able to:

- Identify the reactive oxygen species, cellular sites of production and the situations that contribute to its increased production and accumulation.

- Know the enzymatic antioxidant defense system and non enzymatic.

-Recognize the main changes that arise in plants and animals when exposed to different abiotic stress situations.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Environmental factors as ontogeny and stress factors. Adaptation and phenotypic plasticity. Abiotic environment and its impact on plants.
Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under normal conditions. Types of ROS, cellular sites of production and metabolic pathways involved.
Increased production of ROS and oxidative stress. Symptoms of oxidative damage.
ROS as signal molecules in the induction of stress tolerance.
Antioxidant defense system: enzymatic and non enzymatic. Antioxidant network. Differences and similarities between plants and animals.  Common aspects of the response of animals and plants to specific situations of stress.
Physiological plant responses and adaptations to abiotic stresses. Xenobiotics such as oxidative stress inducers: planning, execution and evaluation of the effects of acute exposure of rainbow trout to paracetamol. Quantification of GSTs, catalase activity and protein content in the gills of rainbow trout.

Mandatory literature

000077652. ISBN: 0-19-854137-6
000103971. ISBN: 978-0-87893-866-7

Teaching methods and learning activities

- Lectures and laboratory classes.
- Lectures are presented in slideshow using the software like "PowerPoint".
- Laboratory classes enable the acquisition of specific skills, including those arising from the implementation of practical experiments.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Exame	75,00
Participação presencial	25,00
Total:	100,00

Eligibility for exams

Laboratory classes are mandatory.

Calculation formula of final grade

Final exam covering theory and practical subjects graded to 15 points (FE)

Oral presentation of a program subject graded to 5 points (OP)

Final grade -  FE + OP

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Working-students may be subjected to an additional complementary evaluation of practical nature.