Fundamentals of Molecular Biology

Code:

BIOL4026

Acronym:

BIOL4026

Level:

400

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Biology

Instance: 2024/2025 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Biology
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
E:BBC	0	PE_Bioinformatics and Computational Biology	1	-	6	42	162
M:A_ASTR	0	Study plan since academic year 2024/2025	1	-	6	42	162
			2
M:BBC	2	The study plan since 2018	1	-	6	42	162

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

Students should acquire basic knowledge in the field of Molecular Biology and develop the necessary skills for the execution, analysis and interpretation of results derived from the use of Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics techniques.

Learning outcomes and competences

Fundamentals of Molecular Biology aims to provide students with basic knowledge about the structure, organization and replication of genetic material, the type of information contained in the genome, the mechanisms of transcription and translation, how these processes are regulated, and the structure and function of proteins.

Students should acquire basic knowledge in the field of Molecular Biology and develop the necessary skills for the analysis and interpretation of results derived from the use of Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics techniques.

Prepare students with a core of knowledge, vocabulary, and a conceptual framework that allows them to integrate multidisciplinary teams in areas of interface such as Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Structure, organization and replication of the genetic material, the type of information contained in the genome, the mechanisms of transcription and translation, how these processes are regulated, and the structure and function of proteins.

Structure of nucleotides and nucleic acids. Base pairing and the Chargaff rules. Physicochemical properties of DNA. DNA duplication; duplication mechanisms in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Mechanisms of DNA repair.

The flow of genetic information.

Transcription and translation. Structure of RNA. Processing of messenger RNA. Mechanisms of intron splicing. Regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

Amino acids and proteins. Structural levels of proteins. The principles governing the acquisition of protein conformation and the action of molecular chaperones. Protein synthesis. The universal genetic code. Reading frames. Protein separation and identification techniques.

Evaluation of gene expression by the "microarray" and "deep sequencing" techniques.

Sequencing techniques. Sequencing of genomes and knowledge derived from genome analysis. New generation sequencing (NGS): the management and interpretation of large volumes of data.

Mandatory literature

Alberts Bruce 070; Molecular biology of the cell. ISBN: 0-8153-4106-7

Complementary Bibliography

Watson James D. 1928-; Molecular Biology of the Gene
Mushegian Arcady R.; Foundations of comparative genomics. ISBN: 9780120887941
Watson James D. 1928- 070; Recombinant DNA. ISBN: 9781429203128

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical classes accompanied by the projection of images that illustrate the oral presentation and the presentation of educational films. The follow-up of the subject taught in theoretical classes should be done through a bibliographical reference: carefully selected textbooks, websites, and scientific articles.

 

Solving Molecular Biology problems and analysing scientific articles with special focus on the identification of Molecular Biology issues and the perspective of technical and bioinformatic approaches that fit the issues.

 

Practical assignments: primer design, ORF finder, Expasy Translate, basic searches in databases; basic laboratory techniques of Molecular Biology.

 

"Reading assignments" with oral presentations

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Exame	70,00
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	30,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	25,00
Estudo autónomo	80,00
Frequência das aulas	42,00
Trabalho escrito	15,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Programmed oral presentations are mandatory.

Calculation formula of final grade

Final exam 70%

Oral presentations 30%

Classification improvement

Only the grades of the final exam may be improved by a make up exam.