96035 - Signaling and Systems Biology of Microbiomes

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, the student has molecular and "omic" knowledge on the impact of microbial activity and biodiversity on human health, human activities and the environment. In particular, the course provides the student with: - understanding on the mechanisms at the basis of the bacterial cell signaling and the interaction between microorganisms and microorganism/environment; - competence on methods of advanced genetic engineering, functional genomics and synthetic biology to study microorganisms with clinical, environmental and industrial interest.

Course contents

The course covers molecular, cellular and “-omics” aspects of the following topics (considering both theoretical and methodological points of view): 1) Cell-cell communication in bacteria (quorum sensing): basic principles and components of quorum sensing (QS); role of the QS in microbial pathogenicity, genome plasticity (horizontal gene transfer), stress response, and microbial interaction with the host; application of quorum sensing circuits in biotechnology and synthetic biology of single bacteria and microbial communities. 2) Microbial biofilms: distribution and diversity of biofilms; mechanisms of biofilm formation and persistence; microbial metabolism and physiology in biofilm; role of QS in biofilm formation; biofilm resistance and tolerance; in vitro systems to grow and study the microbial biofilm; the role/importance of biofilms in medical and industrial fields. 3) Bacterial second messengers: molecular mechanisms of the nucleotide second messenger (NSM)-based intracellular signalling in bacteria; the different components involved in the NSM-based signalling; essential and emerging roles of NSMs in bacterial sensing and cellular response, biofilm formation, and microbial interactions. 4) Signalling and interactions within microbial communities: “-omics” to study microbial communities and microbial interactions; designing and construction of synthetic microbial communities for the application in medical, industrial, and environmental fields.

Readings/Bibliography

Textbook indications are given during the lectures. Scientific papers and Reviews can be obtained on-line. Alternatively, the material will be given to students as printed papers.

Teaching methods

Lectures, group works, and student presentations

Assessment methods

Final exam comprises of:

- an oral presentation of a project (using power point slides) based on 2-3 research articles regarding a specific topic of the course (20% of the final mark)

- a written exam made of 10 questions requiring open short answers (10-12 lines max) (80% of the final mark)

Teaching tools

Lectures will be given using power-point presentations. Reviews and research publications relevant to the topics of the course will be provided at the end of each lesson along with additional teaching materials. Online open sourced video’s may also be assigned to complement the lectures.

Links to further information

https://site.unibo.it/molecular-environmental-microbiology-lab/it/teaching

Office hours

See the website of Martina Cappelletti