94608 - Agro-Environmental and Food Biotechnology

Learning outcomes

At the end of this Course  the student know the basic principles  useful to investigate the problems of  food and agro-enviromental biotechnology.The Module 1 focuses on the  study  of  food  and agroenvironmental microbiology and its  biotechnological applications. The Module 2 focus on the study of crop diseases and the most  important biotechnological strategies of plant protection.

Course contents

The Module 1  Study  of the main biotechnological  approaches  that can be used to manage the animal and vegetal   food :bacteria and  their roll,probiotic bacteria   .Functional food,novel  food.Food and livelihood   security benefits. The Claims.Degradation of natural and xenobiotic compound.The  mechanisms of environmental adaptation in bacterial cell.Biotechnological strategies :OGM for  agro-environmental  and agro-alimentary microbiology. The Italian  and Europea law and  evaluation of hazard.

The Module 2. Study of the main biotechnological approaches  that can be used to  manage the biotic adversity of plants of agricultural or ornamental and   foodstuffs.Will define the concepts of  disease biotic agents,classification and economic importance of plant diseases,host-pathogen molecular  interactions,diagnosis and  characterization of  phytopathogenic agents and immune response  ( hypersensitivity pathogenesis proteins,gene  silencing ) .Will deal with   the theorical and pratical aspects of the defese of plants by means of RNA interference (RNAi),phage therapy,use of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) The  study of fungi producing myco toxins in cereals,their  pathogenic role as well as their identification and  phylogeny.

Readings/Bibliography

Module 1: Biotecnologie Microbiche S. Donadio-G: Marino  (Casa Editrice Ambrosiana )- Microbiologia dei prodotti Alimentari G: Farris.et,al. (Casa Editrice Ambrosiana) Ultime Edizioni.Protocollo di Nagoya (2020)

 

Module 2: Plantpathology Agrios.2005 (Elsevier Academic Press)Elementi di virologia vegetale Giunchedi L: 2007 (Piccin) Plant virology 5th.Ed.Hull R.2014 (Academic Press)

Teaching methods

Lessons and conferences. At the end of the course will be organized a visit at the  Laboratory of Agro-Environmental Biotecnology  

Assessment methods

Final oral examination carried out  together  with the exam of the two  modules  :3 basic questions one of each thematic area  of the course.The final evaluation is calculated by the average.

Teaching tools

The lessons are held in the rooms equipped with  compiuter.At the end of the  course will be organized a visit to the   Laboratory of  the Agro-Environmental   Biotechnology  

Office hours

See the website of Barbara Sgorbati

See the website of Claudio Ratti