546-0353/01 – Introduction to Biotechnology (UB)
Gurantor department | Department of Environmental Engineering | Credits | 5 |
Subject guarantor | doc. Mgr. Hana Vojtková, Ph.D. | Subject version guarantor | doc. Mgr. Hana Vojtková, Ph.D. |
Study level | undergraduate or graduate | Requirement | Compulsory |
Year | 1 | Semester | winter |
| | Study language | Czech |
Year of introduction | 2006/2007 | Year of cancellation | 2019/2020 |
Intended for the faculties | HGF | Intended for study types | Bachelor |
Subject aims expressed by acquired skills and competences
Target competence on the basis of new knowledge and its application in problem solving, observation, experiments and communication:
- to perceive biotechnology as an open scientific discipline, to learn about the current directions of its development focusing on state-of-the-art industrial biotechnologies; to characterize differences in the structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, to understand the meaning of modern methods based on DNA technologies on the grounds of identifying an organization and evolution history of cell genomes
- to apply the gained knowledge in dealing with practical tasks in seminars, to consider the consequences of a phenomenon from the environmental, health as well as economic points of view and to justify the significance of new biological information for the society
- ability of independent solution of set tasks, to observe and objectively record experiment results, to document observation in the form of diagrams and charts with legends, to adhere to safety regulations when working with biological material and technical instruments
- ability to work with technical texts, to master specialist terminology, to synthetically evaluate data acquired in dealing with tasks in seminars, to defend an opinion of a biological problem solution in a discussion
Teaching methods
Lectures
Experimental work in labs
Summary
The objective of the course is to introduce students to a field dealing with an issue of biotechnology and its applications in modern industrial biotechnologies. The course offers information on the production of biologically active substances which, in particular, assert themselves in the environmental protection in the biotechnological manner.
Students gain information on the basic morphology and physiology of cells; some lectures are dedicated to an explanation of cell’s genome complexity as an introduction to understanding modern biotechnological methods making use of gene manipulation on a cellular level.
Lectures are complemented by seminars in a laboratory which focus on examinations of cell’s morphology and physiology.
Compulsory literature:
Recommended literature:
Dictionary of microbiology and molecular biology [online]. 3rd ed. [cit. 2017-01-30].
Way of continuous check of knowledge in the course of semester
Continuous check of the study is conducted in the form of a discussion on the lectured issue, practical skills are continuously monitored during work at the tutorials; regular tasks from the tutorials extend the theoretical training for experimental work. To obtain the credit, students will be required to submit the reports from the practical tutorials with the elaborated tasks.
Studying the subject is completed by an exam, which can be taken only after obtaining the credit. The exam has a written and oral part.
E-learning
Other requirements
- regular participation in exercise
- elaboration of protocols and homeworks
Prerequisities
Subject has no prerequisities.
Co-requisities
Subject has no co-requisities.
Subject syllabus:
1. Introduction to biotechnology studies
2. General biotechnology, definition and division of biotechnology, historical overview of significant discoveries and technologies, applied biotechnology
3. Introduction to general biology. Characteristics of living organisms, chemical composition of living organisms, importance of organic matter
4. Basics of cytology. General cell structure, overview of basic cell organelles, developmental differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
5. Fundamentals of cell physiology. Cell cycle, ways of dividing cells, cell death
6. Fundamentals of cell physiology. Basic metabolic pathways, intake and dispensing of substances by the cell, proteosynthesis
7. Fundamentals of cell genetics. Characteristics of genome, chromosome, gene, origin and significance of mutations, summary of significant mutagens and carcinogens
8. Basics of genomics. Differences in genome of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, genomes of model organisms, functional genomics and its importance in biotechnology
9. Special biotechnology – cell and microbial biotechnology. Tissue culture, biomass production, fermentation technology, protein and enzyme engineering
10. Special biotechnology – fundamentals of plant biotechnology. Genetic modifications of plants and their practical use
11. Special biotechnology – basics of animal biotechnology. New directions in livestock breeding, transgenic animals, xenografting, animal pharming
12. Special biotechnology – foundations of industrial biotechnologies. Development of bioprocessing techniques, enzyme engineering, methods of microbial biodegradation, bioremediation
13. Biotechnology in modern mining and treatment of minerals and wastes, biodegradation, bioremediation
14. Further trends in modern biotechnology – application of biotechnology in industry, development of new materials, modern biotechnology in environmental protection
Conditions for subject completion
Occurrence in study plans
Occurrence in special blocks
Assessment of instruction