ADVANCED BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

This teaching is one of the basic training activities of the master’s degree course in Chemistry and Sustainable Technologies, curriculum Biomolecular Chemistry, providing the students with advanced knowledge of biological chemistry.
Educational objectives of the teaching are: i) to critically comprehend the functioning mode and regulation of the major metabolic pathways; ii) to promote and stimulate the logical connections between different metabolic pathways; iii) to develop the ability to expose scientific concepts in a formal manner and using a proper scientific language.

i) Knowledge and understanding
• Knowledge of the functioning mode of the main metabolic pathways and understand their mechanisms of regulation;
• Being able to make logical connections between different metabolic pathways.

ii) Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
• Being able to use the acquired knowledge to comprehend and logically interpret the functioning mode and mechanisms of regulation of the main metabolic pathways;
• Being able to apply the acquired knowledge to connect different metabolic pathways using a logical and deductive approach.

iii) Ability to judge
• Being able to apply the acquired knowledge to perform a critical analysis of the functioning mode and mechanisms of regulation of the main metabolic pathways;
• Being able to recognize errors through a critical analysis of the applied method and to formulate different hypothesis.

iv) Communication skills
• Being able to convey the acquired knowledge using an appropriate terminology;
• Being able to interact with the teacher and the classmates in a respectful and constructive manner.

v) Learning skills
• Being able to take notes, selecting and collecting information according to their importance;
• Being able to expose scientific concepts in a formal manner and using a proper scientific language.

To have reached the educational objectives of bioorganic chemistry, possibly (but not necessarily) having passed the final exams of these courses.

i) Glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and the pentose phosphate pathway
Glycolysis. Feeder pathways for glycolysis. Fates of pyruvate under anaerobic conditions: fermentation. Gluconeogenesis. Pentose phosphate pathway of glucose oxidation.

ii) Principles of metabolic regulation
Regulation of metabolic pathways. Analysis of metabolic control. Coordinated regulation of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. The metabolism of glycogen in animals. Coordinated regulation of glycogen synthesis and breakdown.

iii) The citric acid cycle
Production of acetyl-CoA. Reactions of the citric acid cycle. Regulation of the citric acid cycle. The glyoxylate cycle.

iv) Fatty acid catabolism
Digestion, mobilization, and transport of fats. Oxidation of fatty acids. Ketone bodies.

v) Amino acid oxidation and the production of urea
Metabolic fates of amino groups. Nitrogen excretion and the urea cycle. Pathways of amino acid degradation.

vi) Oxidative phosphorylation and photophosphorylation
Electron-transfer reactions in mitochondria. ATP synthesis. Regulation of oxidative phosphorylation. Mitochondria in thermogenesis, steroid synthesis and apoptosis. Mitochondrial genes: their origin and the effects of mutations. General features of photophosphorylation. Light absorption. The central photochemical event: Light-driven
electron flow. ATP synthesis by photophosphorylation. The evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis.

vii) Carbohydrate biosynthesis in plants and bacteria
Photosynthetic carbohydrate synthesis. Photorespiration and the C4 and CAM pathways. Biosynthesis of starch and sucrose. Synthesis of cell wall polysaccharides: plant cellulose
and bacterial peptidoglycan. Integration of carbohydrate metabolism in the plant cell.

viii) Lipid biosynthesis
Biosynthesis of fatty acids and eicosanoids. Biosynthesis of triacylglycerols. Biosynthesis of membrane phospholipids. Cholesterol, steroids, and isoprenoids: biosynthesis, regulation, and transport.

ix) Biosynthesis of amino acids, nucleotides, and related molecules
Overview of nitrogen metabolism. Biosynthesis of amino acids. Molecules derived from amino acids. Biosynthesis and degradation of nucleotides.

x) Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology: concepts and applications

As a support to the study, every university textbook containing the basics of biological chemistry is acceptable. However, the following textbooks are highly recommended:
• D.L. Nelson, M.M. Cox: I principi di biochimica di Lehninger, VII ed., Zanichelli.
• A. Hofmann and S. Clokie. Wilson and Walker’s Principles and Techniques of Biochemistry. VIII ed., Cambridge University Press

The verification of learning takes place by means of an oral test. The objective of the exam consists in verifying and evaluating: i) the level of knowledge of the topics dealt with in class, ii) the ability of critical thinking and iii) the ability to make connections between the different contents of the course. The degree of accurateness of the answers and the ownership of the scientific language used will be evaluated. The constant and active participation to the lessons will be taken into account in the final evaluation.
Specifically, the oral test consists of open questions concerning all parts of the program reported in the "Contents" section. Students must thus demonstrate both the learning of the topics taught in class and the ability to expose them in a formal and concise manner using an appropriate scientific language.
During the oral test, the use of notes, textbooks, phones and other electronic apparatus is not allowed, under penalty of exclusion from the final.
The evaluation is expressed in thirtieths. Finals will take place within the dates established by the academic calendar.

Teaching is organized in frontal theoretical lectures in the classroom. PowerPoint slides will be used during the lessons. The teaching material is present and downloadable from the University's Moodle e-learning platform.

English

English

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development