Biologia Molecular A

The main objective of the course of Molecular Biology A is to present the macromolecules that are essential to life processes with focus on the processes of replication, transcription and translation.

Students will be exposed to a generalist introduction of the different macromolecules that ensure viability of a cell (bacterium or eukaryotic cell) with a special attention to the molecular processes that allow the transmission and interpretation of hereditary information. The different processes will be detailed so that students are able to identify several components that perform different functions in each molecular process.

After attending this course students should be able to:

1. Identify the different components that are found in different cell types.
2. Describe how the DNA molecule was identified as a determinant for hereditary information.
3. Identify the chemical composition of the DNA molecule, its structure and its organization within a cell.
4. Describe the DNA replication process, the mechanisms that ensure the reliability of this process and how the different elements can be used in the laboratory.
5. Describe the process by which the information encoded in the DNA molecule is converted into mRNA (transcription) and protein (translation).
6. Identify mechanisms that ensure the regulation of gene expression.