BIOL64351
Advanced Biotechnology II: Synthetic Biology
15
Semester 1
Postgraduate Taught
Level 7
Eriko Takano
Unit coordinator
1
FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 '
European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 7.5
<p>Central dogma of molecular biology</p><p>Concepts of SynBio and DBTL cycle</p><p>Key methods of industrial biotechnology (e.g., microbial molecular biology; DNA synthesis methods; State-of-art gene and genome assembly; directed enzyme evolution; modern DNA sequencing methods; metabolomics and transcriptome profiling; metabolic modelling; chassis engineering; and/ or molecular profile analysis)</p><p>Modern applications of SynBio (e.g., biofuels, high-value chemicals, materials; iGEM and Biobricks – the cutting-edge of SynBio)</p><p>Social responsibility and ethical considerations for emerging technologies, sustainability, business prospects and considerations.</p>
<p>Central dogma of molecular biology</p><p>Concepts of SynBio and DBTL cycle</p><p>Key methods of industrial biotechnology (e.g., microbial molecular biology; DNA synthesis methods; State-of-art gene and genome assembly; directed enzyme evolution; modern DNA sequencing methods; metabolomics and transcriptome profiling; metabolic modelling; chassis engineering; and/ or molecular profile analysis)</p><p>Modern applications of SynBio (e.g., biofuels, high-value chemicals, materials; iGEM and Biobricks – the cutting-edge of SynBio)</p><p>Social responsibility and ethical considerations for emerging technologies, sustainability, business prospects and considerations.</p>
<p>This unit aims for students understand the basics of synthetic biology/engineering biology for biotechnology and its real-world applications and societal context driving the bioeconomy of the future.</p>
<p><strong>Knowledge and understanding</strong></p><p>Describe – the DBTL cycle of synthetic biology and its social and economic context</p><p>Explain – the methods and concepts relevant at each step of the DBTL cycle</p><p>Apply – the DBTL concepts to new and existing applications and problem cases</p><p><strong>Intellectual skills</strong></p><p>Critical thinking</p><p>Evaluation of primary scientific literature in Synthetic biology/Engineering biology</p><p>Consideration of the wider societal implications of research in emerging technologies </p><p><strong>Practical skills</strong></p><p>Find, evaluate, synthesise and use information from a variety of sources.</p><p>Express ideas effectively and communicate information appropriately and accurately in writing.</p>
Oral communication
Communicate complex information effectively and concisely using the appropriate
Problem solving
Apply the knowledge gained to design synthetic biology projects for new applications and systems.
<p>Attendance at the lectures, private study including critical analysis of the scientific<br />literature to address the problem question in the field of synthetic biology/engineering biology. </p><p>Students will be introduced to the primary scientific literature and guided through the key steps required to understand and interpret the information</p><p>Facilitated learning (lectures and workshops): 14 hours<br />Independent study: 138 hours (directed reading, research:E-learning, question and answer sessions)</p>
1
Written exam
100%
<p>Formative feedback will be provided on written answer to a problem question.</p>
MSc Biotechnology Enterprise
MSc Biotechnology Enterprise
PGDT Taught Component
Mandatory
N
<p>Kwok R. Five hard truths for synthetic biology. Nature (2010) 463: 288–290 </p><p>Cravens, A., Payne, J. & Smolke, C.D. Synthetic biology strategies for microbial biosynthesis of plant natural products. Nat Commun 10, 2142 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09848-w</p><p>Medema MH, Breitling R, Bovenberg RAL, and Takano E. Exploiting Plug-and-Play Synthetic Biology for Drug Discovery and Production in Microbes. Nature Rev Microbiol (2011) 9:131–137.</p><p>Voigt CA. Synthetic biology 2020-2030: six commercially-available products that are changing our world.<br />Nat Commun. 2020 11:6379. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-20122-2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20122-2</p><p>Medema MH, van Raaphorst R, Takano E, Breitling R. Computational tools for the synthetic design of biochemical pathways. Nature Rev. Microbiol. (2012) 10:191-202</p><p>Hollywood KA, Schmidt K, Takano E, Breitling R, Metabolomics tools for the synthetic biology of natural products, Current Opinion in Biotechnology, (2018) 54:114-120, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2018.02.015.</p><p>Kemp L, et al. Bioengineering Horizon Scan. eLife (2020) 29;9:e54489. doi: 10.7554/eLife.54489.</p>
Lectures
14
0
136