Molecular Biotechnology - BIO00061I
Module summary
The Molecular Biotechnology module will give students the opportunity to learn how microbes, plants and mammalian systems are used for the production of biomolecules and their role in the natural turnover of biomass and soil health. This will cover a broad range of biomolecules being currently made using biological systems from the monosodium glutamate in your Chinese takeway and the Quorn in your burger, to the complex polymers used in cosmetics and antibiotics used in medicine. This also includes in-depth study of how recombinant proteins are made in diverse systems from bacteria, to algae, plants and cultured mammalian cells to make important drugs for human diseases including enzymes and monoclonal antibodies. After considering what biological organisms can make for us, we also then consider their essential roles in the breakdown of materials in the natural environment, which has important uses in biotechnology in bioremediation and the use of complex plant biomass to serve as a food for making many of the products we will have learnt about.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2025-26 |
Module aims
The course aims to provide practical examples of working methods being used in academia and industry for manufacturing products in biotechnology. To enable this students will be introduced progressivly to increasingly complex bioproducts and have some fundamental insight into how cells either naturally produce these or have been genetically engineered to do so. As the complexity increases, students will be able to compare and contrast different solutions and understand the scientific differences between the organisms used. For bioremediation and biomass breakdown, we aim to provide students with a clear overview of the challenges that still remain in deriving value from plant biomass.The module will be taught through face to face lectures, supplemented with additional on-line mini-lectures and formative workshops to reinforce learning.
Module learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
Explain how a range of organic molecules are made in biotechnology
Appreciation of the choices required for producting active recombinant proteins
Describe how complex communties and microbes and plants can remove toxic chemicals in the soil and degrade plant biomass
Compare and contrast the pros and cons of using different organisms to produce different molecules in biotechnology
Design experimental plans to produce recombinant proteins of different complexity
Practical experience in using microbial and plants systems in molecular biotechnology
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Online Exam -less than 24hrs (Centrally scheduled) | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Online Exam -less than 24hrs (Centrally scheduled) | 100 |
Module feedback
Marks for all summative assessments will be made available to you and your supervisor via e:vision. Feedback will be either individual or cohort-level, depending on the assessment format. You should take the opportunity to discuss your marks and feedback with your supervisor.
For exam-style summative assessment, model answers will be provided for all questions along with cohort-level feedback indicating how students answered questions in general. Marks achieved per question will be added to your script.
For coursework assessments (eg. reports or essays) you will receive individual feedback on your work. This will usually be in the form of a feedback sheet that will include suggestions for further improvement.
During the teaching of the module you will receive formative feedback that may be at a whole class or individual level. Such feedback may include: model answers and discussion of workshop questions, summaries of performance in practicals, VLE-based quizzes, individual spoken comments during workshops, individual written comments on formative work.
Indicative reading
These are available through the VLE module site.