C7 – Biomolecular structure and function
Key information
Next planned course: Fall 2024
Registration deadline: TBD
Location: UiO
Course responsible: Prof. Ute Krengel
Grading: Oral exam (pass/fail)
Credits: 10 ECTS
UiO course code: KJM-9310
Registration
Students should apply to BioCat, as well as:
- UiO students: Register through the UiO registration system. Internal students should apply by September 1st.
- Non-UiO students: Use this form to apply for guest status at UiO. Guests should apply by August 1st.
Content
Introduction into experimental methods for structure determination and structural chemistry principles. 3D structures of proteins, polysaccharides and DNA/RNA. Structure/function relationships. Examples of important biomolecules, introduced with original scientific articles. Protein folding and structure prediction.
Teaching
The course shall be given in a 3-week period in the fall, followed by an oral exam* several weeks later (*in case, the student number is very high, we may decide to change to a written exam).
It is planned that in general 2 double lectures are given on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (total: 28 lecture hours) and 4 hr-exercises are given on Tuesdays and Thursdays (total: 16 exercise hours). It is aimed to include invited lecturers in the course in the form of a half-day minisymposium. The exercises will include model building with a model building kit (4 hrs), an introduction to molecular graphics/exploration of example structures (4 hrs), a homology modeling exercise (4 hrs) and a session “How to make nice pictures and movies” (4 hrs).
At the end of the course, all students shall give a 15-20 min. literature presentation, which is relevant for the exam. Finally, there will be an exam preparation and an evaluation session, followed a couple of weeks later by the actual exam (passed/failed).
After the course, a 1-day modeling workshop may be offered on demand.
Exam and evaluation
Oral exam (pass/fail)
Learning outcome
After completing the course, you shall have the following competence:
- Know the structures of the most important types of biomolecules and their architectural principles
- Fundamental understanding of the relation between structure and function
- Learn the different protein classification systems and obtain more detailed knowledge of enzymes, motor proteins, viral proteins, immunoproteins, amyloids and prions, membrane proteins, and large biomolecular complexes such as fatty acid synthase and the ribosome
- Get an introduction to experimental methods for 3D structure determination, protein folding and structure prediction
- Learn how to make professional pictures of biomolecules
- Undertake a thorough literature search, read original scientific articles and present them orally in English for your fellow students.
