Chemistry and the omic sciences

Anna Maria Gori

6 ECTS: 32 hours of lectures and 24 hours of laboratory practice

Aims:

Aim of the course is to train students on advanced chemical and biochemical methods in 'omic' sciences. In this course, in fact, students will learn the basic principles of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics technologies. Statistical methods for data analysis and integration will also be part of the course, to help in the interpretation of the produced –omics data. The course will illustrate how these 'omic' data can be applied and adapted to answer major questions in biomedicine and in other fields of research.

Lectures:

Introduction to Omic sciences.  Principles and applications of the following technologies:  Genomics Technologies- high-throughput sequencing technologies; Transcriptomics technologies - Affymetrix Technology, Illumina Technology; Proteomics Technologies - solid and liquid microarray technologies, mass spectrometry technologies; Metabolomics Technologies - mass spectrometry technologies and magnetic nuclear resonance technologies. Basic principles of the common analytical tools. Applications of Omic sciences to biotechnology, health and pharmaceuticals, nutritional sciences.

Laboratory practice:

For genomics and transcriptomics technologies: preparation of nucleic acids for experiments; major phases of omics protocols; platforms used.  Example of software and bioinformatics tools for the analysis and interpretation of genomics and transcriptomics data. Sample preparation, acquisition of the data using a 600 MHz NMR instrument, processing of the spectra using Amix and Topspin software, data analysis using the "R" statistical environment.