Università Roma Tre

The course aims at providing to the student:
- adequate knowledge and understanding on the use of microorganisms and enzymes/molecules of microbial origin for food processing, preservation and control;
- adequate applied knowledge for the selection, identification and exploitation of microorganisms of relevance in the agrifood sector, for drafting and executing experimental protocols, and for retrieving and critically reviewing relevant scientific literature from on-line databases (making judgements).
During the course the following topics will be covered:
• Isolation and characterization of microorganisms of relevance in agrifood.
• Functional characterization of newly isolated microorganisms.
• Metagenomics for the identification of enzymes of relevance in agrifood.
• Biosensors in agrifood: generation and exploitation.
• Standard and advanced methodologies for the enumeration of microorganisms in food matrices.
• Production of recombinant proteins of interest in agrifood.
• Molecular techniques for improving the activity of agrifood enzymes.
• Genetic improvement of microorganisms of relevance in agrifood.
• Identification of antibacterial and anti-biofilm agents.
• Exploitation of natural and engineered plant growth promoting bacteria.
• Natural, non-conventional and engineered yeasts for brewing.
• Natural and engineered probiotics.

Selected topics will be available on suggested Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology books, as indicated in the following reference list. Specific research papers and experimental protocols will be provided during theoretic lessons on advanced research topics and laboratory practices.
Innovative teaching will be promoted by cloud-sharing of power-point presentations illustrating the main topics of the course. Moreover, students will be encouraged to make use of web-based resources and databases to autonomously increase their knowledge on specific advanced topics.
Students will be received every Monday, from 3:00 to 4:00 pm. Students can be received at the best of their convenience if an appointment has been fixed at the end of the lessons or by email.