Università Roma Tre

Lessons
• Generalities about microbial metabolism and physiology
• Industrial and traditional fermentations, starter coltures;
• Conservation and safety of fermented foods;
• Microbial technologies for drugs development and production (antibiotics);
• Microbial technologies for food industry (fermented dairy products and alcoholic beverages; vinegar);
• Microbial production of enzymes and recombinant proteins for drug and food industry (caomparative examples);
• Genetic improvement of industrial microrganism.

Laboratory practices and other activities
-cloning, overexpression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli;
-development and microbiological analysis of sourdough;
-guided tours to a beer farm

Specific learning material will be provided by the teacher (lectures slides, scientific articles). Below some suggested books.

The laboratory practices (1 CFU) that I will supervise will aim at providing to the student:
- theoretical knowledge on basic methodologies for the selection and identification of microorganisms of relevance in the agrifood sector;
- applied knowledge for drafting and executing experimental protocols.
This part of the course will be focused on the following issues:
- preparation and sterilisation of selective growth media;
- isolation and CFU count of microorganisms in sourdough;
- microscopy-based identification of yeasts and bacteria.

Selected topics will be available on suggested Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology books, as indicated in the following reference list.
Innovative teaching will be promoted by cloud-sharing of experimental protocols concerning the laboratory practices. Moreover, students will be encouraged to make use of web-based resources and databases to autonomously increase their knowledge on the topics of the laboratory practices.
Students will be received at the best of their convenience if an appointment has been fixed at the end of the lessons or by email.