BEC 525

Molecular Biology for Biomanufacturing

Section: 001

Course Description

This course is an introduction to fundamental molecular biology techniques, applied to generate bacterial cell lines for the production of recombinant proteins. Course material provides a comprehensive description of an expression system, with emphasis on the central dogma of molecular biology, detailed gene structure, vector components and bacterial host cell characteristics. Different genetic, physiologic and growth condition aspects are included to ensure the overproduction of a functional protein of interest. This comprises different molecular approaches for gene cloning, bacterial selection/screening and regulation of genetic expression. The course provides hands-on experience during laboratory sessions, where students isolate a gene of interest, clone the gene into an expression vector, transform bacteria, select for positive clones, grow recombinant cells, and induce the production of the protein of interest. Techniques such as SDS-PAGE, Western blot, and ELISA are used for the detection and quantification of the active recombinant protein.