Syllabus
1. Structure of ribosome, initiation and elongation factors, translation initiation mechanism
2. Translation elongation and termination phases, eukaryotic versus prokaryotic translation, translation in plants
3. Overview of initiation site selection mechanisms, cap-dependent translation, IRES elements, re-initiation, ribosome shunting and hoping, programmed translational frameshifting, control of translation by upstream short ORF, termination codon read-through
4. Signaling to translation initiation and elongation, mTOR, TOP mRNAs, regulation of translation by amino acids, GCN4 paradigm, eIF2 kinases
5. Translational control during stress, heat shock response, interface of mRNA turnover and translation, RNA degradation, NMD, P-bodies, influence of polyadenylation on translation, translation through mRNA localization
6. Viral Translational Strategies and host defense mechanisms, Pikornaviruses, Reoviruses, Adenoviruses, influenza and Poxviruses
7. Translational control of developmental decisions, translation and miRNA, translation regulation in neurons, learning and memory, translational control in cancer development and during apoptosis, translational control in metabolic diseases, therapeutic opportunities in translation
8. Sequencing projects, comparative genomics and its applicability in current biology
9. SELEX and broad application of aptamers
10. 4E- family of initiation factors and control of gene expression
11. Cap structures and synthesis, capping enzymes, different types of mRNA 5´-ends in Eukaryotes, techniques to study capping
12. New advances in high-throughput technologies used in molecular biology, sequencing, microarrays, SAGE, qRT-PCR, etc.
13. Biology of Hepatitis C virus and related Flaviviruses, viral infection and host defense, searching for target for antiviral therapy
Annotation
New series of lectures introduces students to selected topics in molecular biology and genetics. The first part of the course consists of several advanced lectures concerning detailed mechanisms of eukaryotic translation, RNA metabolism and control of gene expression on the posttrancriptional level.
The rest of lectures - some of them held by external speakers - is an overview of the most important findings in genomics, molecular biology of Eukaryotes and their viruses as well as new significant techniques in the field. Course aims at teaching the biological and medicine science students at undergraduate and graduate levels.