521-303 Molecular Aspects of Biomembranes and Cell Biology

Credit Points:

When taken from Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science:

10.0

When taken from Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture:

8

Coordinator:

Prerequisite/s:

Timetable:

Contact:

Objectives:

By the end of the program the student should have acquired:

• an understanding of the relationships between molecular design, cellular organisation and biological function, as pertaining to eukaryotic cells and their subcellular organelles and biomembranes;

• a theoretical background to the major techniques used in the investigation of cytoskeletal structure, membrane lipid dynamics and membrane transport and associated energy-transducing processes.

Content:

Cytoskeletal components including actin assembly and disassembly, actin binding proteins, myosin, tubulin, intermediate filaments, clathrin. How cells move and change shape. Lipid dynamics and concepts of order and fluidity, lateral and rotational diffusion of lipids and protein. Collagen structure and biosynthesis; components of the extracellular matrix. Compartmentalisation in eukaryotic cells, intracellular RNA and protein traffic, chaperones; subcellular organelles, their biogenesis and function; protein folding and maturation; receptors and signal transduction. Energy transducing membranes and modern concepts of electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation; ion pumps and their regulation.

Assessment:

Prescribed Texts:

• Alberts B et. al., Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd ed. 1994 Garland.
• Harris DA, Bioenergetics at a Glance, 1995 Blackwell Science.