606-309 Cell Biology III: Frontiers of Cell Biology

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Objectives:

Students should gain:

• a thorough knowledge of the determination of cell phenotype and fate;

• a detailed understanding of the interaction between cells and between cells and environment;

• an advanced level of understanding of the ways in which phenotype can be manipulated to explore cell and organ function and in biotechnology of plants and animals;

• knowledge of the applications of cell biology in research, industry and human welfare, and policy and regulatory issues relevant to cell biology and biotechnology.

Content:

The importance and applications of cell biology. The life cycle of the cell: Control of cell division and maturation; Differential gene expression; Identification of phenotype; Cell lineage; Apoptosis; Cell senescence. Cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions: Cell adhesion and recognition; Tip growth; Ligand-receptor interactions; Cell migration; Fungal-plant and fungal-animal cell interactions. Cell defences in plants and animals. Cell manipulations: Chimaeric organisms in research; Transplants and tissue grafts; Gene targeting; Transgenic organisms; Genetic manipulations. Exploitation and commercialisation of cell biology: Ethical considerations; Patents and intellectual property; Scaling up from the lab to the factory; Examples.

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