BB2420 Glycobiology and Carbohydrate Technology 7.5 credits

• Educational level

  Second cycle

• Academic level (A-D)

  D

• Subject area

  Biotechnology
  

• Grade scale

  A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

• Homepage of the Course

• Course page on KTH Social

Learning outcomes

Glycobiology and Carbohydrate Technology will provide the student with an overview of carbohydrates (sugars) as an important class of biomolecules involved in numerous biological functions and industrial applications.  The course is designed to build upon and compliment the student’s knowledge of molecular biology/biotechnology, protein structure & function, and molecular enzymology obtained from other courses in the Biotechnology program.

Carbohydrate structure-function relationships will be highlighted using numerous examples from plant, animal, and microbial systems.  Particular attention will be paid to the enzymes responsible for carbohydrate biosynthesis and biodegradation.  The interactions of carbohydrates with various non-catalytic proteins (lectins and carbohydrate-binding modules) will also be covered.  Through specific examples and case studies, special focus will be placed on carbohydrate-protein/enzyme interactions in the context of important applications, including:  glycoprotein pharmaceutical development, biofuel production, modification of wood and textile fibers, food production and human nutrition, treatment of inherited metabolic disorders, and treatment/prevention of pathogen infection. 

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

- describe carbohydrate structure on the mono-, oligo-, and polysaccharide organisational levels,

- discuss the interaction of carbohydrates with other biopolymers as structural components in various cell types,

- describe the importance of the pool of sugar phosphates as precursors in carbohydrate biosynthesis,

- describe the molecular mechanisms of key enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and biodegradation of carbohydrates across diverse kingdoms,

- discuss the structural diversity of carbohydrate-active enzymes and carbohydrate binding proteins in terms of their biological functions,

- describe the biosyntheses of protein N- and O-glycans and discuss their diverse biological functions as key post-translational modifications,

- discuss glycolipid structure in the context of cellular processes and disease states,

- describe molecular details of selected examples of “carbohydrate biotechnology” in biofuel, biofiber, food, and medical applications

- understand contemporary research literature dealing with various aspects of carbohydrate structure, biochemistry, enzymology, and applications thereof,

- use the complete knowledge base from the course in future studies and/or industrial employment involving glycobiology and carbohydrate technology.

Course main content

Lectures:

Classical lectures (ca. 35 hours) will form the basis of the course.  A complete syllabus (schedule) is available as a separate document on the course website (see Online resources, below).  Attendance of all the lectures is strongly encouraged; the student must attend 85% of the scheduled course periods to qualify to take the final examination[1].  Lecture periods will serve as the primary mode of instructor-student interaction, including passing various practical information to the students.  A certain amount of time scheduled for lectures will be used for questions/answer sessions and to go over practical assignments.

The majority of the lectures will be taught by the course organizer, Docent Harry Brumer.  Other lectures will be given by Docents or Professors of the School of Biotechnology who are experts on specific course topics.  See the course syllabus for details.

 Assignments & computer graphics laboratory:

Throughout the course, exercises will be assigned which are designed to improve learning of various topics in the course.  These will not counted toward the final course grade, but will form the basis for in-class discussion.  Further, successful completion of these assignments will greatly improve chances for success on the final examination.  Similarly, a computer graphics laboratory exercise will provide important understanding of structure-function relationships in carbohydrate-active enzymes.

[1] Limited exceptions may be made, e.g., in the case of a documented medical emergency, etc.

Eligibility

At least 150 credits from grades 1, 2 and 3 of which at least 100 credits from years 1 and 2, and bachelor's work must be completed.  The 150 credits should include a minimum of 20 credits within the fields of Mathematics, Numerical Analysis and Computer Sciences, 5 of these must be within the fields of Numerical Analysis and Computer Sciences, 20 credits of Chemistry, possibly including courses in Chemical Measuring Techniques and 20 credits of Biotechnology or Molecular Biology.

Literature

The primary text for the course is Introduction to Glycobiology, 2nd ed., by Maureen E. Taylor & Kurt Drickamer, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0 19 928278 1, and is available through Kårbokhandeln, the KTH student union bookstore (http://www.karbokhandeln.se/). Additional reading material will be distributed during the course.

PDF versions of the lecture slides will be made available before the lectures through the BILDA online resource.

Examination

• TENA - Examination, 7.5 credits, grade scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Requirements for final grade

The student’s final grade in the course will be based on performance on two written examinations.  Both will consist exclusively of essay questions which will test the student’s overall comprehension of the various topics covered in the course.  The first, mid-term examination, will count toward 25% of the final grade for the course.  The second, final examination will count toward 75% of the final grade for the course.  The course is worth 7.5 ECTS points and will be graded on a scale from A to F, with A being the highest mark and F a failing mark.

Offered by

BIO/Biotechnology

Examiner

Vincent Bulone <bulone@kth.se>

Supplementary information

Students are required to sign up at least two weeks in advance for examination.

The course is given provided at least seven students are admitted.

Version

Course plan valid from: Autumn 11.
Examination information valid from: Autumn 10.