Learning objectives
The course will allow the acquisition of competences on:
Techniques for farm animal transgenesis and cloning. Biomedical applications: animals as bioreactors, animals as model for human diseases. Functional foods and animal biotechnology. Agricultural applications: modification of milk and meat composition; improvement of farm animal growth curve and resistance to diseases. Animal transgenesis and reproduction. Cloned and transgenic animals welfare. Genetically modified animals and food production.
Regenerative medicine:
-Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC): in-vivo and in-vitro biology. Application in veterinary medicine
-Induced pluripotent cells (IPS): biology and therapeutic potential
-Laboratory practice: isolation and characterization of MSC from adipose tissue.
Prerequisites
No
Course unit content
The course will be addressed to two main area of cell/animal manipulation and their implications in veterinary medicine.
The main objective of the course is the acquisition of a solid knowledge about transgenesis and cloning of farm animal. With this aim the different approaches to animal genome modification will be evaluated both from the methodological and the scientific point of view. Finally, biomedical and agricultural applications of transgenic and cloned livestock, animal welfare, and food safety and quality issues will be addressed.
In the second part of the course, the basic principles of regenerative medicine and its application in veterinary medicine will be described. In particular, the biological characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells and of induced pluripotent cells will be focussed. Furthermore, examples of their applications in veterinary medicine will be illustrated with a critical discussion of the clinical outcomes.
Full programme
The course will describe the fundamental aspects about farm animal cloning and transgenesis. In the first part of the course, the techniques applied to genome manipulation will be presented both from a scientific and technologic point of view. Some of the applications related to animal health and production will be then discussed, as well as biomedical models related to human health. Finally, these techniques and their application will be considered from the point of view of the animal welfare and of the safety of food products derived from cloned/transgenic animals. Furthermore key concepts related to stem cell biology and clinical use in veterinary medicine will be introduced.
Course description:
Farm animal transgenesis and cloning: biological background, history, techniques.
Biomedical application: animal as bioreactors; animal as models of human and mammalian diseases; genetically modified animals and xenotrasplantation.
Zootechnical application of genome transgenesis and cloning: animal growth modification; milk and body composition modification; disease resistance modification; reproductive performances modification.
Social and economic implications of genome manipulation: animal welfare; food safety issues related to genetically modified foods; functional foods.
Stem cell biology. Mesenchymal stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells:
biology and clinical applications. Perspectives and limits.
Bibliography
The students will be given articles and the slides used by the teacher.
Teaching methods
Oral lessons
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral exams
Other information
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