BIOTECHNOLOGY OF FERMENTATION

Course objectives

Fermentation biotechnologies are defined as industrial production techniques, in which living organisms or their components (eg enzymes) produce the required material. Technologies based on microbial fermentation involve the use of microorganisms in an artificial environment (in fermenters under aerobic or anaerobic conditions) for the production of their primary or secondary metabolites, such as citric acid, alcohols or antibiotics. Currently, the use of recombinant DNA techniques and synthetic biology have made it possible to produce different compounds (eg Insulin, growth factors, interferon) from genetically modified organisms. Students who have passed the exam will be able to know and understand (acquired knowledge) - the nutritional needs of microorganisms and industrial land - industrial methods of cultivation - the basic biology of the main microorganisms used as a platform strain in industrial production - the metabolic versatility of microorganisms - the use of molecular techniques for genetic, protein and metabolic engineering - The main industrial productions by fermentation of proteins and metabolites Students who have passed the exam will be able to (acquired skills): - Understand the scientific literature concerning the handling and industrial use of microorganisms - Design microorganisms through the applications of synthetic biology - Develop microbial and enzymatic applications in medical, pharmaceutical, food and industrial production processes.

Channel 1
CRISTINA MAZZONI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
The course includes 64 hours of frontal teaching, divided into two sections, and 12 hours of laboratory exercises. Frontal lessons I section Industrial Microbiology (30 hours) Introduction to the course - definition of fermentation chemistry - lab, small and large scale processes - historical industrial productions Nutritional needs of microorganisms - media for laboratory fermentations and industrial processes Physical conditions for microbial growth Microbiological techniques - determination of the number of cells Microbial metabolism - regulation mechanisms of biosynthetic enzymes - pathways of glucose utilization - Catabolite repression – diauxic growth - Pasteur effect - Crabtree effect Selection and screening - enrichment of mutant cells - generation of library samples - testing and validation - high throughput screening - screening examples Improvement of strains - recombinant and non-recombinant techniques - example: improvement of Riboflavin-producing strain (article 1) Microorganisms of interest for microbial biotechnology: E. coli, Streptomyces, Bacillus, yeast, filamentous fungi. Section II: Fermentations Chemistry (30 hours) Cultivation methods - Mathematical expression of cell development - Batch fed-batch and continuous fermentation, Mechanically and pneumatically agitated bioreactors - scale up - oxygen transfer Biomass production - yeast production Industrial productions: ethanol, bioethanol (articles 2, 3), beer (article 4), butanol, lactic acid, citric acid, glutamic acid (MSG), lysine (L-Lys) Metabolic engineering - NICE system - Conversion of a strain of Lactococcus lactis from homolactic to homoalanine (Article 5) Antibiotics - PKS, NRPS, Penicillin and cephalosporin - Industrial production and improvement of producer strains. Bioconversion. Production of heterologous proteins - choice of host - E. coli, S. cerevisiae and the unconventional yeasts Pichia pastoris and Kluyveromyces lactis. Visits to industrial plants or seminars by personnel working in industries (4h) Laboratory exercises (12 hours) - Isolation of microorganisms producing bioactive molecules -Production of recombinant enzymes in microbial hosts
Prerequisites
The teaching of Biotechnology of Fermentations in the three-year course is in the 3rd year. The knowledge that would be important to have acquired are those provided by the teachings of the previous two years, in particular the teachings of Cellular Biology, Microbiology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Recombinant Biotechnologies.
Books
- Biotecnologie microbiche S. Donadio e G. Marino. Casa EditriceAmbrosiana.(2008) - Chimica e biotecnologia delle fermentazioni industriali. MM Bianchi. Edizioni Nuova Cultura. (2009) - Microbiologia Industriale, Matilde Manzoni. Casa Editrice Ambrosiana. ISBN 88-408-1320-9 - Lesson slides (available on the E-learning platform) - Scientific papers
Frequency
Attendance of the lessons is strongly recommended, but not compulsory
Exam mode
The exam is aimed at verifying the level of knowledge and in-depth examination of the topics of the teaching program and the reasoning skills developed by the student. The evaluation is expressed in thirtieths (minimum grade 18/30, maximum mark 30/30 with honors). The ongoing assessment (reserved for students attending the course) consists of a written test (lasting two hours) on topics in defined lessons. The written test includes 31 multiple choice questions on the topics covered in the course. If the final grade of the written test is higher than 18/30, the student will be exempted from the topics covered in the ongoing test during the oral exam. The oral exam evaluates the propriety of language, clarity of exposition and critical capacity in dealing with problems in the manipulation of microorganisms and in industrial production. The final grade, in the case of a valid ongoing test, is the average of the written test and the oral exam.
Lesson mode
Classroom lectures and guided activities
ARIANNA MONTANARI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
The course includes 64 hours of frontal teaching, divided into two sections, and 12 hours of laboratory exercises. Frontal lessons I section Industrial Microbiology (30 hours) Introduction to the course - definition of fermentation chemistry - lab, small and large scale processes - historical industrial productions Nutritional needs of microorganisms - media for laboratory fermentations and industrial processes Physical conditions for microbial growth Microbiological techniques - determination of the number of cells Microbial metabolism - regulation mechanisms of biosynthetic enzymes - pathways of glucose utilization - Catabolite repression – diauxic growth - Pasteur effect - Crabtree effect Selection and screening - enrichment of mutant cells - generation of library samples - testing and validation - high throughput screening - screening examples Improvement of strains - recombinant and non-recombinant techniques - example: improvement of Riboflavin-producing strain (article 1) Microorganisms of interest for microbial biotechnology: E. coli, Streptomyces, Bacillus, yeast, filamentous fungi. Section II: Fermentations Chemistry (30 hours) Cultivation methods - Mathematical expression of cell development - Batch fed-batch and continuous fermentation, Mechanically and pneumatically agitated bioreactors - scale up - oxygen transfer Biomass production - yeast production Industrial productions: ethanol, bioethanol (articles 2, 3), beer (article 4), butanol, lactic acid, citric acid, glutamic acid (MSG), lysine (L-Lys) Metabolic engineering - NICE system - Conversion of a strain of Lactococcus lactis from homolactic to homoalanine (Article 5) Antibiotics - PKS, NRPS, Penicillin and cephalosporin - Industrial production and improvement of producer strains. Bioconversion. Production of heterologous proteins - choice of host - E. coli, S. cerevisiae and the unconventional yeasts Pichia pastoris and Kluyveromyces lactis. Visits to industrial plants or seminars by personnel working in industries (4h) Laboratory exercises (12 hours) - Isolation of microorganisms producing bioactive molecules -Production of recombinant enzymes in microbial hosts
Prerequisites
The teaching of Biotechnology of Fermentations in the three-year course is in the 3rd year. The knowledge that would be important to have acquired are those provided by the teachings of the previous two years, in particular the teachings of Cellular Biology, Microbiology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Recombinant Biotechnologies.
Books
- Biotecnologie microbiche S. Donadio e G. Marino. Casa EditriceAmbrosiana.(2008) - Chimica e biotecnologia delle fermentazioni industriali. MM Bianchi. Edizioni Nuova Cultura. (2009) - Microbiologia Industriale, Matilde Manzoni. Casa Editrice Ambrosiana. ISBN 88-408-1320-9 - Lesson slides (available on the E-learning platform) - Scientific papers
Frequency
Attendance of the lessons is strongly recommended, but not compulsory.
Exam mode
The exam is aimed at verifying the level of knowledge and in-depth examination of the topics of the teaching program and the reasoning skills developed by the student. The evaluation is expressed in thirtieths (minimum grade 18/30, maximum mark 30/30 with honors). The ongoing assessment (reserved for students attending the course) consists of a written test (lasting two hours) on topics in defined lessons. The written test includes 31 multiple choice questions on the topics covered in the course. If the final grade of the written test is higher than 18/30, the student will be exempted from the topics covered in the ongoing test during the oral exam. The oral exam evaluates the propriety of language, clarity of exposition and critical capacity in dealing with problems in the manipulation of microorganisms and in industrial production. The final grade, in the case of a valid ongoing test, is the average of the written test and the oral exam.
Lesson mode
Classroom lectures and guided activities.
  • Lesson code1038555
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • Coursecorso|33585
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year3rd year
  • Semester1st semester
  • SSDCHIM/11
  • CFU9
  • Subject areaDiscipline biotecnologiche comuni