L2 - Biochemistry

This compulsory UE in S3 enables students to consolidate and deepen the foundations of molecular and cell biology acquired in L1.

Molecular Biology part: The molecular and structural bases of nucleic acids will be developed and deepened to understand the physicochemical properties of nucleic acids, which open up various prospects for technological applications, and the molecular mechanisms of the main steps in Molecular Biology, such as DNA replication, transcription of genes into mRNA and translation of these into proteins. These steps, illustrated by experimental evidence deduced from various historical studies, will be studied in depth in prokaryotes. Comparisons with eukaryotes will also be discussed. The molecular mechanisms of DNA repair will also be described and developed.

Cell Biology section: This section covers the major concepts of membrane and cytosolic protein complex formation, particularly in the context of cell signaling pathways. The notions of ligands, receptors, scaffolding proteins, enzymatic signaling proteins, intracellular second messengers and response kinetics will be presented. Biochemistry and cell biology techniques for demonstrating the presence and localization of proteins in cells and tissues will be presented.

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This is a cross-disciplinary L2 SV course designed to provide Biology students with a basic knowledge of how plants function, enabling them to understand current issues in plant agro-sciences.

The following basic notions of Plant Physiology / Functional Biology will be studied: 

essential experimental approaches: plant transgenesis, direct and reverse genetics

basics of autotrophy

mechanisms underlying the main stages in angiosperm development: meristem function, floral transition, fertilization.

auxin, a major hormone in plant development and response to the abiotic environment

Practical work sessions will enable students to manipulate the regulation of water nutrition in plants and analyze their mineral nutrition using various biochemical assays (flame photometry, spectrophotometry). 

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EU description (max 10 lines):

The aim of this course is to help students understand how to measure variation in biology, and how it can be represented. It is based on concrete examples drawn from various disciplines in biology (ecology, developmental biology, evolution, genetics, physiology) and gives the statistical tools for measuring this variation and the graphical methods for representing it. The statistical concepts of sampling, inference, distribution, central tendency, dispersion, distribution function, parameters, confidence intervals and dependence between variables for different types of variables (binomial, discrete, continuous) are explained with the help of practical exercises based on biological problems.

Competencies targeted by the EU (see competency framework):

- Descriptive analytical tools in biology, introduction to biostatistics through the analysis of biological patterns

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This course provides a basic understanding of microbiology. It will detail the structures of microorganisms, prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and viruses. It will give an overview of the diversity of these microorganisms and describe their mode of multiplication.

For bacteria, trophic types and factors influencing growth will be developed, as well as the study of growth in a non-renewed environment. Genetics and horizontal transfer between bacteria will also be covered.
A number of eukaryotic microorganisms will be studied: habitat, lifestyle, ecological role or parasitism, as well as their mode of development.
In virology, the main multiplication cycles of viruses will be detailed, and modes of transmission and the notion of viral pathogenesis will be covered. The principles of anti-viral vaccination and anti-viral treatments will be presented and illustrated with concrete examples.
The principles of antiviral vaccination and treatment will be presented and illustrated with concrete examples.
Practical work will introduce students to techniques for sterile handling of microorganisms, bacterial counting and conjugation.

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This module will enable students to acquire :

Physiology basics : concept of homeostasis; levels of organization of the human body; compartments of the internal environment; study of the endocrine system; acid-base and hydro-mineral balance; anatomical and functional studies of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Immunology basics :

General presentation of the immune system; study of T and B lymphocytes, antigen-presenting cells; study of antimicrobial immunity and complement.

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This compulsory course enables students to consolidate the foundations of biochemistry acquired in L1 by approaching this discipline through a cross-disciplinary study of enzymes involved in cellular metabolism, particularly glycolysis. Several areas of biochemistry will be covered: the basics of Michael enzymology, description of the metabolic reactions involved in glycolysis. Finally, the technical aspect will be addressed through the presentation and analysis of techniques for measuring enzymatic activity, purifying, quantifying and detecting proteins.

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Description*: This second general chemistry teaching unit aims to consolidate and deepen the study of reactions in aqueous solution, particularly those involving the formation of metal complexes. The principles of thermodynamics will be presented and applied to the study of chemical equilibria of biological interest. Rather than a presentation using mathematical formalism, which would require a much greater time commitment, the student will be asked to understand the physical meaning of these principles and the main thermodynamic functions, and to apply them to chemical systems, often of biological interest. In particular, resting membrane potentials and the use of pH potential diagrams in biology will be presented.

In advance of certain courses and tutorials, students will work on written and audio course documents, to ensure that classroom teaching and tutorials enable them to play a full part in the training, understand the concepts presented and the skills to be acquired.

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The first part (around 1/3) of the module deals with (biological) processes whose time evolution is described by an exponential law (growth or decay).

Radioactivity will be discussed, as an illustration of such a process, and for its applications in the biology-health-environment field (dating, tracing, etc.).

The second part (around 2/3) of the module introduces the concepts of fluid and pressure, and presents the laws of hydrostatics (fundamental law of fluid statics, Archimedes' theorem).

Fluid dynamics will be introduced, including the concepts of flow, viscosity, sedimentation and centrifugation, in connection with the Biology-Health sector.

List of Chapters :

- Exponential variations

- Radioactivity (radioactive decay, activity)

- Fluids: definition, properties, notion of pressure

- Hydrostatics: fundamental law of fluid statics, Archimedes' theorem.

- Elements of hydrodynamics: flows, Bernouilli's theorem

- Viscosity; Sedimentation and centrifugation

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In a context where nutrition has become the focus of interest for an increasingly broad public, the aim of this EU course is to establish food consumption benchmarks using a scientific approach.

This course covers the basics of food and nutrition, describing nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, fibers, vitamins and minerals), nutritional requirements and the different food groups. A number of food processes and technologies are also covered.

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This course is aimed at L2 Life Sciences students wishing to learn more about how biotechnologies can help meet current and future challenges in the sustainable production of agricultural and agri-food resources.

Man uses the properties of photosynthetic organisms and microorganisms to obtain and process a wide range of resources and services: food products for humans and livestock, therapeutic molecules, construction materials, etc. This use is dependent on natural conditions, and its impact on the environment is likely to be reciprocal, for example via the withdrawal or deterioration of limited and/or non-renewable resources (water, soil, etc.). For resource production to be sustainable, it is therefore important that its organization (the concept of agronomy) incorporates knowledge of these impacts, and relies on an understanding of the properties of plants and micro-organisms to meet these challenges. The development and use of new biotechnologies in the fields of applied genetics and plant physiology, the use of microorganisms, and the favorable or unfavorable interactions between these microorganisms and plants all play a major role in these sustainable agronomy strategies.

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The aim of this teaching unit is to take an integrative approach to animal behavior, in the light of Tinbergen's four "whys": from ontogeny and neurobiological causes to evolution and biological functions. In addition to historical, conceptual and methodological contributions, students will be coached to grasp the diversity of traits involved, as well as the diversity of approaches and associated scientific questioning. Using a variety of examples, this course will highlight the diversity of disciplines studying animal behavior: Neuroscience, Ethology, Behavioral Ecology, and will provide students with the information they need to continue their studies in the appropriate fields: Animal Physiology and Neuroscience/ Evolutionary Biology and Ecology/ Others....

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1- Linux basics (1.5h CM + 3hTD) : Basic commands to navigate under Linux and understand the logic of this language. Small information extraction exercises in bash/shell. Element used to analyze alignment files.

2- Database (3h CM + 4,5hTD): knowledge of the main bibliographic and biological databases (NCBI, Ensembl, Galaxie...). Relevant and efficient queries, exploitation, sorting, description of different formats.

3- Sequence analysis (1.5hCM + 4.5H TD): Alignment and comparison of sequences with a short introduction to phylogeny (dot plot, Blast ...).

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This compulsory UE in S4 enables students to consolidate and deepen the foundations of molecular and cell biology acquired in L1.

- Cell biology: 4 major themes will be covered: 1) Cell cytoskeleton function, 2) Cell adhesion, 3) Protein trafficking, 4) Introduction to cell cycle regulation. Cell biology methodologies will also be presented: immunoprecipitation to highlight protein interactions, fluorescence videomicroscopy to monitor cell distribution dynamics, assessment of the importance of proteins of interest in a cellular process by strategies to modulate their expression (RNA interference, overexpression).

- Molecular biology : After acquiring knowledge of transcription and translation mechanisms in Semester 3, we'll move on to the regulation of gene expression: transcriptional regulation (repressor, activator) and attenuation in prokaryotes, the basics of expression regulation mechanisms in eukaryotes.

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This course is a continuation of the S3 Biochemistry course. The emphasis is on practical aspects. The principles of standard biochemistry techniques (protein separation techniques, spectrophotometric protein assay techniques, Western Blot/Elisa, etc.) will be covered in class, followed by hands-on experiments. The aim is to interpret and analyze the experiments proposed in the practical exercises.

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The aim of this course is to understand evolutionary processes on both micro- and macro-evolutionary scales.

Using examples, manipulations and accessible modeling, the aim of the lessons is to present, in a concrete and quantitative way, the effects of the 4 evolutionary forces operating on the scale of individuals and populations (mutation, migration, selection and drift). The integration of these micro-evolutionary processes on larger time scales (e.g. differentiation between lineages, speciation) will then be addressed. Finally, the course will include an introduction to the tools of phylogeny (tree reading and construction), making it possible to study macro-evolutionary events (diversification, extinction) and trace changes in character states, notably by integrating fossil data.

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Physiology of major functions (semester 4) aims to describe the role and interactions of the body's various systems in maintaining a constant internal environment. Acquisition of anatomical and functional knowledge of the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive and renal systems and their nervous and hormonal controls. Understand the combined action of these major systems through examples of integrative physiology and pathologies: respiratory and cardiac insufficiency; hemorrhage; exposure to extreme environments.

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The aim of this course is to take a more in-depth look at the fundamental molecular and cellular processes seen in BMC2 and BMC3, using more concrete concepts in small groups. Lessons will be based on real data (experimental results, scientific articles) to explain the main scientific approaches in simple terms, and to learn how to analyze and interpret results (Example 1: show an interaction in cellulo by expression of tagged proteins in cell lines followed by immunoprecipitation and western-blot. Example 2: principle of immunofluorescence, intracellular distribution of an antigen. Example 3: in vitro transcription and translation and GST-pull down interaction studies.) Practical exercises will illustrate some of these basic approaches: cell culture, expression vector construction, transfection, immunolabeling, fluorescence microscopy.   

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This compulsory UE will enable students to deepen their skills acquired in "S3 biochemistry". It will enable them to understand cellular metabolism through:

-understanding bioenergetics to study the processes by which living cells transport, transmit, use, accumulate and release energy;
-studying the catabolism and anabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, nucleotides and amino acids, and the metabolic interactions between these pathways.

- description of metabolic pathologies.

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In this introductory course to genetic analysis, the objectives are to learn about the terms, principles, concepts and methods used in formal genetics, as well as their fields of application, particularly in human and medical genetics. The course covers the genetics of transmission (Mendelian or non-Mendelian), quantitative genetics and notions of population genetics. Throughout the course, close links are established between classical genetics and molecular genetics.

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1- Linux basics (1.5h CM + 3hTD) : Basic commands to navigate under Linux and understand the logic of this language. Small information extraction exercises in bash/shell. Element used to analyze alignment files.

2- Database (3h CM + 4,5hTD): knowledge of the main bibliographic and biological databases (NCBI, Ensembl, Galaxie...). Relevant and efficient queries, exploitation, sorting, description of different formats.

3- Sequence analysis (1.5hCM + 4.5H TD): Alignment and comparison of sequences with a short introduction to phylogeny (dot plot, Blast ...).

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This compulsory UE in S4 enables students to consolidate and deepen the foundations of molecular and cell biology acquired in L1.

- Cell biology: 4 major themes will be covered: 1) Cell cytoskeleton function, 2) Cell adhesion, 3) Protein trafficking, 4) Introduction to cell cycle regulation. Cell biology methodologies will also be presented: immunoprecipitation to highlight protein interactions, fluorescence videomicroscopy to monitor cell distribution dynamics, assessment of the importance of proteins of interest in a cellular process by strategies to modulate their expression (RNA interference, overexpression).

- Molecular biology : After acquiring knowledge of transcription and translation mechanisms in Semester 3, we'll move on to the regulation of gene expression: transcriptional regulation (repressor, activator) and attenuation in prokaryotes, the basics of expression regulation mechanisms in eukaryotes.

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The aim of this course is to broaden previously acquired knowledge in various areas of microbiology, in particular microbial ecology.

She will focus on pathogenic relationships, but will also present examples of symbiotic associations. Applications of microorganisms in biotechnology will be discussed. It will describe the mode of action of antibiotics and associated resistance phenomena, as well as their impact.

This course will introduce the notion of viral ecology, presenting the place and role of viruses in ecosystems. The case of bacteriophages will be dealt with more specifically, and the mechanisms of bacterial resistance to phagic infection will be detailed. The different types of viral infection in animals will be presented (acute and persistent infections) and illustrated by studying the pathogenesis of selected viral infections.

Our knowledge of microorganisms will be extended by the study of Archaea and a model eukaryotic organism, yeast.

Practical work will focus on carrying out an antibiogram and its interpretation, and on bacteriophage titration.

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This course is a continuation of the S3 Biochemistry course. The emphasis is on practical aspects. The principles of standard biochemistry techniques (protein separation techniques, spectrophotometric protein assay techniques, Western Blot/Elisa, etc.) will be covered in class, followed by hands-on experiments. The aim is to interpret and analyze the experiments proposed in the practical exercises.

See full page

The aim of this course is to understand evolutionary processes on both micro- and macro-evolutionary scales.

Using examples, manipulations and accessible modeling, the aim of the lessons is to present, in a concrete and quantitative way, the effects of the 4 evolutionary forces operating on the scale of individuals and populations (mutation, migration, selection and drift). The integration of these micro-evolutionary processes on larger time scales (e.g. differentiation between lineages, speciation) will then be addressed. Finally, the course will include an introduction to the tools of phylogeny (tree reading and construction), making it possible to study macro-evolutionary events (diversification, extinction) and trace changes in character states, notably by integrating fossil data.

See full page

Physiology of major functions (semester 4) aims to describe the role and interactions of the body's various systems in maintaining a constant internal environment. Acquisition of anatomical and functional knowledge of the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive and renal systems and their nervous and hormonal controls. Understand the combined action of these major systems through examples of integrative physiology and pathologies: respiratory and cardiac insufficiency; hemorrhage; exposure to extreme environments.

See full page

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This compulsory UE will enable students to deepen their skills acquired in "S3 biochemistry". It will enable them to understand cellular metabolism through:

-understanding bioenergetics to study the processes by which living cells transport, transmit, use, accumulate and release energy;
-studying the catabolism and anabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, nucleotides and amino acids, and the metabolic interactions between these pathways.

- description of metabolic pathologies.

See full page

In this introductory course to genetic analysis, the objectives are to learn about the terms, principles, concepts and methods used in formal genetics, as well as their fields of application, particularly in human and medical genetics. The course covers the genetics of transmission (Mendelian or non-Mendelian), quantitative genetics and notions of population genetics. Throughout the course, close links are established between classical genetics and molecular genetics.

See full page