MICROBIOLOGIA E BIOTECNOLOGIE PER LA SOSTENIBILITA' AMBIENTALE

Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: DARIA NICOLOSI

Expected Learning Outcomes

With special attention to contaminated environments, the course seeks to equip students with the basic knowledge and abilities needed to analyze the diversity, structure, and function of microbial communities in various natural habitats. The investigation of microbiological and biotechnological elements pertaining to the management and scale-up stages of environmentally significant biotechnological processes, such as those employed in the biological remediation of contaminated soil, water, and sediments, is another goal.

Course Structure

Frontal lessons

The typical 25-hour workload for a student, equivalent to one credit, can consist of the following: a) seven hours of lectures or comparable teaching activities and the remaining time for individual study; b) at least 12 and no more than 15 hours of classroom exercises or equivalent supervised activities (workshops) and the remaining time for individual study and revision, as per the RDA, Article 12-University Educational Credits (CFU).

Required Prerequisites

Understanding of biochemistry and general microbiology.

Attendance of Lessons

Attendance is mandatory according to the rules of the Teaching Regulations of the Degree Program in SFA, as reported at the following link:

http://www.dsf.unict.it/corsi/l-29_sfa/regolamento-didattico

If a student has completed at least 70% of the required number of hours of coursework, attendance is deemed acquired.

The School of Education's Academic Regulations' Article 27, paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 (student workers, student athletes, and students in difficulty) outline the organizational and instructional strategies that are reserved for students in the circumstances specified by the Degree Programme Council.

Detailed Course Content

Module 1:

- Structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells: bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa.

- An overview of virology. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the role of the environment in epidemics

- Biological associations

- Microbial biofilms

- Microbial ecology and the concept of ecological niche

- Microbiology and environmental compartments: lithosphere, hydrosphere, and troposphere

- Microbiology of harsh environments

- Classification, sustenance, and development of microorganisms of environmental significance

- Biogeochemical cycles of elements

- Microbes that participate in bioremediation procedures

Module 2:

- The connection between environment and health

- Hazards to environmental health

- Evaluation of exposure in environmental epidemiology

- Features of microbial populations in both natural and polluted environments

- Water and soil microbiology

- The effect of humans on ecosystems

Module 3:

- Biotechnologies for contaminated site decontamination

- Bioremediation, both in-situ and ex-situ

- Phyto-remediation and myco-remediation

- Metals and microorganisms

Module 4:

- Wastewater treatment

- Pollution indicators and purification plants

- Natural treatments for wastewater treatment: phytoremediation

Module 5:

- Climate change and the environment's role in infection transmission

- Characteristics of pathogens

- Indoor air pollution

- Solid waste and organic waste composting

- Sanitation and food hygiene

- The biodegradation of artistic artifacts and the use of biotechnologies to preserve them

Textbook Information

1. AA.VV. – Igiene ambientale – EdiSES

2. Fabio Fanti – Biologia, microbiologia e tecnologie di controllo ambientale – Zanichelli.

3. Microbiologia agroambientale a cura di Bruno Biavati e Claudia Sorlini – Casa Editrice Ambrosiana.

Course Planning

	Subjects	Text References
1		The textbooks indicated in the dedicated section will be supplemented with handouts published on studium.unict.it.

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

A final oral exam is used for learning assessment, evaluating students' understanding of the subjects they have studied, their ability to communicate those topics in an appropriate and clear manner, and their capacity for critical discussion.

The exam dates are published on the website of the Department of Drug and Health Sciences.

https://www.dsf.unict.it/it/corsi/l-29_sfa/calendario-esami

In accordance with their individual needs, students with disabilities and/or learning disabilities (LD) who are registered with CInAP (Center for Active and Participatory Integration - Services for Disabilities and/or LD) may use compensatory and/or dispensatory measures, as agreed upon with the instructor.

Professor Santina Chiechio is the DSFS's CInAP contact.

Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises

Describe the primary structural differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
What are the properties of microbial biofilms, and why are they significant in ecology and health?
Describe the ecological niche concept in terms of microorganisms.
What function do microbes serve in the nitrogen cycle?
Describe the mechanism behind a positive and negative biological association with an example.
In marine environments, which microorganisms contribute to the breakdown of hydrocarbons?
Microbial communities in a contaminated site and those in their natural habitat differ from one another.

Degree Course in

Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences