Doctorade Degree
1. Mandatory Disciplines
Research Activity - Development of Thesis Project (0 Credit Units, 0 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Research activity related to the development of the doctoral thesis project.
Amazon Biodiversity (3 Credit Units, 45 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Biodiversity: flora, fauna and the Amazónian microbiota. Measures of species diversity. Local, regional and global factors influencing species composition and diversity. Valuation of biodiversity. Perspectives on the conservation and sustainable use of Amazónian biodiversity.
Biobusiness and Regulatory Milestones in Biotechnology (3 Credit Units, 45 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Concept of biotechnology and the main biotechnological routes. Organization of research in biotechnology: integrated projects and research networks. Biotechnological prospecting and knowledge management. Legal aspects of biotechnology: biosafety, intellectual property and access to genetic patrimony. Ethical aspects related to biotechnologies. Biotechnologies aimed at the sustainable development of the Amazon.
Teaching Internship (2 Credit Units, 30 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Development of an academic-didactic training program assisting a responsible professor in the administration of an undergraduate course in the area of biodiversity or conservation or biotechnology. The internship should be supervised by the professor responsible for the course and the tutor, and at the beginning of the semester the student in agreement with the teacher responsible and the tutor will psent to the BIONORTE Graduate Program State Coordination the plan of activities to be developed in the period. At the end of the internship, the professor responsible and the advisor will submit to the Program Coordination the evaluation of the student based on didactic performance.
Prospecting, Conservation and Use of Genetic Resources (3 Credit Units, 45 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Genetic Resources: concepts; importance to the Amazon. Prospecting and collection; relevance, basic concepts, principles, practices, herbal; exchange and quarantine; in situ and ex situ conservation; characterization and evaluation; regeneration and multiplication; documentation and information. Banks and collections of germplasm. Use of germplasm. Visits to germplasm banks.
Seminars on Biodiversity, Conservation and Biotechnology (2 Credit Units, 30 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Seminars on biotechnology and sustainable development will be delivered by lecturers and researchers from the institutions involved in the graduate program and also from other teaching and research institutions, development agencies and the business sector. The faculty will also participate psenting the thesis projects or results of the thesis work.
2. Elective Disciplines
Concentration Area: Biodiversity and Conservation
Ecological Bases of Conservation (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: History, epistemology and ecology theory in its different hierarchical levels. Population concept. Studies of density and relative abundance. Concepts related to rhythms, indices, rates and sustaining capacity. Cyclic oscillations, regulation, dispersion and bioenergetics. Population structure, interspecific interactions positive and negative. Using these concepts to base a critical analysis of the paradigms of Biodiversity Conservation, emphasizing its theoretical basis and its application in in situ and ex situ conservation of species, communities and ecosystems.
Biological Control (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: History, concepts and definitions on biological control of diseases and pests. Advantages and limitations. Biological control agents. Biological control strategies. Taxonomy and main characteristics of the main agents of biological control. Methods of mass creation and release in the field. Biosecurity and legal aspects associated with biological control.
Ethnobotany (3 Credit Units, 45 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Concept, History and interdisciplinary relations of ethnobotany (anthropology, human ecology, economic botany, ethnobiology / ethnoecology). Main schools of ethnobotany. Traditional botanical knowledge and tropical forests. Domestication and other forms of management (capoeiras, backyards, SAF's). Plants and their categories of use; Medicinal plants; wood vs. non-timber forest products; Extractivism. Qualitative and quantitative methods in ethnobotany. Traditional populations; biopiracy and intellectual property law. Role and ethics of the researcher in ethnobotany (authorizations, use of information, authorship of work, restitution of information, and compensation). Applied ethnobotany: management, commercialization and conservation.
Genetics of Conservation (3 Credit Units, 45 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: History of conservation genetics. Concepts and properties of biological populations. Historical and current events that affect genetic diversity and its spatial distribution. Introduction of computational tools for analysis of molecular data collected at the intra-specific and inter-specific level, and interptation of inferred standards from the point of view of conservation. Experimental design and hypothesis testing in conservation genetics. Concepts of inbreeding, exogamy, effective size, fitness, and phylogenetic diversity. Discussion of case studies.
Biodiversity Inventory (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Biodiversity and the importance of your inventory. Inventory techniques applied to natural populations and communities in the Amazon. Sample design; planning, collection, organization, data analysis and psentation of results. Techniques of collection, pservation, conservation and identification of taxonomic groups (floristic, faunistic, mycological, microbial); maintenance of collections.
Management of Natural Resources (3 Credit Units, 45 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Criteria and environmental indicators aiming at the formation of a multidisciplinary vision. Forest management and administration. Elaboration of Management Plan, forest diagnosis, forest modeling. Methods for ecological processes and maintenance of the environment, resource planning and management. Strategies for sustainable development. Management of forest resources and society. Monitoring of forest areas, social and economic indicators; indicators for conservation of wildlife cores; indicators of sustainability in natural forests; monitoring of fauna and its habitats in forested areas. Forest management in the context of the sustainable use of biodiversity.
Applied Microbiology (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Physiological and biochemical aspects of microorganisms important for environmental and industrial applications. Bioprospecting of microorganisms for use in the environmental and industrial area. Applications in the environmental area: as indicators of environmental quality, in bioremediation and bioleaching. Applications in the industrial area: production of enzymes, antibiotics, antineoplastics, vermicides, etc. Microbial genetic resources and legislation on bioprospecting collection and authorization.
Molecular Methods of Biodiversity Analysis (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Introduction to the different types of molecular markers, their properties and uses. Theory of development of different types of markers. Sequencing, editing, alignment, and database organization. Genotyping, editing, and database organization. DNA polymorphism analysis. Introduce population genetics and phylogenetic analyzes. The method of species identification by DNA Barcoding. Use of GenBank and BOLD Systems - databases of online biodiversity and associated basic bioinformatics.
Recovery of Altered Areas (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Altered areas: aspects of biological and edaphic alteration / degradation. Concepts, economic, social and environmental importance of the recovery of altered areas in Amazónian ecosystems. Types: restoration, recovery, reforestation, etc. Geomorphology and recovery of altered areas. Processes of recovery of altered areas. Pedogenesis in the context of environmental recovery. Environmental recovery / restoration biological systems. Recomposition of riparian forests and ecological corridors: revegetation principles, strategies and practices. Evaluation and monitoring of processes to recover degraded areas. Use of information technology in land use planning and management.
Amazon Agroforestry Systems (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Definition of agroforestry systems and general characterization. Importance for the Amazon region. Classification of agroforestry systems. Advantages and disadvantages of agroforestry systems. The role of agroforestry systems in soil conservation. Some species for use in agroforestry systems and their silvicultural characteristics. Selection and management of agroforestry systems. Models of agroforestry systems already tested. Care in the planning and implementation of agroforestry systems. Successful agroforestry experiments in the Brazilian Amazon. Importance of silvipastoral systems (SSPs) for the Amazon region. Concepts related to the use of SSPs. Deployment and evaluation of SSPs.
Systematics and Taxonomy (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Species concepts, and tools for species identification. Principles, concepts and nomenclature in taxonomy and systematics. Types of data used in systematics and taxonomy. Homology concept. Historical classification and systems used. Phylogenetic analysis methods based on parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. Hypothesis testing using phylogenetic trees. Use of systematics in biological conservation.
Special Topics in Biodiversity (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Course of occasional attendance, with a variable hourly program and load with a maximum of 60 hours (4 credits), promoted by the graduate program, which is dedicated to offer relevant topics in biodiversity, advanced level, taught by professors of the program or by invited professors from other institutions.
Special Topics in Biodiversity: Floristic and Ecophysiology of Bryophytes (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: General characteristics of bryophytes. Origin and classification. Biodiversity of the bryophyte flora in Brazil and in the world. Collection, identification and herborization techniques. Main studies of the Amazónian bryophylla. Ecological studies, distribution and reproduction. Chemistry and biological activity of bryophytes. Ecophysiology. psentation of articles and elaboration of biological research projects.
Special Topics in Conservation (3 Credit Units, 45 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Occasional, variable-frequency, variable-hour course with a maximum of 60 hours (4 credits), promoted by the postgraduate program, which is designed to offer relevant topics in conservation, at an advanced level, taught by professors of the program or by invited professors from other institutions.
Special Topics in Conservation: Phylogeography (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: This course is intended for students who wish to start their phylogeographic analysis, a recent discipline focused on the processes of genetic differentiation of populations and speciation. Its applications range from conservation genetics to the study of the evolution of species and animal populations. The course will consist of theoretical classes alternated with practical classes of software packages used in phylogeographic analysis.
Concentration Area: Biotechnology
Bioinformatics (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: History of Bioinformatics. Classical algorithms used in Bioinformatics. Usual methods in the analysis of macromolecules. Structure and function of genomes and genomic mapping. Assembly of genomes and initial analyzes (genome assembly, gene pdiction, annotation). Computational methods for genome analysis, sequences, physical mapping and EST analysis. Comparative genomic analyzes and evolution of genomes. Genome projects completed and in progress. Bioinformatics analysis and pdiction of protein structures. Determination of domains and function. Bioinformatic analysis of transcriptomes (micro and macroarrays). Analysis and research in metabolic networks. Structure-function analysis of pharmaceutical compounds. Association between compounds / substances and protein targets. Modeling of active sites and agonist / antagonist substances.
Characterization of Biomolecules (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Characterization of biomolecules using the following methodologies: Electrophoresis and electrofocalization; Chromatography; Ultra-centrifugation; Sequencing: proteins and DNA; Spectrometry: infrared, visible, ultra violet, masses, atomic absorption, circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance. Diffraction and fluorescence of Raio-X.
Cell Culture and Animal Tissues (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Development of animal cell technology. Cell biology in culture. Design and distribution of the laboratory. Safety regulations and biological hazards. Culture Environment: Substrate, Gas Phase, Medium and Temperature. Primary cultures and cell lines. Development of primary crops and their constraints. Establishment of cell lines: spontaneous immortalization and transfection. Techniques of maintenance, quantification and cryopservation of cell cultures. Detection and pvention of contamination. Experimental design. Three-dimensional cultures and their application in tissue reconstruction. Scaling-up of animal cell cultures and their applications in the production of recombinant biopharmaceuticals. Scientific, biomedical and ethical considerations.
Cell Culture and Vegetable Tissues (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: History and basic concepts in tissue culture, equipment, facilities and basic infrastructure of Tissue Culture Laboratory. Primary, secondary, primary organic and inorganic components and stock solutions. Culture of meristems, micropropagation and practical applications. Organogenesis / somatic embryogenesis and somaclonal variation. Immature embryo culture and practical applications. Culture of anthers / microspores and practical applications. Culture in suspension of cells, protoplasts and in vitro selection. pservation and Germplasm Exchange. Somaclonal Variation and Induction of Mutation. Flowering and In Vitro Fertilization. Tissue culture techniques applied to the construction of transgenic plants.
Genetic Engineering (6 Credit Units, 90 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: History and perspectives of genetic engineering. Main instruments used in genetic engineering: enzymes, vectors and hosts. Construction of genomic and cDNA libraries. Chemical synthesis of DNA, PCR, site-directed mutagenesis and DNA sequencing. Strategies used to clone specific genes. Expssion of genes in heterologous (transgenic) systems. Gene therapy. Examples of application of genetic engineering in industry. Biosafety standards for the construction and use of transgenic beings.
Enzymology (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: History. Enzymatic activity. Structures and Mechanisms (specificity, key-lock model, induced fit model, mechanisms). Cofactors and Coenzymes. Thermodynamics. Kinetics. Inhibition (competitive inhibition, concurrent or incompetent inhibition, noncompetitive inhibition, mixed inhibition). Uses of Inactivators. Biological Functions. Activity Control. Immobilization of enzymes. Involvement in Diseases. Nomenclature. Applications.
Pharmacology of Natural Products (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Traditional knowledge and biological diversity. Research Methodology. Brazilian legislation and research on medicinal plants. Access to traditional knowledge. Ethnopharmacology as a tool in the discovery of active products. Studies of p-clinical pharmacological, immunological and toxicological guidelines with medicinal plants. Approaches to pclinical pharmacological and toxicological study methods of bioactive products. Legislation regulating pharmacological, immunological, toxicological p-clinical and clinical tests.
Genetic Improvement (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Introduction to Genetic Improvement: Importance, objectives, problems, current results. Genetic improvement of microorganisms. Mutation and recombination in microorganisms. Selection of improved microorganisms. The genetic and cytogenetic basis of plant breeding. Genotypic variation and phenotypic variation. Polyploidy, mutations, autoincompatibility. Male sterility. Sources of material for breeding. Local varieties. Introduction of material from other regions. Centers of origin. Conservation of propagules. Classification of plants according to the mode of reproduction and their relation to breeding. Equilibrium in populations of plant and animal species. Methods of breeding self-pollinated plants, crossbred plants and animals. General considerations in vegetables: Selection; Hybridization; pedigree method; population method; backcrossing method; Multiple hybridization and multiline varieties. The use of hybrid vigor. Selection. Recurrent selection. Progeny tests and synthetic varieties. Use of hybrid vigor. Improvement of vegetative propagation plants. Cell and tissue culture in plant genetic improvement.
Advanced Diagnostic Methods (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Principles of state-of-the-art microbiological, immunological and molecular diagnostic methods. Discussion on advanced diagnostic methods for infectious and parasitic diseases, immunodeficiencies and autoimmune diseases. Application of advanced diagnostic techniques: Automation in Microbiology, Flow cytometry, Real-time PCR, Microarray DNA, FISH, among others. New platforms for the ultra-sensitive analysis of biomolecules and isolated cells to aid in the diagnosis, prognosis and control of different clinical syndromes.
Nanobiotechnology (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: History about nanoscience. Concepts of nanoscience. Impacts of nanotechnology on society. Concept of nanobiotechnology. The nature and examples of nanomaterials. Role of different areas in nanotechnology. Nanotechnology products. Nanobiotech products. Magnetic nanoparticles. Synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles and applications. Carbon nanotubes. Purification of carbon nanotubes. Functionalization of carbon nanotubes. Nanocapsules and nanospheres. Nanoemcapsulation systems for drugs. Ionic Implantation. Fine films.
Biomolecular Purification (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Introduction to the processes of separation and purification. Distillation, partition, differential pcipitation and crystallization. Centrifugation and ultracentrifugation. Membrane technologies. Chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques. Bioselective separations.
Bio-organic Chemistry (3 Credit Units, 45 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Metabolism: differences between primary and secondary metabolism. The plant cell, its organelles and its processes. Main reactions involved in biosynthesis. The major metabolic pathways (photosynthesis, glycolysis, Calvin cycle, Hatch cycle, etc.). Via acetate: biosynthesis of fatty acids, polyketides, anthraquinones and macrolides. Shikimate pathway: phenylpropanoids, benzoic acid derivatives, lignans and lignins, flavonoids and quinones. Mevalonate / non-mevalonate route: terpenoids and steroids. Alkaloids: aliphatic and aromatic alkaloids. Mixed biosynthesis metabolites: flavonoids, alkaloids and others.
Bioprocess Technology (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Evolution of Biotechnology. Analytical control of conventional and non-conventional raw materials. pparation and sterilization of media. pparation of inocula. Quantification of cell concentration, substrate (s) and product (s) in fermentation media. Conduction of a fermentative process in batch and continuous system with free and immobilized cells. Survey of kinetic profiles. Measurement of volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient. Enzymatic processes. % U201Cdowstream% u201D processes. Scheduling of bioprocesses.
Special Topics in Biotechnology (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Occasional, variable-frequency, variable-hour course with a maximum of 60 hours (4 credits), promoted by the postgraduate program, which is dedicated to offer relevant topics in biotechnology, advanced level, taught by professors of the program or by invited professors from other institutions.
Special Topics in Biotechnology: CRISPR-Cas Systems (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: History, structure and function: CRISPR as an adaptive immune system of microorganisms; experimental evidence. Evolutionary classification of CRISPR-Cas systems. Bacteriophages genes that inactivate the CRISPR / Cas bacterial immune system. Identification and reconstruction of CRISPR-Cas from metagenomic data. Studies of the CRISPR-Cas system in vitro. Genomic editing in mammalian cells. Therapeutic genomic edition: perspectives, challenges and ethical issues.
3. Elective Disciplines of General Interest
Bioethics and Biosafety (2 Credit Units, 30 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Historical course of bioethics and biosafety, its conceptual bases and the current stage of organization. Identification and analysis of potential generating situations of biological risks. Situation of ethical conflict and appropriate ways of dealing with such situations. Major biosafety laws, regulations and standards. Norms that aim to establish an ethical standard for scientific research and services that use modern biotechnologies.
Entrepneurship (2 Credit Units, 30 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Concept of entrepneurship. Cognitive fundamentals of entrepneurship: creativity and recognition of opportunities. Essential knowledge for company assembly. Elaboration of the business plan. Search for financing. Legal format of new ventures. Marketing in a new company. Strategy: planning for competitive advantages. Intellectual Property: protection of new ideas. Building team of the new enterprise: recruitment, motivation and maintenance of the directors. Operation of the company aiming at a lasting business. Case Study.
Experimental Statistics (4 Credit Units, 60 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Basics of experimentation. Experimental designs: completely randomized, randomized blocks and other experiments of factorial treatments and subdivided plots. Homoscedasticity, normality and data transformations. Comparisons of averages by the tests: Tukey, Duncam and Dunnett. Regression and Covariance. Notions of multivariate statistics.
Methodology of Scientific Research (3 Credit Units, 45 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: Science: definition, scientific method, contribution to development, fraud and errors. Functions and activities in science. Improvement of the scientific professional. Importance of statistics in science. Types of scientific documents (projects, scientific articles and bibliographic reviews). Scientific writing rules. Use of the library, electronic consultation. How to psent scientific papers.
Intellectual Property in Biotechnology (2 Credit Units, 30 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: The historical-philosophical course of the concept of property. Industrial property: patents, trademarks and industrial design. Patents in biotechnology, comparing the legislation of different countries. Protection by right of improvement, protection legislation of cultivars. Examples of intellectual protection granted in the biological area and of existing conflicts.
Scientific Writing (2 Credit Units, 30 Credit Hours)
Syllabus: The subject has the proposal to psent and discuss the characteristics essential to the elaboration of scientific publications. The main focus is the knowledge of the profile, format and specific rules of the journals of the area of interest of each student, as well as the methodological approaches, the types of articles, how to write them with scientific rigor, the criteria of the editors and evaluators ad hoc and ethics in scientific publications.