2003-2004 Undergraduate Calendar

Biotechnology is the use of living organisms to produce goods and services for practical and industrial purposes. Biotechnology has been used for centuries in fermentation and the making of bread and cheese, but today involves new scientific tools like genetic and protein engineering, cell fusion and production of monoclonal antibodies. Biotechnology is a strategic technology and an important economic component of industrialized nations. Biotechnology at Brock is a joint venture of the departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, with courses drawn from both departments plus courses designed specifically for the program.

The Biotechnology Co-op program combines academic and work terms over a period of five academic years. Students spend two years in an academic setting studying the fundamentals of Biotechnology prior to their first work placement. Successful completion of courses in the core areas of Biotechnology provides the necessary academic background for the work experience. In addition to the current fees for courses in academic study terms, Biotechnology Co-op students are assessed an administrative fee for each work term (see the Schedule of Fees).

Students admitted to the Biotechnology Co-op program must follow the Co-op program schedule. Failure to adhere to the schedule may result in removal from the Biotechnology Co-op program. Eligibility to continue in the Biotechnology Co-op program is based on the student's major and non-major averages. A student with a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum 60 percent non-major average may continue. A student with a major average lower than 70 percent will not be permitted to continue in the Biotechnology Co-op program, but may continue in the non-co-op Biotechnology stream. If a student subsequently raises his/her major average to 70 percent, the student may be readmitted only if approved by the Co-op Admissions Committee. For further information, see the Co-op Programs section of the Calendar, and contact the Centre for Biotechnology.

The Biotechnology Co-op program designation will be awarded to those students who have honours standing and who have successfully completed a minimum of twelve months of Co-op work experience.

Program Notes

1.	CHEM 3P40 or 3P41 are strongly recommended as year 3 electives for students who intend to take BTEC 4F90 and 4F91 in the Department of Chemistry in year 4.
2.	Students who anticipate doing graduate studies in Chemistry should have credit in CHEM 2P12, 2P32, 2P42, 3P21 and 3P40 or 3P41 in addition to the other required courses in CHEM.
3.	In all 20 credit programs, at least 12 credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above, six of which must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above and of these, three must be numbered 3(alpha)90 or above. In all 15 credit degree programs, at least seven credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above, three of which must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above.

Honours Program

Year 1

	BIOL 1F90
	CHEM 1F92
	MATH 1P01 and 1P02 or MATH 1P97 and 1P98
	PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended)
	one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93
	one Humanities context credit or Social Science context credit

Year 2

	BTEC 2P09 and 2P63
	BIOL 2F01
	CHEM 2P20 and 2P21
	one of BIOL 2P05, 2P92, 2P94, 2P96, 2P98 (recommended), 2Q04
	one of CHEM 2P12, 2P32, 2P42
	the Humanities context credit or Social Science credit not taken in year 1

Year 3

	BTEC 3P09 and 3P50
	BTEC 3P62 or 3P63
	BCHM 3P01 and 3P02
	CHEM 3P20
	one credit from BIOL 3P28, 3P42, 3P43, 3P51, CHEM 3P21, 3P40, 3P41, 3P60
	one elective credit (see program notes 1 and 2)

Year 4

	BTEC 3P62 or 3P63 ( not taken in year 3)
	BTEC 4F90 and 4F91 (see program note 1)
	one credit from BTEC 4P06, 4P08, 4P09, 4P18, 4P21, 4P57, 4P58, BIOL 4P23, 4P51, 4P53, BCHM 4P02
	one of BTEC 4P27, 4P67, 4P68
	one elective credit (see program note 2)

Biotechnology Co-op (Honours only)

Students admitted to the Biotechnology Co-op program must follow the program schedule as listed below. Failure to adhere may result in removal from the program.

Year 1

	BIOL 1F90
	CHEM 1F92
	MATH 1P01 and 1P02 or MATH 1P97 and 1P98
	PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended)
	one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93
	one Humanities context credit or Social Science context credit

Year 2

	BTEC 2P09 and 2P63
	BIOL 2F01
	CHEM 2P20 and 2P21
	SCIE 0N90
	one of BIOL 2P05, 2P92, 2P94, 2P96, 2P98 (recommended), 2Q04
	one of CHEM 2P12, 2P32, 2P42
	the Humanities context credit or Social Science credit not taken in year 1

Spring/Summer Sessions:

BTEC 0N01

Year 3

Fall Term:

	BTEC 3P09 and 3P50
	BCHM 3P01
	CHEM 3P20
	one of BIOL 3P28, 3P51, CHEM 3P21, 3P40, 3P41, 3P60

Winter Term:

BTEC 0N02

Spring/Summer Sessions:

BTEC 0N00 (optional)

Year 4

Fall Term:

BTEC 0N03

Winter Term:

	BTEC 3P62 or 3P63
	BCHM 3P02
	one and one-half credits from BTEC 3P43, BIOL 3P28, 3P51, CHEM 3P21, 3P40, 3P41, 3P60

Spring/Summer Sessions:

BTEC 0N04 (optional)

Year 5

	BTEC 3P62 or 3P63 (not taken in year 4)
	BTEC 4F90 and 4F91
	one credit from BIOL 4P23, 4P51, 4P53, BTEC 4P06, 4P08, 4P09, 4P18, 4P21, 4P57, 4P58
	one of BTEC 4P27, 4P67, 4P68
	one elective credit (see program note 2)

Pass Program

Satisfactory completion of the first three years of the Honours program entitles a student to apply for a Pass degree.

Description of Courses

Note that not all courses are offered in every session. Refer to the applicable term timetable for details.

Prerequisites and Restrictions

Students must check to ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met.

BIOTECHNOLOGY

BTEC 2P09

Introduction to Biotechnology

Traditional and modern biotechnology. Topics include fermentation processes, medical, agricultural and forensic applications; the use of biotechnology in waste treatment.

Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.

Prerequisites: BIOL 1F90 and CHEM 1F92 (1P80 and 1P81 or 1P90 and 1P91)

BTEC 2P63

Introduction to Biophysical Chemistry

(also offered as CHEM 2P63)

Physical chemistry as applied to biological sciences. Introductory thermodynamics, kinetics, equilibria and transport phenomena as applied to proteins, biological membranes and other biological systems. Laboratory work includes kinetic measurements, equilibrium constant measurements and protein purification and characterization.

Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.

Prerequisites: CHEM 1F92 (1P80 and 1P81 or 1P90 and 1P91); MATH 1P01 and 1P02 (preferred), or MATH 1P97.

BTEC 3P09

Bioreactor Processes

Fermentation technology and bioprocessing; the kinetics and thermodynamics of fermentation. Topics include batch and continuous fermentation, biomass production (single-cell proteins), immobilized systems, by-product recovery and scale-up.

Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.

Prerequisite: BTEC 2P63.

BTEC 3P43

Applied Microbial Ecology

(also offered as BIOL 3P43)

Ecology of micro-organisms and special adaptations that permit their use in biotechnology and applied microbiology.

Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.

Restriction: students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits.

Prerequisite: BIOL 2P98 or permission of the instructor.

BTEC 3P50

Molecular Genetics

(also offered as BIOL 3P50)

Topics include the genetic code and information flow from nucleic acids to proteins, RNA and protein synthesis; prokaryotic and eukaryotic chromosomes; gene organization; transcription, RNA processing; codon usage; enhancer and transposons.

Lectures, 3 hours per week; lab, 3 hours per week for 6 weeks.

Restriction: students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits.

Prerequisite: BIOL 2F01 or permission of the instructor.

BTEC 3P62

Bio-organic Chemistry

(also offered as CHEM 3P62)

Biosynthesis of the natural products of secondary metabolism. Introduction to the use of enzymes and other biological reagents in organic synthesis.

Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.

Prerequisite: CHEM 2P21.

BTEC 3P63

Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry

(also offered as CHEM 3P63)

Structure and chemistry of proteins and nucleic acids. Selected aspects of transcription, translation, protein folding, post-translational modification, targeting, synthesis and sequencing, and detection techniques.

Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.

Prerequisite: CHEM 2P21.

BTEC 4F90

Research Project

Experimental research carried out under faculty supervision.

Restriction: permission of the Director.

BTEC 4F91

Thesis

The thesis will incorporate the results of the research project and will form the basis of a seminar presented by the student.

Restriction: open to BTEC majors with approval to year 4 (honours).

Co-requisite: BTEC 4F90.

BTEC 4P06

Bioinformatics

(also offered as BCHM 4P06 and BIOL 4P06)

Genome sequencing projects, gene discovery and gene expression. DNA/RNA/Protein sequence data, including mutagenic processes, molecular evolution and systematics, codon usage, reconstruction of ancient molecules, and prediction of higher-level molecular structure.

Lectures, seminar, 2 hours per week.

Restriction: students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).

Prerequisites: BCHM 3P02, BIOL 3P80 and MATH 1P98 or permission of the instructor.

BTEC 4P08

Topics in Plant and Microbial Biotechnology

(also offered as BCHM 4P08)

Illustrative cases from the current literature to show how specific biochemical processes or structures may be characterized, and how molecular manipulation allows genetic modification of such processes and structures to meet scientific and/or societal needs. Examples include yeast and microbial enzymes or enzyme systems as well as crop proteins and enzymes.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).

Prerequisite: one of BTEC 3P50, 3P63, BCHM 3P01, 3P02 or permission of the instructor.

BTEC 4P09

Selected Topics in Animal and Plant Signal Transduction Pathways

(also offered as BIOL 4P09 and BCHM 4P09)

Perception of stimuli to effects on gene expression, emphasizing the molecular/biochemical tools used to study these pathways.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).

Prerequisite: BCHM 3P01.

BTEC 4P18

Computational Chemistry: Applications in Biotechnology

(also offered as CHEM 4P18)

Structure-based drug design, molecular modelling, conformational search techniques, secondary and tertiary protein structure prediction, quantitative structure activity relationships and bioinformatics.

Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: students must have a minimum of 13.5 overall credits.

Prerequisite: CHEM 2P12 or 2P63.

BTEC 4P21

Mutagenesis in Disease and Biotechnology

(also offered as BCHM 4P21 and BIOL 4P21)

Exploration of the various mechanisms of mutagenesis of the genetic material, how they contribute to disease and how they can be adapted to produce new biomolecules.

Lectures/seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).

Prerequisite: BCHM 3P02 or BIOL 3P50.

BTEC 4P27

Enzyme and Co-enzyme Mechanisms

(also offered as CHEM 4P27)

Hydrolytic and other processes catalyzed by enzymes lacking non-protein prosthetic groups; transferase reactions involving biotin, pyridoxal phosphate, thiamine pyrophosphate, folic acid and cobalamin; oxidation mechanisms involving pyridine nucleotides, flavoenzymes, hydroperoxidases and oxygenases.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisites: BCHM 3P01, 3P02 and CHEM 2P21.

BTEC 4P51

Molecular Virology

(also offered as BIOL 4P51)

Bacterial and animal viruses. Topics include biochemical properties, virus-host interaction, productive cycle, effect of virus on host cell and organism, viral vectors and gene therapy, recombinant viral vaccines and origin of virus.

Lectures, seminar, 2 hours per week.

Restriction: students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).

Prerequisite: BTEC 3P50 or permission of the instructor.

BTEC 4P57

Bacterial Genetics

(also offered as BIOL 4P57)

Molecular and transmission genetics of bacteria. Bacterial genetics from early descriptions of transformation and transduction to current developments in molecular genetics.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Restriction: students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).

Prerequisites: BTEC 3P50 and BIOL 2P98 or permission of the instructor.

BTEC 4P58

Fungal Genetics

(also offered as BIOL 4P58)

Transmission and molecular genetics of fungi. Recent advances in gene manipulation and the contribution of studies on these organisms to general genetic principles.

Lectures, seminar, 2 hours per week.

Restriction: students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).

Prerequisite: one of BTEC 3P50, BIOL 2P96, 3P51 or permission of the instructor.

BTEC 4P67

Biophysical Techniques

(also offered as BCHM 4P67 and CHEM 4P67)

Modern instrumental methods of biotechnology emphasizing under-standing theory development of newer technologies which utilize biological components. Topics include optical, X-ray and NMR techniques, separation techniques, hybridization assays, immunoassays, biosensors and mass spectral techniques; membrane chemistry.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisites: BTEC 2P63 and CHEM 2P21 or permission of the instructor.

BTEC 4P68

Biotransformations

(also offered as CHEM 4P68)

The organic reactions carried out by isolated enzymes, fungal cultures and bacteria. The production of pharmaceutical, agricultural and industrial chemicals by biological processes.

Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of CHEM 3P20, 3P62, 3P63 or permission of the instructor.

CO-OP COURSES

BTEC 0N00

Work Placement

Optional Co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.

Restriction: open to BTEC Co-op students.

BTEC 0N01

Work Placement I

First Co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.

Restriction: open to BTEC Co-op students.

BTEC 0N02