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2026-2027 / BIOC0732-1

Interaction between organisms

Duration

36h Th, 16h Pr, 16h AUTR

Number of credits

 Master in biochemistry and molecular and cell biology, research focus5 crédits 
 Master in biochemistry and molecular and cell biology, teaching focus (Réinscription uniquement, pas de nouvelle inscription)5 crédits 

Lecturer

Denis Baurain, François Beaufay, Pierre Cardol, Marielle Lebrun, Nicolas Magain, Sébastien Massart, N..., Catherine Sadzot

Coordinator

Catherine Sadzot

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Organisms of all kinds are constantly interacting with each other. These interactions, which can be beneficial or harmful, can trigger a wide variety of cellular and molecular mechanisms.

This module will look at the diversity of these interactions, considering certain mechanisms that enable organisms to defend themselves or, on the contrary, to take advantage of interactions with other species.

 
Table of contents of theory lessons

   *  Introductory lesson: symbioses, diversity, ecology, evolution
   *  Bacteria/bacteria interactions
   *  Plant/micro-organism interactions (protists, fungi, bacteria or viruses)
   *  Animal/micro-organism interactions (protists, fungi, bacteria or viruses)

Table of contents for practical work,...

Practical work :

   * Animal cell/virus interaction: Impact of VZV infection on the cellular response to various stresses: observation of stress granules.

Tutorials :

   * Creation of an infographic on the diversity of parasitic eukaryotes
   * Demonstrations of symbiosis between animals and algae
   * Organization of a mini-symposium

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of the "interactions between organisms" module, students will be able to:

  • Know the types of interactions between organisms and be able to illustrate them;
  • Understand the cellular and/or molecular mechanisms involved in neutral, positive or negative interactions between organisms;
  • Understand the symbioses at the origin of the eukaryotic cell and those that led to the diversity of photosynthetic eukaryotes.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

This module will build on the concepts covered in the Bac Bio and subsequent modules of the BBMC Master's course:

Toolbox :

  • Nucleic acid analysis
  • Imaging and experimental models
  • Protein analysis
Thematic modules :

  • Evolution, adaptation and diversity
  • Development: from cell to organism
  • Responses to the environment

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Theoretical lectures will most often consist of ex cathedra presentations with active student participation. Students are strongly encouraged to attend lectures and take notes in addition to the material available in eCampus and/or projected. The essential concepts to be mastered will be specified during the course. 

The practical sessions will be mainly computer-based and will introduce or put into practice the theoretical concepts covered in the lectures. Taxonomic research related to computer graphics will be carried out in groups, but the resulting computer graphics will be the personal work of each student.

The mini-symposium will involve researchers presenting their work. The students, divided into groups to prepare for the mini-symposium, will receive the speakers' publications beforehand. Reading these publications will enable them to gain a better understanding of the topic being presented and will encourage discussion after each presentation. Each group will be asked to provide a list of questions to be addressed to one of the speakers and a summary of the speaker's response to each question (group work to be handed in during the week following the module).

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course

Course materials and recommended or required readings

Slideshows and articles relating to the module's theme and the mini-symposium presentations will be made available to students on the e-Campus platform.

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )

Written work / report

Other : Presentation of articles


Further information:

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )

Written works / report

Other : Presentation of articles

 

Further information:

This module will be assigned a unique rating corresponding to :

* the grade awarded for all courseworks (45% of the global grade), namely:

 

15% for the computer graphics assignment to be completed as part of one of the computer-based practical sessions (individual grade); 15% for the group assignment to be completed as part of the mini-symposium (list of questions to be put to one of the speakers and a summary of their answers) (group grade); 15% for the group assignment completed as part of F. Beaufay's course (in-class presentation) (group grade);
 

 
* the grade obtained in the written examination (open questions and/or multiple-choice questions, including those relating to the practical sessions and the mini-symposium presentations) (exam organized during the examination session; 55 %).




However,

1. completion of ALL the assignments is a prerequisite.

2. the overall grade will only be calculated if both the grade for the written examination AND the mark obtained for the assignments (presentation of an article, infographic and group work for the mini-symposium) are equal or above 10/20. If this is not the case, the lower mark will be taken into account (overall mark for practical work OR mark for the written examination).

In the event of a failure in the written examination, there will be no partial exemption from the theoretical part, and the entire theory will be re-presented.

 

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Practical and/or practical work is compulsory. The concepts covered are likely to form part of the assessment. Any absence must be justified and, if necessary, students are required to put their work in order. If a report is required, it must be completed even in the event of absence.

Contacts

Supervisors are available (outside holiday periods) to answer your questions: either during the lessons/workshop sessions given as part of this module, or by e-mail.

Module coordination :

Catherine Sadzot

Tel : 04/366 24 45 
e-mail : csadzot@uliege.be 


Co-teachers:

Denis Baurain (Denis.Baurain@uliege.be)
François Beaufay (Francois.Beaufay@uliege.be)
Pierre Cardol (pierre.cardol@uliege.be)
Marielle Lebrun (mlebrun@uliege.be)
Nicolas Magain (Nicolas.Magain@uliege.be)
Sébastien Massart (Sebastien.Massart@uliege.be)

Association of one or more MOOCs