Course Identification

Microbiology is a general term for the study of microorganisms and it can be divided to basic and applied sciences. As a basic science, microbiology provides some of the most accessible research tools for probing the nature of life processes. Since all cells have much in common, our understanding of the chemical and physical basis of life heavily relies on studies on microorganisms and especially on bacteria. As an applied science microbiology deals with many important issues in medicine, agriculture and industry. In this course we will focus on the basic aspects of microbiology. We will utilize our knowledge from studies on bacteria to uncover a variety of biological processes including evolution, transcription regulation, stress response and chemotaxis. We will study current topics in microbial genomes and deal with advanced experimental methods applied in microbiology studies.

Upon successful completion of the course students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the unique role of bacteria as a research and biotechnology tool.
2. Demonstrate familiarity with modern experimental tools in microbiology.
3. Demonstrate understanding of basic design principle of biological systems, discovered in bacterial systems.

Brock Biology of Microorganisms (Madigan, Martinko, Parker)

Reading list will include research papers which will be studied during the course