Impacts of Bacterial Gene Regulation on the Environment and Human Health

Catalog description

This course will assist us in comprehending bacterial gene regulation at the transcriptional level. Transcriptional regulation controls a network of essential mechanisms that organisms use to monitor changes in their environment and carry out homeostatic reactions. The ability of an organism to adapt to changes in its environment depends on gene control. The mechanisms of transcription in bacteria are regulated by various molecules. Often, these molecules work by binding to DNA either to accelerate or inhibit the transcriptional enzyme RNA polymerase. In recent years, numerous pieces of information from comparative genomics, sequence analysis, and structural studies have improved our knowledge of bacterial gene regulation. Our focus in this course is on 1) bacterial host-pathogen interaction in human diseases and 2) the adaptation and application of a particular group of bacteria for bioremediation purposes. This course fulfills a Cell and Molecular Biology breadth requirement for the Biology BA and BS. Counts as a Disciplinary Communication course. Prereq: BIOL 326 .