Introduction to Microbiology

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to microorganisms and their importance. Principles of structure and function, metabolic diversity, taxonomy, environmental microbiology, and infectious diseases of bacteria and human immunology are discussed. Current concepts in microbiology including microbial communities and the microbiome will also be covered. Students will learn how to read and use the primary literature for microbiology. The class will also discuss political and ethical issues associated with microbiology. Basic laboratory techniques for bacteriology will be learned. These techniques include the use of a microscope to characterize organisms that have been stained using the Gram stain or the spore stain. Students will learn to isolate individual organisms from a mixture of bacteria. Students will learn to use metabolic tests and clinical and commercial testing protocols to identify specific bacteria. Students will detect and enumerate bacteria in food and water samples. The control of bacteria will be performed by testing antibiotic resistance and determining the efficacy of various disinfectants. Finally, each student will develop a hypothesis about a microbiological topic, design experiments, perform the work in the laboratory and write a paper about their findings.