MIB-31306 Microbial Ecology

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Studiepunten 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Expected knowledge on:

Celbiologie 2 or General and Environmental Microbiology

Contents:

The Microbial Ecology course is an advanced course on the occurrence, diversity and activity of microorganisms (prokaryotic archaea and bacteria, lower eucaryotic protozoa, yeasts and fungi) in man-made and natural ecosystems. The lectures deal with: 1. microorganism interactions with their biological and physico-chemical environment;
2. biotransformations of organic pollutants and specific elements, like S, Fe and Hg in natural and man-made ecosystems;
3. the detection, identification and functional characterization of microorganisms at the DNA- and rRNA-level by using molecular fingerprint techniques, cloning and sequencing, and the use of fluorescently labelled probes towards 16S rRNA; application of additional cellular components as biomarkers for identity and function (e.g. phospholipids, proteome); 4. theories on genome stability, gene flux and adaptation;
5. phenomena of quorum sensing cell-cell communication and cross talk between microorganisms and their hosts in symbiotic and associative interactions such as in the mammalian intestine, plant-microbe interactions, and the soil biosphere.
In addition to the lectures, students will perform a literature study. In small groups specific cases related to microbial ecology will be studied. Examples are 'degradation of (organo) pollutants in soil', 'host-microbe interactions in the mammalian intestine' and 'structure-function analysis of complex ecosystems'.
The experimental part consists of an experiment in which the students become familiar with major laboratory techniques and computer analyses to be able to study microbial ecology. The experiment comprises:
- molecular detection and quantification of microorganisms;
- specific microbial transformations;
- microbial genomics.

Aims:

The course will provide more insight in and give advanced knowledge of modern microbial ecology as an integration of an holistic and reductionistic approach. The students will learn to analyse complex ecosystems with modern molecular techniques. In addition, she/he will learn to predict ecological functions from the study of the genome

Activities:

Attend the lectures that are supported by a reader and the textbook. Study literature (problem-based-learning followed by a short presentation. Perform several practical experiments and write a report for each experiment.

Examination:

The final mark is based on a written exam that covers the lectures, the practical course and the literature study (70%), a written report of the literature study (15%) and written reports of the experiments in the practical course (15%). To pass the course, the mark for the exam should be at least 5.0.

Literature:

Reader 'Microbial Ecology' and practical course handbook (both are available at the laboratory of Microbiology). Textbook 'Microbiology' (Prescott et al. 5th ed.).