BIOLOGY 2421
MICROBIOLOGY
The goal of this course is to provide students with a fundamental base of knowledge they will need to be able to develop a realistic view concerning the relationship of their lives with everyday microorganisms. Topics like infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, protozoans and fungi will be addressed. There will be lectures on beneficial microbes as well as how microbes grow in particular environments, with varying pH and atmospheric conditions. Bacterial and viral structure, how they replicate, their metabolism, how they cause disease and their susceptibility to antimicrobial chemotherapy. Immune reactions by a host once infected with some microbe.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
History, Concepts and Classification
1. How our lives are affected daily by microorganisms.
2. How scientific nomenclature is recognized with genus & species.
3. Cover the five kingdoms of living organisms.
4. Show differences among the various microorganisms.
5. Cover the beneficial aspects of microbes.
6. Know major scientific contributions during the Golden Age of Microbiology
Chemistry of Microbiology
1. Describe the atomic structure, function and relationship as it relates to chemical bonds and reactions.
2. Know the structure and function of inorganic compounds: Acids, Bases, and electrolytes.
3. Define pH mathematically, give the biological scale and its importance as it relates to water and buffers.
4. Know organic macromolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids with regards to structure, source, function, and metabolic pathways.
5. Describe and give examples of high energy compounds
Prokaryotic Cell Structure
1. Identify the 3 basic shapes of prokaryotes.
2. Describe the external structures of bacteria and give their function.
3. Describe the differences & similarities of Gram positive vs Gram negative organisms including mycoplasmas and archaeobacteria.
4. Describe the structure and function of a prokaryotic cell wall.
5. Describe the structure and function of a prokaryotic cell membrane.
6. Identify and describe the function of internal structures of bacteria
7. Describe the various structures prokaryotes need for movement.
8. Compare and contrast prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
Viruses
1. Describe differences between viruses and other microorganisms.
2. Describe the structures and differences between the DNA and the RNA viruses.
3. Describe virus families and common names of disease they cause.
4. Describe differences between human, animal and plant viruses.
5. Explain how to culture bacteriophages.
6. Describe how viruses are identified.
7. Describe the similarities and differences between lysogenic and lytic cycles of bacteriophages.
8. Describe how ds or ss DNA as well as +ss and –ss RNA replicate.
Microbial Genetics
1. Define genetics, chromosomes, genes, genotype and phenotype.
2. Describe the role of DNA & it’s replication.
3. Describe RNA related to protein synthesis.
4. Describe gene regulation as to bacterial survival.
5. Describe bacterial recombination in relation to conjugation, transformation and transduction.
6. Describe plasmids and their functions.
Biotechnology
1. Describe Biotechnology, genetic engineering and recombinant DNA.
2. Describe various vectors used in biotechnology.
3. Describe restriction endonucleases and how they are used.
4. Describe plasmid vectors.
5. Describe methods of how plasmids are placed into bacterial cells.
6. Describe genetic engineering applications.
7. Describe the advantavges & the disadvantages of genetic engineering.
Microbial Growth
1. Describe how bacteria and viruses are cultured.
2. Microbial classification due to temperature preferences.
3. Microbial classification due to pH preferences.
4. Describe how osmotic pressure affects microbe growth.
5. Describe classification due to oxygen requirements.
6. Describe how bacteria deal with toxic forms of oxygen.
7. Describe selective and differential media.
8. Describe anaerobic growth techniques.
9. Define a bacterial colony.
10. Describe the isolation of bacteria for pure cultures.
11. Describe fully, the bacterial growth curve and binary fission.
Microbial Metabolism
1. Describe anabolism, catabolsim and metabolism.
2. Describe the function of enzymes and give specific examples
3. Explain the action of substrates or products that helps or inhibits enzyme activity.
4. Describe oxidation and reduction.
5. How is ATP synthesized.
6. Describe Glycolysis, the Kreb’s Cycle and the Electron Transport Chain with it’s end products.
7. Describe the proton motive force.
8. Compare aerobic, anaerobic respiration with fermentation.
9. Describe fermentation and some of it’s end beneficial end products.
Physical & Chemical Control
1. Describe the contributions of Lister and Semmelweis in controlling
microbes.
2. Describe sterilization, disinfection, antisepsis, germicide,
bacteriostasis, asepsis, degerming and sanitation.
3. Describe the effects of antiseptics and disinfectants on cellular
structures.
4. Describe moist heat vs dry heat and their effects.
5. Describe the effects of filtration, desiccation, osmotic pressure and radiation on bacteria.
6. Describe the effects of halogens as a control agent.
7. Describe the actions of surface active agents.
8. Compare formaldehyde vs glutaraldehyde.
9. Describe the effects of the different types of alcohols and heavy metals.
10. Describe the three types of pasteurization.
Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
1. Describe chemotherapeutic agents and know their mechanism of action (MOA).
2. Describe the differences between antibiotics and antimicrobials.
3. Describe selective toxicity, superinfection, broad and narrow spectrum.
4. Describe the target areas of microbes that drugs search out.
5. Describe the differences between targeting bacteria vs viruses vs protozoans vs fungi.
6. Describe the MIC and MBC methods of control.
7. Describe synergism vs collective drug therapy.
Host Defenses & Vaccines
1. Describe specific & non-specific host defenses.
2. Describe the role of the skin and mucous membranes in non-specific defense resistance.
3. Describe phagocytosis and phagocytic cells and their functions.
4. Describe the stages of inflammation.
5. Describe fever and its role in resistance.
6. Describe the two complement pathways, alternative & classical.
7. Describe the role of interferons in viral infections.
8. Describe the different types of immunity.
9. Describe humoral and cell mediated immunity.
10. Describe what antigens and allergens are.
11. Describe antibodies and the different types and their actions.
12. Describe the role of what antibodies do in immunity.
13. Describe the various T cells as well as B cells.
14. Describe the roles of memory and plasma cells in immunity.
15. Describe the Major Histocompatibility Complex and the class types found in humans.
16. Describe the role of Helper T cells in cell mediated immunity.
17. Describe the role of a cytotoxic and suppressor T cells.
18. Describe the various classes of vaccines.
19. Describe vaccines and vaccinations.
20. Describe neutralization, opsonization and agglutination.
21. Describe active vs passive immunity.
22. Describe antitoxins and antivenins.
23. Describe what different vaccines are made from and the type of immunity they convey.
Pathogenesis & Epidemiology
1. Describe pathology, pathogens, pathogenicity, virulence, infection, signs & symptoms, syndrome, communicable disease, contagious disease and non-communicable disease.
2. Describe normal flora.
3. Describe normal, transient and opportunistic microbes.
4. Describe Koch’s Postulates.
5. Describe epidemiology.
6. Describe disease as classified by geographic location.
7. Describe infective disease transmission route.
8. Describe a vector and mechanical and biological transmission.
9. Describe nosocomial infections and how these are controlled.
Viral Diseases
In describing viral identification, is the virus naked or enveloped, the capsid makeup and structure; family and representative genus; name of disease, how transmitted, mechanism of infection, symptoms, diagnosis and treatement
Diseases to know: Chickenpox, Herpes, Smallpox, Upper Respiratory Diseases; Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Mosquito born encephalopathies, Hepatitis, Rabies, Hemorrhagic Fevers, Hantavirus, Ebola and Marburg along with other emerging viral diseases.
Bacterial Diseases
Describe the disease, causing organism, transmission route, mechanism of action, symptoms, prevention and treatment.
Diseases to know: Anthrax, Botulism, Brucellosis, Cholera, Conjunctivitis, Cystitis, Diphtheria, Dysentery, Food Poisoning, Gas Gangrene, Gonorrhea, Impetigo, Legionellosis, Lyme Disease, Meningitis, Plague, Pneumonia, Psittacosis, Puerperal Sepsis, Q Fever, Scarlet Fever, Rheumatic Fever, Strep Throat, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Tetanus, Traveler’s Diarrhea, Typhoid Fever, Rabies, Tuberculosis, STDs, and other (re)emerging bacterial diseases.
Fungal Diseases
Describe fungal diseases, the causing agent, transmission route, diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
Diaseses to review: Superficial Mycoses, Histoplasmosis, Cryptococcosis, Coccidiodomycosis, Candidiasis & Blastomycosis.
Protozoan Diseases
1. Describe protozoan diseases, the causing agent, transmission route, diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
Diseases to review: Cryptosporidiosis, Toxoplasmosis, Giardiasis, African Trypanosomiasis, Amebic Dysentery, Leishmaniasis, American Trypanosomiasis.