Advanced Microbiology

Lecture Syllabus

Microbiology impinges on almost every aspect of human life. This module forms a solid foundation for students who intend to pursue Microbiology at a higher level and provides a broad insight into the discipline for students studying Microbiology as a subsidiary subject in the first year.

InstructorDr. Abdelraouf A. Elmanama e-mail: elmanama@mail.iugaza.edu

Textbook: (The following book is required for all students)

Microbiology: An Introduction. 7^th . Ed. Tortora. Funke. Case (2002). Addison Wesley Publishers

Course Goals:

1. Define and use microbiological terms.

2. Describe the principles applied in culturing and characterizing microorganisms.

3. Distinguish diverse microorganisms according to their physiological characteristic.

4. Explain the role of microbes in human life.

5. Develop an awareness of the impact that microbes have on the biosphere and humans.

6. Describe the role of microbiology in biotechnology.

7. Demonstrate acquisition of general knowledge about microorganisms and the ability to utilize and apply this information.

8. Demonstrate skills necessary to perform laboratory investigations of microorganisms.

9. Communicate scientific findings to peers.

10. Read and understand scientific literature pertaining to Microbiology.

11. Understand the relationship that exists among microbes, man, and disease

12. Understand the environmental factors relating to microbial growth and control.

13. Appreciate the importance of microorganisms in our world in both beneficial and harmful ways.

14. Understand how microorganisms are harnessed for industrial and environmental uses.

15. Demonstrate understanding of the multitude of organisms classified as microorganisms.

Examinations and Grading:

Two major exams

Midterm: 30 points
Final: 40 points

Microbe report: 5 points

Main Presentation: 25 points

Report: 15
Presentation: 10

Microbe of the Week

Each student will be responsible for choosing a “Microbe of the Week”. This will be part of your class participation grade. Each student is asked to select a BACTERIUM and write a 5-10 page report describing that organism and its characteristic features. You are asked to be creative and select unusual or little known organisms. The “Microbes of the Week” will be dealt with in 2 parts.

1) Oral presentation (2.5 points) – Give a brief description of your organism to the class. This should include a physical description, description of what it does, where it is found, etc. Provide any interesting historical background about the organism or what it does, perhaps how the organism was named. Explain why you found that particular organism interesting. PowerPoint presentations are NOT necessary, but if you choose to use PowerPoint you must bring it by the class on a CD.

Main presentation:

2) Written report (2.5 points) A 5-10 pages written report will be due at the time of your in-class presentation. Reference all sources, including web pages. You will need to submit an electronic version of your report. Be creative. Tell a story about the organism. Write about how it was discovered, how it is used, who discovered it. There are a number of books available for reading more about interesting microbes.

list of topic will be found at the end of this course description. Each student will be assigned one title to work on. The purpose of this assignment is to strengthen the student ability of information collection from various sources and broaden the knowledge gained in this course. You should deal with this assignment seriously as it may serve as a basis of thesis selection. You will be given a paper or an article as a start and then you will be on your own. References used should be cited properly using the system of the Islamic University Journal.

Notes:

No limit to page numbers.

Presentation Time: 20 minutes Discussion time: 10 minutes. Class participation is required. It would be fair to hand a copy of your report to each student a week before your presentation.

Lecture Topics. You will be expected to have read the appropriate material prior to the coverage of each topic. All material in the book may not be covered in lecture but you will be responsible for having read all the material.

The following list of lecture topics is a guideline and is subject to change.