Unit MICROBIOLOGY
- Course
- Biological sciences
- Study-unit Code
- 55037308
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Ermanno Federici
- Teachers
-
- Ermanno Federici
- Hours
- 56 ore - Ermanno Federici
- CFU
- 8
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2021
- Offered
- 2022/23
- Learning activities
- Base
- Area
- Discipline biologiche
- Academic discipline
- BIO/19
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- The microbial world. Microbial diversity. Microorganisms’ biology. Methods and protocols for studying microorganisms in laboratory. The prokaryotic cell (shape, size and arrangements) and its molecular structure (cytoplasm, genome, cell wall, cytoplasmic membrane, endospores, etc). Functional properties of microorganisms. Metabolic diversity. Nutrition and growth. Kinetic of cell division. Physical and chemical requirements. Bacterial genome. Variation and gene transfer in bacteria. Fundamentals of bacterial taxonomy (nomenclature, classification, identification). Light microscopy and techniques for observation of microorganisms. Direct examination without staining. Fixed and stained smears. Staining theory. Simple and differential stains. Culture media and cultivation methods. Techniques for isolating microorganisms. Biochemical identification of bacteria. Total and viable bacterial counts. Microbial inactivation by physical and chemical agents. Antibiotic susceptibility testing.
- Reference texts
- Madigan e Martinko - "Brock, Biologia dei microrganismi", 14th Edition, Pearson Ed. (2016) – or previous editions.Willey, Sherwood e Woolverton - "Prescott, Microbiologia generale", Vol.1. McGraw-Hill.
Didactic material (powerpoint slides and scientific literature) provided by the lecturer.( http:www.unistudium.unipg.it) - Educational objectives
- Knowledge of the main groups of microorganisms, particularly fun respect of the structure and function of bacteria. Learning of the main methods for studying microorganisms in the laboratory.
- Prerequisites
- The foreground developed by the students during the first year of studies, i.e. Courses of Chemistry, Botany, Zoology and Cytology, is regarded as essential to the learning and understanding of Microbiology
- Teaching methods
- Lessons
- Other information
- Course venue: University buildings in Via del Giochetto - see Department website (http://www.dcbb.unipg.it)Contact the Professor for meeting
- Learning verification modality
- The examination consists in a colloquium. The examiner will check the student’s level of knowledge and ability to build connections between various parts of the Microbiology program, as well as terminology used and command of technical language
- Extended program
- History of Microbiology. Biodiversity and taxonomy: grouping of microrganisms according to Haeckel and Whittaker and evolutionary relationships among living organisms. General Bacteriology. Organization of biological systems. Differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Structure and ultrastructure of the bacterial cell. Size, shape and arrangements. Chemical composition. The circular DNA of bacteria. Cytoplasm and inclusions. Cytoplasmic membrane and its functions. Cell wall (composition, molecular structure, differences between gram-positive and gram-negative). Structures outside the cell wall: cilia, flagella, fimbriae, capsule, glycocalyx, etc.). Protoplasts and spheroplasts. Spores and sporulation. Microscopy and bacteria staining. Bacterial metabolism. Enzymes and their regulation (constitutive enzymes, inducible and repressible). Energy processes. Fermentation, aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Comparisons of energy yields. Nutrition. Nutritional types: classification according to the nutrients, the energy source of carbon. Essential metabolites and growth factors. Bacterial multiplication and factors affecting it. Growth cycle. Growth parameters. Synchronous cultures. Continuous culture. Diauxic growth. Pathogenicity and virulence (infection and infectious disease). Virulence factors. Variability of virulence factors. Bacterial toxins. Antibiotic resistance. Sterilization. Theory and practical methodologies. Sterility controls. Genotype and phenotype. Physiological adaptation. Clonal selection. Alteration of phenotype. Genotypic variations. Bacterial mutants. Plasmids. Episomi. F and R factors. Recombination phenomena: transformation, transduction, conjugation.