Aims & Learning Objectives:
Aims: To examine the dynamic interaction between bacterial gene expression and the environment and to explore the molecular mechanisms of microbial communication and development.
After taking this course the student should be able to:
* discuss the role of the environment in controlling microbial physiology;
* describe, in detail, the molecular mechanisms employed by bacteria to monitor their environments;
* to describe, in detail, the molecular biology of microbial differentiation and development;
* to orally communicate scientific ideas and concepts.
Content:
Topic 1. What is the relationship between microbial gene expression and the environment?
Topic 2. How does a microbe sense its environment? What are the molecular mechanisms of signal transduction in bacteria ie two-component pathways and quorum sensing?
Topic 3. What is the role of environmental sensing in controlling the relationship between bacteria and hosts eg pathogen and symbiont?
Topic 4. Microbial differentiation and Development. Molecular mechanisms of development and differentiation in bacteria such as Myxococcus xanthus and Bacillus subtilis.
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