BMS2044


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2011/2 Provisional Module Catalogue - UNDER CONSTRUCTION & SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Module Code: BMS2044

Module Title: MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES AND INTERACTIONS

Module Provider: Biosciences	Short Name: BMS2044
Level: HE2	Module Co-ordinator: COTTELL A Dr (Biosciences)
Number of credits: 15	Number of ECTS credits: 7.5

Module Availability

Semester Two

Assessment Pattern

Coursework - 20% Essay due in week 7

10% Practical report due in week 10

Examination - 70%

Module Overview

Prerequisites/Co-requisites

Module Aims

To enable students to gain an understanding of the interactions between microbes existing as populations and communities
To enable students to gain a critical understanding of how models of communication systems in microbial populations can be applied to such phenomena as disease pathology and generation of energy
To understand how microbes can be manipulated in vitro to display evidence of communication

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:-

Appreciate the importance of studying microbes as populations rather than as individual, independent cells
Appreciate and discuss the role of biofilms as important microbial communities
Discuss the processes by which microbes in populations communicate with each other, including the dynamics of these communication systems from an evolutionary perspective
Understand the ways in which the phenomenon of bacterial communication can be harnessed for a range of biotechnology applications

Module Content

Lecture No:	Lecturer	Topic
1	AC	Introduction. Overview of microbial populations and interactions
2	AC	Ecological interactions: commensalism; mutualism, and symbiosis
3	MEB	Competition in microbial communities: the Lotka-Volterra model
4	AC	Biofilm initiation, development and physical interactions
5	AC	Medically important biofilms: dental, respiratory and wound pathology
6	AC	Medically important biofilms: medical devices and prostheses
7	AC	Approaches for the control of medically important biofilms
8	AC	The role of biofilms in bioremediation
9	AC	Quorum sensing overview
10	MEB	Quorum sensing paradigms: sensing systems
11	MEB	Quorum sensing paradigms: social cheating
12	?AC	The role of quorum sensing in microbial pathogenicity
13	MEB	Metagenomics: Methods and applications
14	CA-R	Microbial consortia for biotechnological applications
15	CA-R	Microbial fuel cells
16	CA-R	Biorefineries

Methods of Teaching/Learning

Lectures

Selected Texts/Journals

Recommended reading:

Madigan

MT , Martinko JM, Dunlap DV and Clark DP (2009) Brock: Biology of Microorganisms, 12th edition, Prentice Hall

Electronic journal of Biotechnology (available via the library website)

Last Updated

19 April 2011