MICROBIO 312 General Microbiology Laboratory

This class is an introduction to microorganisms, concentrating on laboratory methods used to study a wide variety of microbes. You will learn basic microbiological methods, including sterile technique, enrichment and isolation, microscopy and preservation of cultures. Once these techniques are learned, you will use them to investigate a variety of different topics, including bacterial motility, endospore formation, oxygen requirements, microbial growth, quorum sensing, antibiotic production, biofilms, and bacteria important in human and veterinary health care. You will explore the diversity of microorganisms by studying fungi and viruses, as well as by isolation organisms from a wide variety of environmental sources. You will use a lab notebook and written discussions and summaries to communicate your experimental results and to link them to fundamental concepts in microbiology. This course will complement and reinforce topics taught in MICROBIO 311.