Microbial Ecology

Course Description

COURSE CONTENT

1. Microbial interactions within microbial communities

• L: Basic principles of microbial ecology. Interactions in the microbial communities of oral cavity, urogenital and gastrointestinal tract. Categories of interrelationships between microorganisms in microbial communities of oral cavity, urogenital and gastrointestinal tract. Quorum sensing systems. Microbial biofilms. Application of biofilms in biotechnological processes.
• S: Microbial interactions in different environmental conditions and identification of interaction mechanisms.
• E: Characterisation of bacterial cells surface properties – microbial adhesion to solvents (MATS)

2. Modern approaches in a study of microbial communities

• L: Application of molecular methods in researches of microbial biodiversity. Autecology and synecology – two basic approaches in the studies of microbial communities. In vitro chemostat and continuous models of gastrointestinal tract.
• S: Application of PCR-DGGE in the researches of biodiversity of microbial communities.             
• E: Isolation of whole cell DNA frommixed microbial population of ecosystem. Identification of individual bacterial strains of mixed culture by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and sequencing of the genome.

3. Microbial ecology of oral cavity, urogenital and gastrointestinal tract      

• L: Microbial ecology of gastrointestinal tract. Metabolite interactions in the gastrointestinal tract.Microbial ecology of oral cavity. Microbial ecology of urogenital tract.
• S: Microbial ecology of oral cavity, urogenital and gastrointestinal tract.
• E: Formation of biofilm: adhesion of bacterial cells on polystyrene and to glycoprotein mucin.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• theorize the reasons for the application of biofilms in the biotechnical processes in a relation to planktonic (individual) growth of microbial cells
• explain multicellular defending mechanisms responsible for biofilms resistance to stressful environmental conditions 
• explain the application of the 16S rRNA gene sequencing and PCR-DGGE, as molecular culture independent approaches, in defining of composition, genetic potential and functionality of microbial communities
• assess the potential of applying quorum sensing in biotechnology
• sketch the possible models of adhesion of bacterial cells to the intestinal epithelium
• compare and evaluate the autecological and synecological approaches in researches of microbial community ecology              
• compare and evaluate in vitro chemostat and continuous models of gastrointestinal tract
• identify certain microorganisms in pooled microbial community by 16S rRNA gene sequencing
• conduct a method of testing biofilm formation