GDIC3022K Microbial Physiology

Academic Year 2023/2024

Microbiological Physiology is designed for Stage 3 Students who are undertaking dual undergraduate degree programmes at Guangzhou-Dublin International College. The module specifically aims to develop students’ knowledge of fundamental theory and skills in microbiological physiology, with a view to preparing them for the future advanced study in biology.

In this course, the microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, gene engineering will be combined but mainly focus on the bacterial life phenomena related knowledge. First, the basic research strategies and skills of bacterial will be introduced systematically. Then the Current research achievements, existing problems, and future directions of quorum sensing regulation, antibiotic resistant, biofilm and fatty acid metabolism will be introduced.

Module 1: Basic Microbiological Physiology
Module 1 is the most basic knowledge in microbiological physiology, and it is also the compulsory content of microbiological physiology. The contents include brief introduction of microbiological physiology, the gene and genome of prokaryote, the gene mutation in bacteria, the plasmid and vector in bacteria.
Unit 1 introduction
• The relationship between main microbiological physiology phenomena and production practice.
• The basic introduction of the microbial research strategies.
Unit 2 the gene and genome of prokaryote
• The history of gene research
• The basic character of gene in prokaryote organism
• The basic character of genome in prokaryote organism
Unit 3 the gene mutation in bacteria
• The importance of gene mutation in microbial research
• The type of gene mutation in bacteria and how it generated
• The rules of naming gene and mutation gene in bacteria
• The gene suppression and gene polarity mutation
Unit 4 plasmid and vector in bacteria
• The basic concepts and application of plasmid and vector
• The biological characteristic of plasmid in bacteria
• The types of plasmid vector

Module 2: The research strategies of microbiological physiology
Module 2 is designed to introduce the research strategies of microbiological physiology. The contents include the ways to get mutants in bacteria, the application of mutants in bacterial, the basic strategies and technical in the identification of structure gene in bacteria, the basic strategies and technical in the research of regulation gene in bacteria.
Unit 5 bacteria mutants
• The methods to generate the random gene mutations in bacteria
• The principle and application of gene site mutation in bacteria
• The technical of gene site mutation in bacteria
• The selections of mutants in bacteria
Unit 6 the identification of structure gene in bacteria
• The basic strategy of gene identification in prokaryote
• The classical research method of gene identification in bacteria
• The modern technical and principle of identification of bacteria gene
Unit 7 the research of regulation gene in bacteria
• The basic concept of regulation gene in bacteria
• The mechanism of lac operon
• The modern technical and principle of bacteria regulation gene

Module 3:Some topics in microbiological physiology
Module 3 is designed to introduce some topics in microbiological physiology research. The contents include the research of fatty acid biosynthesis in bacteria, the quorum- sensing in bacteria and the antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
Unit 8 the research of fatty acid biosynthesis
• The pathway and characteristic of fatty acid biosynthesis in all life
• The mechanism and pathway of fatty acid biosynthesis in bacteria
• The diversity of bacteria fatty acid biosynthesis
Unit 9 the research of quorum- sensing mechanism in bacteria
The basic strategy of gene identification in prokaryote
• The basic concept and the discovery history of quorum-sensing
• The quorum-sensing system of gram negative bacteria
• The quorum-sensing system of gram positive bacteria
• The research of quorum-sensing system in Xanthomons
Unit 10 the research of antibiotic resistance in bacteria
• The mechanism of anti-bacteria drugs
• The mechanism of antibiotic resistance in bacteria
• The measures to antibiotic resistance in bacteria