BIOL 4220 Molecular Microbial Ecology

(3-0-3) Prerequisite: BIOL 3180 or BIOL 4180 or BIOL 4750. An exploration of the extent of biodiversity in the microbial world and the functions of microorganisms in the global ecosystem. An emphasis will be placed on the detection of bacteria in aquatic systems. Current methods used in microbial community assessment including PCR, DNA hybridization, 16S rRNA sequencing and insitu-PCR will be presented.