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An intensive six-and-a-half-week course for
graduate or postdoctoral students, as well as established
investigators, who want to become competent in microbiological
techniques for working with a broad range of microbes, and in
approaches for recognizing the metabolic, phylogenetic, and genomic
diversity of cultivated and as yet uncultivated bacteria. Limited to 20
students.
The course is designed primarily for scientists with a substantial
background in microbiology who want to isolate, cultivate, and initiate
research programs with a diverse range of microbes. It emphasizes that
the great strength of microbiology lies in the diversity of microbial
types that can be exploited for basic research. The course will
emphasize nature as the source of microorganisms for research; thus,
beginning and advanced students have equal chances to make discoveries.
The course is open to all scientists who have a strong interest in
microbes and their activities (previous students have included
biochemists, ecologists, environmental engineers, oceanographers,
geneticists, geologists, and limnologists).
Students will isolate, cultivate, and experiment with characteristic
microbial types from various marine, freshwater and terrestrial
habitats, including those microbes living symbiotically with animals
and plants. Emphasis will be on the isolation and cultivation of
organisms that are distinguished by their phylogenetic, physiological,
and morphological properties. Techniques for cultivation of strict
anaerobes and phototrophs will be emphasized. Examples of microbial
types that will be isolated are methanogens, acetogens,
sulfate-reducing anaerobes, fermentative anaerobes and both oxygenic
and anoxygenic phototrophs, as well as bacteria involved in the
geochemical cycling of various metals. Magnetic bacteria,
sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, spirochetes, and luminescent bacteria will
also be studied. A laboratory component on molecular approaches to
microbial diversity will instruct students to use approaches of
molecular phylogeny and comparative genomics. This will involve
isolation and amplification of 16S rRNA genes as phylogenetic markers
and the use of computer software programs to analyze nucleic acid
sequences and to construct phylogenetic trees. As the capstone activity
of the course, participants will conduct an individual research project
of their own design.
This course is supported with funds provided by
Gordon and
Betty Moore Foundation
Howard
Hughes Medical Institute
NASA
National Science Foundation
U.S.
Department of Energy
2012 Faculty:
Course Directors
Dan Buckley, Cornell University
Steve Zinder, Cornell University
Course Faculty
Brauer, Suzanna, Appalachian State University
Kelly, Libusha, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Metcalf, William, University of Illinois
Orphan, Victoria, California Institute of Technology
Overmann, Joerg, International Leibniz Research School
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