Pennsylvania State University 3 credits PPEM
This is a lecture-based course that will broaden students' understanding of the diverse biotic and abiotic interactions relevant to microbes in diverse environments. In particular, this course focuses on ecological interactions between microbes in a common environment or between microbes and their eukaryotic hosts (e.g. plants and animals). In addition to learning about ecological theory as it applies to microbes, students will learn about historical and contemporary approaches to studying microbes in different environments. This will include substantial focus on cutting edge '-omics', microscopic, and direct functional analytical approaches to understand both the distribution of microbial taxa (i.e. who's there) and what processes they carry out in their natural environments (i.e. what they're doing). In the latter portions of the class, students will apply the theory and techniques to understanding the ecology of specific environments, including environmental, agricultural, and food environments. The objectives of this course include: provide students with a firm understanding of contemporary microbial ecology and environmental microbiology; conceptually link processes that occur in disparate environments, such as plant roots, termite guts, and cheese rinds; provide students with the language to discuss these concepts and processes; make students familiar with and conversant in 'omic' and other cutting edge functional techniques used to study microbes in their natural environments; provide select examples of how humans take advantage of microbial ecology for our benefit (such as suppression of pathogens or promotion of waste decomposition). The course will conclude with a research and writing project where students will review the microbial ecology of a specific environment. This course expects students to have an understanding of basic microbiological concepts.
Our subject experts help with essays, research papers, case studies, discussion posts, and capstone projects for these programs β written from scratch to your course requirements.
Program and course information is reproduced from each university's published academic catalog for informational purposes and may change. Always confirm current requirements with your university. We are an independent academic support service and are not affiliated with or endorsed by the universities listed.
Expert guides on essay writing, citation styles, study skills, and academic success.
View All Articles
Learn how to write a good research question for a paper. Narrow your topic, identify a research problem, and create a focused question with practical examples.
Learn how to choose a research topic you can actually research. Discover how to narrow broad ideas, find reliable sources, and develop a focused research question.
Learn how to cite sources in a research paper using APA, MLA, and Chicago styles, with in-text citation examples and reference-list tips.