BIO 208 Microbiology

Tom Schultz- Biology Instructor/Biosafety/Lab Coordinator

Experience:

–Microbiology/BIO 101Instructor

–Laboratory Instructor/Coordinator

–Worked as QC Manager/Microbiologist

–Bioremediation Service Representative

–Environmental Laboratory Manager/Instrument Operator

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•(Yes, there is lab this week!)

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How can I “Ace” Micro?

•Come to class and know the day’s topic

•Take good notes in lecture and in lab

•I will try to keep lab and lecture on schedule

•DO NOT miss lab (or lecture)!

•Read the day’s lab prior to arrival

•Lab is fast paced and involves work in groups

•Everyone can succeed in the lab

•35% of  your grade!

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WebPage Information

Check often for announcements!

http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/schul1te/

 

A “Little” about Microbiology

•Microbe Facts:

•(Dept of Energy Joint Genome Project)

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•* Most microbes do not cause disease!

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Really? 

Read if you Dare!

•All through the flight to Nairobi he was throwing up blood mixed with a black liquid. When he got to the hospital he sat down and waited to be served. Then his spine went limp and nerveless and he lost all sense of balance. He started going into shock. He then started throwing up an incredible amount of blood from his stomach and spilled it onto the floor. The people who were there said the only sound was the choking in his throat from his constant vomiting while he was unconscious. Then came the sound of bed sheets being torn in half which was the sound of his bowels opening up and venting blood from the anus. The blood was mixed with intestinal lining. His gut was sloughed. The linings of his intestines were being expelled from his body along with huge amounts of blood. This dying process which happens to nine out of ten people who come in contact with the deadly disease is called crashing and bleeding.

Microbe Facts

(Dept of Energy Joint Genome Project)

 

* Most microbes do not cause disease.

•Microbes first appeared on earth about 3.8 billion years ago. They are critically important in sustaining life on our planet.

Producers

•Are producers in the ecosystem by photosynthesis

Cyanobacteria

 

Green Algae

Decomposers

•Decompose organic  waste- Fungi

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•Bread Mold

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Mushrooms

Microbe Facts

(Dept of Energy Joint Genome Project)

 

* Most microbes do not cause disease.

* Microbes first appeared on earth about 3.8 billion years ago. They are critically important in sustaining life on our planet. * Microbes make up most living matter and display tremendous diversity, yet less than 1% have been cultured (grown in the laboratory) and studied.

 

Diverse Microbes

Microbe Facts

(Dept of Energy Joint Genome Project)

 

 

* Microbes drive the chemistry of life and affect the global climate.

 

 

 

* Microbial cycling of such critical chemical elements as carbon and nitrogen helps keep the world inhabitable for all life forms.

 

Carbon Cycle

Nitrogen  Cycle

Microbe Facts

(Dept of Energy Joint Genome Project)

 

* Microbes generate at least half the oxygen we breathe.

Algae

Carbon assimilators

Oxygen generators

 

Microbe Facts
(Dept of Energy Joint Genome Project)

•Microbes offer unusual capabilities reflecting the diversity of their environmental niches. These may prove to be useful as a source of new genes and organisms of value in addressing bioremediation, global change, biotechnology, and energy production.

Oil Spill Remediation

Waste Management

Water Treatment

Biotechnology

What are genetically engineered microbes used to produce?

 

a. Hepatitis B vaccine.

b. Human growth hormone.

c. Insulin.

d. All of the above.

e. None of the above (genetic engineering of microbes for human products is not approved).

Energy Production

Methane from

landfills and

water treatment

Sugars and grains

 make ethanol

 for fuel

Microbe Facts
(Dept of Energy Joint Genome Project)

 

* Diversity patterns of microorganisms can be used for monitoring and predicting environmental change.

Nutrient Loading

Red Tide-  Dinoflagellates toxic to shellfish

Microbe Facts
(Dept of Energy Joint Genome Project)

 

•Microbes are roots of life's family tree. An understanding of their genomes will help us understand how more complex genomes developed.

•What percentage of DNA in humans actually code for a proteins?

•A. 90%

•B. 75%

•C. 50%

•D. 25%

•E. 3% !!!

Life is Very Similar

•97% of human DNA codes for NOTHING!

•Only 20 amino acids make all proteins

•2000 genes in E. Coli

•50,000-100,000 genes in humans

•Some genes in yeast function essentially like human cells

•Growth rates of bacteria allow us to see evolution and mutations in a short time

Question 3

Where are microbes not normally found?

 

a. Miles below the earth’s surface.

b. Boiling hot springs.

c. The ocean floor (greater than 100C).

d. Inside tissues of organisms.

e. In the absence of oxygen.

 

Anywhere else?

 

Mushroom Spring (original Thermus aquaticus)

Taq polymerase

 

Are you a “Germaphobe”?

 

What’s this?

Microbes are Ubiquitous!