Microbial Diversity

3 credits · Undergraduate Programs

An overview of microbial diversity, the evolutionary mechanisms that give rise to it, and the methods used to study it. Topics may include: microbial systematics; characterizing the last universal common ancestor of life; estimating global microbial diversity; "unculturable" microbes and molecular DNA-based methods used to study them in nature; modern cultivation techniques; comparative genomics of microbial species; environmental metagenomics; microbial biogeography and speciation and gene flow in microbial communities. Prerequisite(s): Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology 343 or consent of the Department.