Course: 11:680:491 and 16:681:572, Microbial Ecology and Diversity (3 credits) Normally offered: Spring 2007 semester by Dr. Barkay Pre-requisites and other registration restrictions: General Microbiology; limited to 20 students. Format: Lecture. Two 80 minutes lectures aweek. Description: The course introduces students to microbial life in natural environments by focusing on the diversity of microbes and their interactions in soils, aquatic systems, the plant and animal body. Current issues in Microbial ecology and state-of-the-arts methodologies are stressed. While the scientific basis governing processes and interactions is the focus of the course, frequent references are made to the implications of the described phenomena to man's ability to manage his environment. The course is divided to four sections: Introduction - Historical perspective, origin of life, methods in microbial ecology Genetic diversity - The tree of life, enzyme diversity, genomics Metabolic diversity - Microbial metabolism in the environment, biogeochemical cycles, interactions of microbes with metals Ecosystem diversity - Microbial interactions, effect of a biotic factors, life in aquatic and terrestrial environments Examinations: Three mid-term exams account for 75% of the final grade. Other requirements: A term project is submitted in a hard copy format as well as presented via poster or powerpoint to the class. The term project grade accounts for 25% of the final grade. NOTE: The above information is being provided to give potential students a general idea about the course. Specific details may change from semester to semester, and will be provided by the instructor in the course syllabus.