Soil Microbiology

Prerequisite: All students applying for this course are expected to have basic studies in Microbiology.

Course Justification

The course will be justified by being the platform that will equip the student with the knowledge and skill needed to understand and manipulate the microbial population in the soil and the surrounding environment. 

Course description

The course was designed to provide a basic understanding of environmental microbiology including; the functional diversity of microorganisms in the environment in relation to human welfare and ecosystem health, microbial interactions with pollutants in the environment and the fate of microbial pathogens in the environment. Topics covered include microbial environments, detection of bacteria and their activities in the environment, microbial biogeochemistry, bioremediation, and water quality.

Course Aim

To learn the basic principles of environment microbiology and be able to apply these principles to understanding and solving problems in water quality and bioremediation.

To become familiar with current research in environmental microbiology. 

To learn how to read and contextualize current research articles.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course the student should be able to:

Demonstrate the fundamental knowledge of the structural units of macromolecules. 

Able to describe the molecular structures of macromolecular components of cells (nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates); 

Be able to explain the basis of heredity, mutagens and mutants; mutation and variation; genetic recombination and transfer, transformation, conjugation and transduction; plasmids and operons

Explain genomics, proteomics and bio-information

Be able to distinguish how these macromolecules interact and function in the cell. 

Students will have skills to communicate molecular cell biology