ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY - M. I. Chernyavskaya - 2016

APPENDIX 1. COURSE SYLLABUS "ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY"

Class="center">Introduction

Fundamental laws of Microbial Ecology. The biospheric significance of microorganisms. Subject Matter of microbial ecology. Similarities and differences between general ecology and microbial ecology. Scope of environmental microbiology. Subdisciplines of environmental microbiology (autoecology, synecology, comecology). Winogradsky–Beijerinck and Volterra–Gause laws. Energetic, concentration, destructive, transport, and environment-forming roles of Bacteria in the biosphere. Contributions of G. A. Nadson, V. L. Omeliansky, V. S. Butkevich, B. L. Isachenko, and other researchers to The Development of environmental microbiology. Advancement of environmental microbiology in the Republic of Belarus.

Impact of Physical Environmental Factors on Microbial Activity

Effects of magnetic fields on microorganisms. Magnetotaxis. Temperature effects, temperature optima, and tolerance limits of bacteria. Concepts of psychrophiles, mesophiles, and thermophiles. Molecular mechanisms determining the temperature tolerance limits of bacteria. Effects of radiation. Phototaxis, photochromism, and Photosynthesis in microorganisms. Mechanisms of damaging effects of UV rays and ionizing radiation. Radioresistance of microorganisms and its molecular mechanisms.

Impact of Chemical environmental factors on Microbial Activity

Concepts of Water activity and water potential. Non-halophilic and halophilic microorganisms. MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF osmotolerance. Oxygen as an electron acceptor. Reactive oxygen species and stages of their reduction in the microbial Cell. Microbial response to pH. Acidophiles, neutrophiles, and alkaliphiles. Influence of Environmental pH on the Generation of the transmembrane Electrochemical Potential in bacterial Cells.

Interactions of Bacteria with Bacteria, Protozoa, and Invertebrates

Types of interactions between biological entities. Commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, competition, and allelopathy (antibiosis). Facultative and obligate symbioses. METABOLISM/2.html">THE CONCEPT OF consortia. Interactions between bacteria and protozoa. Tripartite symbioses. Intranuclear bacterial parasitism in protozoa. Bacterial interactions with insects and their regulation by the host. Microbial symbionts of deep-sea pogonophorans. Luminous bacteria as symbionts of entomopathogenic nematodes.

Bacterial-Plant Interactions

Plant phyllosphere and rhizosphere microbiota. Symbiosis between legumes and nitrogen-fixing ROOT nodule bacteria. Stages of symbiotic development (attraction, adhesion, internalization). The concept of Lectins. Phytopathogens. Specific features of agrobacterial parasitism. The concept of genetic colonization.

Bacterial Interactions with Vertebrates and Humans

The concept of autochthonous and allochthonous microbiota in vertebrates. Microbial ecosystems of the ruminant forestomach (rumen). Light-emitting Organs in deep-sea fish. Microbial ecology of The Human Body. Normal microbiota of the Skin, reproductive tract, and Digestive System. Oral Cavity microbiota. Large Intestine microbiota. The concept of dysbiosis. Pathogenic microorganisms and their virulence factors.

Demecology. Air and Soil Microbial Communities

Basic Concepts of demecology. Bacterial ranges. Bacteria as cosmopolites and their association with specific ecosystems. Typical Structure of a microbiocenosis. The concept of succession. Aeromicroflora and its sources. Factors influencing the quantitative and qualitative composition of aeroplankton. Microbiological air quality control. Soil microbiota. Structure of soil microbial communities. The concepts of r- and K-strategies in microorganisms. The Role of microorganisms in soil fertility.

Microbial Communities of Marine and Freshwater Environments

Hydromicrobiota and its characteristics. Microbiota of stratified freshwater bodies. Nutrient and energy fluxes in freshwater microbiocenoses. Oligotrophic and eutrophic water bodies and their determining factors. The concept of saprobity. Methods for sanitary and microbiological water quality control.

Application of Microorganisms in Environmental Problem Solving

Bioremediation. Artificial microbial communities in wastewater Treatment plants. Microorganisms as biodestructors. The USE OF MICROORGANISMS in environmental cleanup from industrial pollutants. Microbiological wastewater treatment. Activated sludge microbiocenosis. Prospects of Genetic Engineering in solving environmental problems.