MCB 6670C The Microbiome
- Credits: 3
- Prerequisites: microbiology
- When Offered: Spring, Summer C
- Syllabus: MCB 6670C The Microbiome
Description
Increase knowledge, appreciation, and use of genomics to understand the breadth of microbial diversity across a wide variety of organisms and habitats, using methods that do not require culturing the myriad inhabitants. Students will use tools to practice the analysis and interpretation of genomic datasets to examine different microbiomes.
What is the microbiome? The collection of microorganisms that inhabit a specific environment is referred to as the microbiome. The microbiome includes all microbial life: bacterial, archaeal, fungal, and viral. Microbiomes exist on and within plants, mammals, insects, amphibians, birds, and other organisms. They also exist in their own niches across a wide variety of terrestrial, marine, and aquatic environments. Many of these environments are extreme, including hot springs, deep ocean thermal vents, and subsurface rock formations.
Given the many environments in which microbiomes thrive, no single course or group of courses can adequately cover them. This course aims to teach students many of the modern tools for analyzing the microbiome and its role in a given environment. As a result, this course will provide students with experience using many molecular tools in microbiome analysis, including 16S rRNA sequencing, whole-genome sequencing, epigenomics, transcriptomics, small RNA analysis, proteomics, and metabolomics. Some lessons learned on experimental design will also be included.
The course will be entirely web-based. The reading assignments, course lecture materials, and online computer-based lab activities will be posted each week. There will be a quiz every two weeks and four exams.
Course Goals
- Students will be able to understand what the microbiome is and the principles that drive microbial life in different niches.
- Students will be introduced to how microbial omics data is used to understand the human microbiome and its role in human health.
- Students will be introduced to the modern technologies used in microbiome research. By understanding the technologies, students can learn which biological questions can be asked and answered with today's tools.
- Students will learn how to analyze 16S rRNA and metagenomic data, which are often used in microbiome analysis.
- Students will participate in the analysis and interpretation of an ongoing microbiome experiment and write a report on their results.
At A Glance
- 100% online
- Classes offered spring, summer, & fall
- No GRE requirement
- Over 40 courses to choose from
- Tuition $535.00 per credit hour