CALS Farm and Industry Short Course Program: Farm Microbiology: Lecture Outlines

SECTION 1.
Introduction to Microbiology

  1. The Scope of Microbiology.

    1. Definitions.

      1. Microbiology.

      2. Microorganism.

    2. Branches of applied microbiology.

      1. Medical and veterinary microbiology.

      2. Agricultural microbiology.

      3. Food microbiology.

      4. Microbiology of water and waste treatment.

      5. Industrial microbiology and biotechnology.

  2. Distribution of Microorganisms and Their Associations with Humans.

    1. Distribution.

    2. Harmful effects.

      1. Disease.

      2. Food spoilage.

        1. Food as a medium for microorganisms.

          1. Moisture.

          2. Nutrients.

        2. Milk.

        3. Clear Liquids.

      3. Deterioration of structures, dwellings, textiles, manufactured items, etc.

    3. Beneficial effects.

      1. Production of essential nutrients.

      2. Production of O2 in the atmosphere.

      3. Primary source of organic material.

      4. Replenishment of soil nitrogen.

      5. Biodegradation – breakdown of complex organic materials.

      6. Source of antibiotics and drugs.

      7. Manufacture of fermented foods and beverages.

      8. Other biotechnological products – e.g., vaccines, enzymes, genes, etc.

      9. "Future uses."

  3. "Non-cellular Replicating Units."

    1. Prions.

      1. Structure and replication.

      2. Resistance.

      3. Cause a type of amyloid disease called Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE).

      4. Some diseases.

        1. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans.

        2. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) – also known as mad cow disease.

        3. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer and elk.

        4. Scrapie.

        5. Kuru.

        6. Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy.

        7. Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy.

    2. Viruses.

      1. General aspects.

      2. Structure and replication.

      3. Some diseases.

        1. Foot and Mouth Disease (not Hoof and Mouth Disease).

        2. Asian Bird Flu (Avian Influenza).

        3. SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

        4. West Nile Virus.

        5. Monkeypox.

    3. Viroids and Satellites.

      1. Viroids.

      2. Why "satellite"?

      3. Satellite Virus.

      4. Satellite Nucleic Acid.

  4. Cellular Organisms.

    1. Differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell types.

      1. Prokaryotic cells.

      2. Eukaryotic cells.

      3. Summary Table & Diagrams:

      Characteristics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

      Property Prokaryotic Eukaryotic
      general kinds of microorganisms bacteria, archae protozoa, fungi, algae, plants, animals
      nuclear membrane absent present
      number of chromosomes 1 >1
      size relatively small relatively large
      unicellular vs. multicellular basically unicellular and undifferentiated unicellular and undifferentiated, multicellular and highly differentiated, and many degrees in between
      chloroplasts and mitochondria absent present
      mitosis and meiosis absent present
      ribosomes (size) 70S 80S
      cytoplasmic streaming absent present
      membranes lack sterols and contain saturated or monounsaturated lipids contain sterols and polyunsaturated fatty acids


      Typical Procaryotic Cell


      Typical Eucaryotic Cell

    2. Bacteria – including cyanobacteria.

      1. General aspects.

      2. A few diseases of recent importance.

        1. Anthrax – Bacillus anthracis.

        2. Bubonic plague – Yersinia pestis.

        3. Lyme disease – Borrelia burgdorferi.

    3. Archaea.

    4. Protozoa.

      1. General features and nutrition.

      2. Distribution and ecology.

      3. Some major diseases.

        1. Malaria – Plasmodium – infects blood stream.

        2. Trypanosomiasis (also known as sleeping sickness) – Trypanosoma – affects central nervous system.

        3. Amoebic dysentery – Entamoeba histolytica – intestinal parasite.

        4. Giardiasis – Giardia lamblia – intestinal parasite.

        5. Cryptosporidiosis – Cryptosporidum – intestinal parasite.

    5. Fungi.

      1. General features and nutrition.

      2. The microscopic fungi that are called molds.

        1. Microscopic appearance – filaments and spores.

        2. Distribution and ecology.

        3. Conditions favoring growth.

        4. Life cycle.



          Asexual life cycle of a mold (Penicillium)

        5. Beneficial aspects of molds.

          1. Antibiotics.

          2. Cheese ripening.

          3. Other food and industrial applications.

          4. Biodegradation.

        6. Harmful aspects of molds.

          1. Mycotoxins.

          2. Systemic diseases – including blastomycosis and histoplasmosis.

          3. Superficial diseases – including athlete's foot and ringworm.

          4. Spoilage and deterioration.

      3. The microscopic fungi that are called yeasts.

        1. Microscopic appearance – single cells, not filamentous.

        2. Distribution and ecology.

        3. Conditions favoring growth.

        4. Beneficial aspects of yeasts.

          1. Useful fermentations (bread, beer, wine, industrial alcohol) – generally performed by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

          2. Feed yeasts.

        5. Harmful aspects of yeasts.

          1. Food spoilage.

          2. Disease – including Candida.

      4. Fungi that are not considered "microorganisms."

    6. Algae.

      1. General features and nutrition.

      2. Distribution and ecology.

      3. Microscopic algae.

      4. What are "blue-green algae"?

      5. Algae that are not considered "microorganisms."

      6. Associations with humans.

    7. Plants.

    8. Animals.

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Farm Microbiology Home Page.
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Page last modified on
2/23/05 at 4:00 PM, CST.
John Lindquist, Dept. of Bacteriology,
University of Wisconsin – Madison