At the end of the course students should:

1. Have an appreciation of the practice of microbiology.
2. Be able to describe the structure of bacterial cells, the form, arrangement and replication of genetic material within a bacterial cell; the types of mutations that may occur in bacterial DNA, evolution of bacteria; the use of nucleic acid in the molecular taxonomy of bacterial species.
3. Be familiar with the mechanisms by which bacteria can exchange fragments of DNA, the mechanisms by which self-transmissible DNA fragments maintain their presence in bacterial cells and how they may mediate their own transfer to other bacterial cells.
4. Be able to describe the replication strategies used by bacterial viruses.
5. Be able to describe the nutritional and physical requirements for bacterial growth and explain the dynamics of the growth of a bacterial population and how this growth can be measured.
6. Be able to describe the principles involved in killing bacteria, and make recoomendations on use of physical and chemical methods used to control microbial growth, including how the effectiveness of heat treatments is measured.
7. Have an understanding of how proteins are secreted and exported to different cellular compartments and appreciate the role of membrane and cell wall associated proteins in nutrient transport and microbial pathogenesis.
8. Be familiar with the ways in which bacterial pathogens can be transmitted to humans, and the factors that influence transmission of pathogens and the occurrence of infectious diseases. This includes the concepts of virulence and virulence factors, opportunistic pathogens, and predisposing factors to disease.
9. Appreciate the barriers that are used by the host to resist bacterial pathogens, the mechanisms whereby innate (natural) and adaptive (acquired) immunity provide protection against infectious agents, and the role of vaccines in protection of animal hosts from infection.
10. Understand how the plant pathogen, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, can be used to construct transgenic plants.

J.M. Willey, L.M. Sherwood and C.J. Woolverton.  Prescott's Microbiology.  9th Edition.  McGraw Hill.

Teaching materials and course documentation will be posted on the MyUni website (http://myuni.adelaide.edu.au/).

This course will be delivered in the following means:

• 24 x 1 hour lectures and 8 x 1 hour tutorials delivered over 12 weeks. 
• Practical sessions as required.  Practical class contact of 4hr per week for up to five weeks during semester, as required according to the MBS Practical ABC system (see Course Planner for details, under SCIENCE 2100/2101/2102 as required).

Student learning is further supported by provision of additional questions to help focus independent study during tutorial contact weeks, plus extra resources on MyUni for some topics. Student's revision of key concepts from pre-requisite courses is encouraged and facilitated by provision of material to guide and aid revision on MyUni, plus formative online revision quizzes.

A student enrolled in a 3 unit course, such as this, should expect to spend, on average 12 hours per week on the studies required. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g., lectures and practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading and revision).

Practicals for this course are Pracs ABC which involves additional enrolment

Schedule

Week	Type of learning activity	Topic
Week 1	Lecture	Introduction to the Microbial World Morphology and Structure of Bacteria Diversity of Bacteria
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity
Week 2	Lecture	Factors affecting Growth of Bacteria I Factors affecting Growth of Bacteria II Factors affecting Growth of Bacteria III
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity	Review of bacterial structure and function
Week 3	Lecture	Cultivation and Identification of Bacteria Cell Membranes and Membrane Associated Functions Cell Wall Synthesis and Assembly
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity	Growth of bacterial populations
Week 4	Lecture	Nutrient Uptake Protein Secretion in Gram positive and negative bacteria No scheduled lecture
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity	Inactivation of bacteria.
Week 5	Lecture	No scheduled lecture No scheduled lecture Microbiology Test 1 (Weeks 1 to 4)
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity
Week 6	Lecture	Bacterial Genetics and Molecular Biology II Bacterial Genetics and Molecular Biology I Recombinant DNA Technology Fundamentals I
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity	Protein secretion in bacteria
Week 7	Lecture	Recombinant DNA Technology Fundamentals II Lateral Gene Transfer and Gene Knockouts Jumping Genes: IS elements, Transposons & Integrons
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity
Week 8	Lecture	Bacteriophage Diversity & Interaction with Host Cells I Bacteriophage Diversity & Interaction with Host Cells II No scheduled lecture
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity	Fundamentals of bacterial recombinant DNA technology.
Week 9	Lecture	No scheduled lecture No scheduled lecture Microbiology Test 2 (Weeks 6 to 8)
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity
Week 10	Lecture	Bacteria and Human Health Colonization to Disease Bacterial Survival in the Host
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity	Lateral gene transfer.
Week 11	Lecture	Virulence factors; Mechanisms for Disease No scheduled lecture Agrobacterium: An Extraordinary Plant Pathogen
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity	Microbial pathogenesis.  Pathology of Urinary tract infections caused by Escherichia coli.
Week 12	Lecture	Biotechnology of Transgenic Plants Water Treatment & Testing, Water-borne Pathogens Wastewater Treatment
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity	Bioloogy and molecular biology of plant infections by Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
Week 13*	Lecture	Optional Theory Revision Session I Optional Theory Revision Session II Optional Theory Revision Session III
	Practical
	Tutorial or other activity

*Optional teaching week

Assessment Task	Task Type	Hurdle	Weighting
Practical Assessment	Summative	No	20%
Tutorials	Summative	No	10%
Theory tests	Summative	No	30%
Final Exam	Summative	No	40%

Assessment Task	Type of assessment	Percentage of total assessment for grading purposes	Hurdle (Yes/No)
Practical Assessment	Summative	20%	No
Tutorials	Summative	10%	No
Theory tests	Summative	30%	No
Final Exam	Summative	40%	No

The assessment methods used for this course are designed to test development of various Bachelor of Science graduate attributes. The components of assessment used are:

Practical assessment: 20%

This summative and formative activity will assist students to develop an understanding of the observational and experimental character of science, to value the close relationship between scientific research and development of new knowledge, develop practical laboratory skills, appreciate the need for experimental design, develop skills to interpret raw experimental data. The practical exercises are designed to develop teamwork, objective criticism and high level numerical and computing skills. The skills to effectively communicate the outcomes in written and oral reports is a significant part. The laboratory exercises will give students opportunity to learn skills made available by new technologies. The practicals include laboratory based exercises, computer based exercises to develop data handling skills, use of online databases and bioinformatics applications, and online journal and abstracting systems for preparation of review style reports. The practicals are assessed by a combination of written reports and oral presentations.

Tutorials: 10%

All tutorials are compulsory. The aim of tutorials is to develop a student’s knowledge, scientific curiosity for microbiology and an appreciation of the role of microbiology for society and the environment. The tutorials are designed to reinforce lectures, assist students to develop a deeper understanding of the theory, allow students to explore the use of experimental methods to test hypotheses. Assessment of tutorials is by a mix of multiple choice question sets, short answer questions and evaluation of student performance in discussion.

Theory Tests: 30%

This summative assessment activity will address the learning outcomes (objectives) for theory delivered in the first term of the semester. One test will be scheduled at the end of Term 1 and the other at mid-Term 2. Test formats will be published in advance and may comprise multiple choice question sets, questions requiring one or two sentence answers or short answer questions designed to test understanding and application of the theory component of the course are used. Feedback on test outcomes is used to assist students to address learning difficulties, to refine frameworks for communication of scientific information and problem solving.

End of Semester Exam: 40%

This summative assessment activity will comprehensively address the learning outcomes (objectives) of this course. This assessment uses a mix of multiple choice question sets, brief answer questions (requiring at most 1 or 2 sentences to answer), short answer questions (10 minute questions requiring answers of about 1 page of written material) to test student comprehension of the theory part of the course. In particular, the 10 minute short answer questions are used to test ability to apply the theory to solve practical problems, and development of logical thought within the framework of the scientific method.

If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days or more late without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the mark.