General Microbiology

At the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. discuss basic concepts and scope of microbiology; 2. describe the layout of a microbiology laboratory, equipment and reagents in a microbiology laboratory; and 3. discuss the theory behind basic protocols in a microbiology laboratory.

History of the Science of Microbiology. Classification of organisms into prokaryotes and eukaryotes; Classification of prokaryotes into archaea and eubacteria. Anatomy and cytochemistry of bacteria and fungi. Shapes, groupings and colonial morphology of bacteria and fungi. Structure of viruses. Sterilization and disinfection; Structure, ecology and reproduction of representative microbial genera. Culture of micro-organisms. Isolation of micro-organisms; isolation of bacteria, virus, fungi (yeasts and moulds. Nutrition and biochemical activities of micro-organisms. Antigens and antibodies. Identification and economic importance of selected microbial groups. Microbial variation and heredity. Study of laboratory Equipment. Introduction to microbiology of air, food, milk, dairy products, water and soil. Staining techniques. Antibiotic sensitivity tests. Serological tests. Antimicrobial agents. 300 Level