Learning outcomes

• have a knowledge and understanding of how bacteria are able to behave as pathogens in animal bodies.
• have a knowledge of the methods used for cultivation of bacteria in the laboratory and the implications of growth requirements for behaviour and activity in the natural environment, including the human body, food and soils.
• be able to describe and critically evaluate the means by which bacteria can be detected, isolated and enumerated.
• be able to describe and critically evaluate the application of methods used to control bacteria growth in a wide range of environments, e.g. heat, chemicals & antibiotics.
• have an understanding of the principles underlying bacterial classification, nomenclature and identification
• know and understand the fine structure of bacterial cells, and the relationship between structure and function.

Aims

Content

• Aspects of bacteria and health
This will examine the human body, in particular the skin, oral cavity and intestinal and respiratory tract as a habitat for bacteria. An examination of properties that enable bacteria to behave as pathogens will be undertaken. Several diseases will be considered to illustrate the range and activity of bacterial pathogens including those associated with food borne illness. The impact and and implications of food borne illness will be considered.
A review of the role of the specific bacteria in human disease will include: Staphyloccus aureus, the family Enterobacteriaceae, particularly E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, the streptococci, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Clostridium botulinum, the lactic acid bacteria and their role in dental disease.

• Bacterial growth: For and against!
Will include methods used for laboratory cultivation, formulation of growth media, and their use in bacterial isolation (includes use of a CAL package to develop an understanding of approaches to bacterial isolation). Bacterial preservation. Measurement of bacterial growth. Control of bacterial growth - encompassing physical and chemical approaches, e.g. use of heat, irradiation, disinfectants, antiseptics and antibiotics. Industrial uses of these methods will be considered, as will the importance of antibiotic resistance.
he use of bacteria in the food industry will be explored.

• Bacterial Systematics
Including: Bacterial classification, nomenclature and identification. Whole organism fingerprinting and genotyping methods in classification. Approaches to the detection and identification of bacteria will be considered, including the use of molecular, biochemical, chemotaxonomic and immunological approaches.

• Aspects of bacterial cell structure
Cell envelope structure (i.e. Gram positive & gram negative envelopes). Cell surface structures, cell inclusions and their role in the bacterial cell. Bacterial endospores including an introduction to the genera Bacillus and Clostridium. Role of structures in disease, e.g. tetanus, anthrax and botulism.

In practical sessions students will use and evaluate some of the approaches used for the detection and identification of bacteria in environmental samples. They will also acquire the practical skills necessary to be able to work safely and efficiently with bacteria in the laboratory.

Reading Lists