For the practical course lecture: Methods in Aquatic Microbial Ecology

One assessment of examination: Portfolio (seminar presentation, written protocol)

Protocol (100 %), seminar presentation (no mark). Active participation (Active and documented participation in practical courses (labs, exercises, seminars, field trips) and courses. These include e.g. the delivery of exercises, writing a lab report or seminar presentations according to the advice of the course supervisor.)

Skills to be acquired in this module

The students learn to…

·       analyze bacterial substrates at ambient concentrations such as dissolved amino acids and carbohydrates by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

·       determine bacterial cell numbers by flow cytometry and epifluorescence microscopy and to analyze these data by image analysis.

·       extract bacterial DNA from water and sediment samples.

·       amplify bacterial genes by specific primers and PCR.

·       assess bacterial communities by culture-independent methods such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and next generation sequencing.

·       present and discuss scientific results.

·       write a scientific protocol.

The students gain competences in:

·       Understanding how to analyze dissolved substrates of heterotrophic aquatic bacterial communities by state of the art approaches.

·       How to assess the abundance of aquatic bacterial communities by state of the art approaches.

·       Analyzing the composition of bacterial communities by PCR-based culture-independent approaches.