Microbial Population Biology

Hi all, a quick note to say that I’ve updated the syllabus to reflect our best-laid plans for the remainder of the semester. We’ll begin with our leftovers prior to break (immigration and diversification) and then turn to an appropriate spring topic, recombination.

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A reminder that your first exam (worth 15%) is this Thursday in class.  It will be open-book, -blog, -notes but will not be collaborative.

To reiterate what I said in class, please prepare by reviewing the central concepts and points from each lecture and from each assigned reading.  Since it is open-book the exam will require application and synthesis and not just regurgitation of facts.  I encourage you to spend some time with the materials so that you will be efficient with them during the exam.

You will need to review and interpret some of the literature that I reviewed in class, ie the papers that I reviewed in lecture but that we did not discuss in recitation. You will also have to draw figures that illustrate concepts or findings, since a picture is worth 1,000 words.

UPDATE:  Here is a link: MLST lab to our MLST laboratory; these will be returned for your reference in the exam.

If you wish to receive any credit for blogs that you have been assigned but not yet completed, Friday 3/12 is your deadline for partial credit. To review, you should have posted on:

1) Sulfolobus and Baas-Becking
2) What the bacterial species concept means to you, esp. in light of MLST
3) Any topic in microbiology for which the species concept matters, to you,
4) Whether experimental evolution (microevolution in the laboratory) can shed light on macroevolutionary phenomena (like the Cambrian explosion)
5) At least 1 comment/post in response to one of your colleagues’ posts

best,

VC

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As we discussed in class, please comment this week on your blog whether experimental evolution of microbes (eg Travisano et al) can shed realistic light on macroevolutionary phenomena (eg the Cambrian explosion).

As always, be creative. Enjoy!

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Now that you’ve read and understood the Whitaker et al paper (link here) on Sulfolobus biogeography, please address the following for Tuesday 2/7:
1) How do their results relate to (or complicate) the Baas-Becking hypothesis (everything is everywhere, the environment selects)?
2) What else do you wish that they (or you) would do with this project, and why? What new questions do you have?

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Hi gang, check your feeds, live –>

(seriously, please let me know if your blog isn’t loading)

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You should all have received an email that you have your own new blog. Start playing with it and please write a post, stating why you’re taking the course, and/or what interests you, and/or what you want to be when you grow up. If you go to http://edublogs.org you’ll find lots of help on moving into your new online home.

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For tomorrow’s lecture, you might want to give this news article a quick read:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050074

It speaks of the controversies surrounding microbial bioprospecting efforts, esp. those of Venter et al.

Another booklet that describes metagenomics and its goals and promises can be found here:

http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/metagenomics_final.pdf

The complete version of the report from the National Academy of Sciences on metagenomics can be found here:

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11902&page=12

And for your final blog posts, to be evaluated:

1) Please post your creative thoughts on either microbial bioprospecting or the evolution of flu virulence

2) When all is settled, please post your abstract of your grant proposal, which should clearly spell out your specific objectives.

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Hi guys,

You may wish to check out my friend Mike’s blog on why influenza virus may either evolve towards increased virulence or decreased virulence.

http://scienceblogs.com/mikethemadbiologist/2009/04/nonoptimal_virulence_and_avian_1.php

Vc

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