MICROBIOLOGY: BACTERIA AND VIRUSES LABORATORY

BIO 255

Spring 2007

Instructor:

Dr. Christine White-Ziegler

Office: Sabin-Reed 454

Office phone: 585-3851

E-mail: cwhitezi@science.smith.edu

Office hours: By appointment on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday

Teaching Fellow: Gabby Solano

Laboratory class:

Course credits: 2

Laboratory meeting time: W and F 1:10-3:00 pm

Location: Sabin-Reed 401

Co-requisite: BIO 254 Microbiology: Bacteria and Viruses

Course objectives:

This laboratory is an integral part of the microbiology course (BIO 254) and will complement the concepts learned in lecture. Through experiments performed in the lab, students will learn about the biology of bacteria, methods with which to work with bacteria, how morphological and physiological traits can be used to identify bacteria, and how to control bacterial growth. In addition to learning important laboratory procedures relevant to bacterial manipulations, students will have the opportunity to design their own experiment on a topic of their interest. This “student-designed” independent project allows students to experience the research process from the concept stage to an oral presentation. Finally, the laboratory allows the students to practice and improve their written and oral communication, and quantitative skills.

Laboratory text:

There is no text for the laboratory class. Handouts for each lab will be given out in lecture prior to the lab and should be read before lab. Students will need to keep the handouts and bring them to each laboratory class, as methods from previous labs will be referenced. You may organize the lab handouts in any manner you find suitable.

The text for the lecture class, Microbiology 6th edition by Prescott, Harley and Klein, will serve as an excellent reference for the lab class.

Evaluation:

There will be several ways in which you will be evaluated in this course. The evaluation will include a combination of assignments as described below:

Attendance and participation (7 weeks x 10 points)	70 points
Lab questions/data (2 short reports x 25 points)	50 points
Partial lab reports (2 x 25 points)	50 points
Full lab report (1 x 50 points)	50 points
Independent project design	20 points
Presentation of project (1 presentation x 50 points)	50 points
Total	290 points

Attendance and Participation:

While some experiments may be completed independently, students will work with a partner to perform a majority of the experiments. It is expected that students will work cooperatively and learn all of the techniques demonstrated in the lab. Attendance and participation in laboratory by each student is mandatory. There will be no makeups for missed labs. With the exception of the independent project, if a lab is missed the student may write up the report for credit using the data collected by her lab partner. However, the student will not receive any points for attendance or participation for that week's exercise. All students are expected to complete the independent project. It cannot be written up based on someone else's data.

Short reports:

The short reports will generally consist of presentation of the data and answers to questions about the lab exercise. For some labs, certain questions will be designated as “Pre-lab questions”. These questions must be completed before the beginning of lab. These questions are designed to help in the implementation and understanding of the lab to be performed. While these questions will not be collected, they will be checked for completeness during the lab period. If not complete, students will lose a portion of their participation points for that lab. The questions and any drawings, graphs, and data that should be included in the short report will be due on the date designated. Please be sure to label everything appropriately.

Partial and full lab reports;

The lab reports will be more extensive, reflecting the manner in which scientific papers are written. Student will complete 3 lab reports, 2 of which will be partial reports. A good example to reference for style is an article from the Journal of Bacteriology. The lab reports should be typed, double-spaced, and include a list of references, if necessary. They should include the following sections written in complete sentences:

The lab reports should include the following:

1. Title, name, and date

The title should be specific and describe the specific goal of the study. It should also include the study system when appropriate.

2. Introduction

This section should contain a statement of the purpose(s) of the experiment. Additionally, a few sentences indicating the general significance of the experiment(s) should be addressed with supporting background information.

3. Materials and methods

This section should contain an accurate, detailed description of how the experiments were performed. The steps of the experimentation should be presented in a sequential manner. Use transitions and introductions that describe why each step is being taken or what is being accomplished. For example, write “To determine the titer of the viral lysate, the lysate was diluted 1:10 in phage buffer.” rather than simply saying “The viral lysate was diluted 1:10 in phage buffer.” Overall, this section should be written so that someone else could repeat the experiment by reading your lab report.

4. Results

This section should be a clear, concise, organized objective written description of the results obtained from the experiment. It should start with a brief introduction to the experiment being performed, followed by the specific results, noting patterns or trends observed in the data. Obvious conclusions derived from the data should be stated here, using the experimental data to support your statements. A lab report without a written Results section will not be accepted. Graphs, drawings, calculations, or tables should be presented in this section and appropriately labeled. These figures should come after the text and be referred to from within the text to support the written description.

5. Discussion

This section should include an interpretation of the results and what information they provide about the question being studied, using the data to support your conclusions. An explanation should be included as to whether these were expected results. If the results are unexpected, experiments that could be performed should be suggested. A comparison of the results to other studies should also be included, if applicable. Any problems (experimental error) or limitations with performing the experiment should be described, how these might have affected the experiment, and future study that could address the problem.

6. References

If any textbooks or articles are used for the preparation of the report, they should be cited in this section. Lab reports will be due at the beginning of the lab period on the day noted on the schedule.

Independent project:

Each lab group will perform an independent project. Students will use the techniques they have learned throughout the semester to complete their project. Students must get approval from the instructor for their independent project idea by the date stated in the outline. A specific protocol and list of needed materials must be submitted to the instructor by the date stated on the outline. At the end of the semester, each group will be expected to give a presentation detailing their independent project in a lab meeting format. The independent project presentation should include all of the major elements found in a lab report.

Late policy: Each assignment is due in lab on the date stated in the syllabus. An assignment handed in late will be penalized 10% of the total points for that assignment for each day that it is late.

Outline of course:

(Subject to change)

Week		Lab description	Written assignment
1/31-2/2		Introduction Infection Connection Field trip for microbes	No report needed!
2/7-9		NO LAB
2/14-16	Lab 1/2	Use of the microscope Sterile technique Staining techniques	Partial Lab 1/2 report due 2/28 (Materials and Methods/Results)
2/21-23		NO LAB-Rally Day Week!
2/28-3/2	Lab 3	Bacterial motility	Short report for Lab 3 due 3/7
3/7-9	Lab 4	Environmental regulation of microbial growth/	Partial Lab 4 report due 3/14 (Results and Discussion)
3/14-16	Lab 5	Biochemical tests Rapid identification tests	Full Lab 5 report due 3/28
3/21-23		NO CLASS-Spring Break!
3/28-30	Lab 6	Antibiotics	Short report for Lab 6 due 4/4
		*Submit independent project idea to instructor by 4/4
4/4-6	Lab 7/8	Microbial genetics I	No report needed!
		*Submit project design/materials list to instructor by 4/11
4/11-13	Lab 7/8	Microbial genetics II	No report needed!
4/18-20		Independent project
4/25-27		Independent project (cont.)
5/2-4**		Presentations of independent projects	No report needed!

*All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date noted.

**The final Friday will be used only if presentations are not finished on Wednesday.