GEOL 295 - Geomicrobiology

Welcome to the home page for Geology 295 - Geomicrobiology. This class is meant to provide an introduction to microbiology (not a replacement for classes in microbiology, which are also offered at UVM) that can be used by geologists, natural/environmental scientists and engineers, chemists, and any others that are interested in the role microorganisms play in geological and environmental processes. We will review basic concepts and techniques to learn about basic microbiology, genetics, and identification techniques before launching into an element-by-element treatment of the role organisms play in cycling of C, N, O, P, S, Fe, Mn, As, U, and Si as well as other compounds including transition metals and organic contaminants.

Syllabus for Fall 2011 Class HERE


The 2011 Mid-term take-home exam is here

The 2011 Final take-home exam is here


Lectures:

Lecture 1 - Geomicrobiology Intro

Lecture 2 - Cell assembly

Lecture 3 - DNA, PCR

Lecture 4 - Genomics, sequencing

Lecture 5 - Microbial ID techniques

Lecture 6 - Microbial metabolism

Notes 7 - Microbial Biofilms

Notes 8 - Photosynthesis



Papers for Reading and discussion:

Brocks and Banfield, 2009 - Lipids and proteogenomics

Ram et al., 2005 - Environmental Proteomics

Denef et al., 2010 - Environmental Genomics

VanBerkmoes et al., 2009 - Community Proteomics

Bond et al., 2000 - FISH at Iron Mountain

Rogers and Amend, 2006 - Metabolisms at Vulcano

Gorby et al., 2006 - Nanowires

Conrad et al., 2010 - TCE Co-metabolism

Schmidt et al., 2010 - Biogeochemical Fe cycling and ecosystem functioning

Norlund et al., 2009 - S cycling and PODS


Wolfe-Simon et al., 2010 - Arsenic replacement for phosphorus


Lab files:

Genomics lab sheet

Poster Template