Microbiology

• Up-to-date taxonomy of the Prokaryotes;
• Methods of modern systematics (especially –omis-based models of relationships);
• problems and limits of cultivation and taxonomy;
• Presentation of the important archaeal and bacterial groups
• Structural Biology of microbial cells (Bacteria, Archaea)
• Gene regulation in Prokaryotes with specific transcription factors or alternative sigma factors
• Methods to explore gene regulation systems
• Posttranscriptional regulation with small RNAs and special RNA-binding proteins
• Organisation and mechanisms of the CRISPR-Cas sytems
• Modern fluorescence-based methods (e.g. single-molecule FRET, superresolution microscopy) to study biomolecules in vivo and in vitro

• microbial diversity, methods in microbial ecology and microbial-driven processes of environmental and/or biotechnological relevance
• molecular microbiology with a special focus on transcriptional and posttranscriptional gene regulation

1. At least two lectures in the field of microbiology (for a selection see the course catalog at the university portal).

• Systematic of the Prokaryotes (winter semester)
• Gene regulation in Prokaryotes (winter semester)
• Synthetic and Applied Microbiology (winter semester)

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2. One seminar in the field of microbiology (for a selection see the course catalog at the university portal).

• Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology (winter semester)
• Transcriptional and posttranscriptional gene regulation in Prokaryotes (summer semester)
• SynMiBi SGM (winter and summer semester)

In the seminar a seminar presentation has to be held and registered in Flexnow as an ungraded study achievement (Studienleistung).

30 min oral examination (graded)

Examiner:

• Prof. Dr. Dina Grohmann
• Prof. Dr. Markus Jeschek
• Prof. Dr. Winfried Hausner

The student can choose the examiner.

Please get in contact with the examiner of your choice to arrange a date of the oral examination, than register the examination in flexnow.

• Advanced insights in the field of fluorescence-based analysis of biomolecules
• Theoretical and practical knowledge of single-molecule methods in biological research with special emphasis on fluorescence-based techniques like single-molecule FRET, single-molecule pulldown, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) using confocal and TIRF-based microscopes
• Approaches for the site-specific incorporation of fluorescent dyes into proteins
• Incorporation of unnatural amino into prokaryotic and eukaryotic proteins for site-specific modification
• Presentation and discussion of own experimental gained data

Laboratory course (6 weeks) with seminar: Chemical Biology and Single-Molecule Biochemistry

Portfolio examination (graded)

• Intensive knowledge transfer in the field of molecular microbiology
• Theoretical and practical knowledge about different molecular standard techniques (Isolation of DNA, PCR, cloning, Southern blot Western blot)
• Heterologous expression of proteins
• Chromatographic purification of proteins
• Methods for the analysis of enzymatic activities (e.g. polymerases, nucleases, RNA-Chaperons)
• Methods for analysis of DNA-protein and RNA-protein interactions using the archaeal transcription machinery and prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas systems as example
• Presentation and discussion of own experimental gained data

Laboratory course (6 weeks) with seminar: Molecular Microbiology

Portfolio examination (graded)

Laboratory course (6 weeks) with seminar: Organismic Microbiology

Portfolio examination (graded)

• Intensive knowledge transfer in the field of structural characterization of microbes
• visualization of intact cells (Bacteria; Archaea) using different preparation methods for electron microscopy
• ultrastructural characterization of the isolates: heavy-metal shadowing, freeze-etching, ultrathin sections
• learning of a broad spectrum of EM techniques (e.g. negative staining;
  freeze-etching, cryoTEM)
• learning of special data recording techniques (e.g. electron tomography; cryoTEM),
• introduction to image processing for electron tomography
• Presentation and discussion of own experimental gained data

Laboratory course (6 weeks) with seminar: Microbial Cell Biology

Portfolio examination (graded)