12764 - Synthetic Microbiology Modulübersicht

Module Number: 12764
Module Title:Synthetic Microbiology
  Synthetische Mikrobiologie
Department: Faculty 2 - Environment and Natural Sciences
Responsible Staff Member:
  • Dr. rer. nat. Hansen, Barbara
Language of Teaching / Examination:English
Duration:1 semester
Frequency of Offer: Every summer semester
Credits: 5
Learning Outcome:The "Synthetic Microbiology" module promotes the interactive work and learning of the participating students by combining different teaching disciplines such as a lecture series, a seminar and a practical course. The ability of the students to work in teams will be stimulated by discussing current literature in the context of the lecture content. After successfully completing the module, the students will have acquired competences in terms of self-organization and communication skills in addition to the acquired specialized scientific knowledge. Moreover, the use of a correct scientific language for communication and the presentation of scientific data will be trained.
Contents:After an introduction into the microbial world, the basics of microbiology will be recapitulated, including the the structure and function of microbial cells, metabolism and energetics, molecular information flow and protein processing, microbial growth and its control, regulatory systems and molecular evolution. Furthermore, methods in synthetic microbiology, bacterial systematics, chassis strains for large-scale genome engineering, the design of minimal organisms and approaches for the construction of minimal organisms will be presented in the lecture series. Finally, ethical issues regarding the generation of synthetic cells will be discussed.
Recommended Prerequisites:Basic knowledge in genetics, microbiology, biochemistry and molecular biology.
Mandatory Prerequisites:none
Forms of Teaching and Proportion:
  • Lecture / 2 Hours per Week per Semester
  • Seminar / 1 Hours per Week per Semester
  • Self organised studies / 105 Hours
Teaching Materials and Literature:Teaching material such as lecture slides and study questions as well as the relevant literature will be provided to the students via a the moodle learning platform.

Recommended scientific literature:
  • Juhas et al. 2014. Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli essential genes and minimal cell factories after one decade of genome engineering. Microbiology. 160: 2341-2351.  
  • Reuß et al. 2016. The blueprint of a minimal cell: MiniBacillus. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 80: 955-987.
  • Hutchison et al. 2016. Design and synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome. Science 351: aad6253.
  • Reuß et al. 2017. The contribution of bacterial genome engineering to sustainable development. Microb Biotechnol. 10: 1259-1263. 
  • Reuß et al. 2017. Large-scale reduction of the Bacillus subtilis genome: Consequences for the transcriptional network, resource allocation, and metabolism. Genome Res. 27: 289-299. 
  • Brock Biology of Microorganisms, 15th edition, 2019, Pearson. ISBN.10: 1292235101.
  • Microbes and evolution - The world that Darwin never saw. Essays on microbes and evolution. 2012. ASM press.ISBN: 978-1-55581-540-0.
Module Examination:Final Module Examination (MAP)
Assessment Mode for Module Examination:Written Examination (120 min)
Evaluation of Module Examination:Performance Verification – graded
Limited Number of Participants:None
Part of the Study Programme:
  • Abschluss im Ausland / Biotechnologie / keine PO
  • Master (applied) / Biotechnology / PO 2018
  • Master (applied) - Extended Semester / Biotechnology / PO 2018
Remarks:No offer in summer semester 2025
Module Components:
  • Lecture "Synthetic Microbiology"  only in summer semester
  • Seminar "Synthetic Microbiology" only in summer semester
  • Examination "Synthetic Microbiology"
Components to be offered in the Current Semester: