MICR0005-1 : Complement of microbiology : Prostistology

University of Liege | Version française

Academic year 2014-2015

Value date : 12/05/2015

MICR0005-1

Complement of microbiology : Prostistology

Duration :

15h Th

Number of credits :

Master in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology, Research Focus, 1st year		2

Master in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology, Teaching Focus, 1st year		2

Master en biochimie et biologie moléculaire et cellulaire, à finalité spécialisée en bio-industrie, 1st year		2

Master in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology, Professional Focus in Industrial Biochemistry, 1st year		2

Master en biochimie et biologie moléculaire et cellulaire, à finalité spécialisée en bioinformatique et modélisation, 1st year		2

Lecturer :

Denis Baurain

Language(s) of instruction :

French language

Organisation and examination :

Teaching in the second semester

Course contents :

1. Course description Owing to their microscopic size, eukaryotic microbes have been discovered only relatively recently -- that is, not before the late seventeenth century, which saw the spread of the microscope. Before that, the very idea of single-celled organisms was simply unknown.
Since their discovery, various classifications of Life have tried to accommodate unicellular eukaryotes, always as a monolithic group generally referred to as "protists". With the rise of molecular phylogenetics, evolutionary relationships between eukaryotes (microscopic or not) have been widely challenged only to conclude that protists are an artificial group, out of which emerged independently several lineages of multicellular organisms (e.g., animals, plants, red algae and brown algae).
This specialization course based on the knowledge acquired during the BAC3 Microbiology course (part Algology and Mycology) [MICR0711-A] has three aims: (1) to complete the panorama of the eukaryotic groups (e.g., excavates, rhizaria), (2) to deepen the presentation of the mechanisms and trends at work in the evolution of eukaryotes (e.g., endosymbiosis, gene transfer, secondary simplification) and (3) to paint a historical picture of the conceptions pertaining to the classification of Life and especially of unicellular eukaryotes. 2. Table of contents

1. [O3] History of the classification of Life
2. [O1] Diversity of parasitic organisms of animals and crop plants
3. [O1] Plasmodium and the malaria (Apicomplexa, Alveolata)
4. [O1] Trypanosoma and Leishmania (Euglenozoa, Discoba, Excavata)
5. [O1] Giardia, Trichomonas, Dientamoeba and Naegleria (Metamonada and other Discoba)
6. [O1] Entamoeba and other amoebae (Amoebozoa)
7. [O1] Cercozoa, foraminifera and radiolarians (Rhizaria)
8. [O2/3] Evolutionary mechanisms at the origin of eukaryotes and mitochondria
9. [O2] Evolutionary mechanisms behind the plastid and its spread
10. [O2/3] Back to the theory of evolution: the thought of Stephen Jay Gould

Learning outcomes of the course :

After this course of Protistology, students will be able to...

1. [O1] Remember the different groups of eukaryotic parasites and the diseases they cause.
2. [O1] Recognize a eukaryotic taxon based on a textual description of its discriminating features.
3. [O1] Exemplify a eukaryotic taxon on the basis of its name.
4. [O1] Classify the archetypes of organisms.
5. [O3] Compare past and present schemes of classification of Life.
6. [O3] Assign an extract of "classificatory" speech to an author or school of thought.
7. [O3] Interpret a phylogenetic tree.
8. [O3] Compare two or more phylogenetic trees.
9. [O1/3] Infer the likely characteristics of an unknown organism or taxon on the basis of a phylogenetic tree with known organisms or taxa.
10. [O2] Explain the evolutionary mechanisms that have led to the current diversity of eukaryotes.
11. [O1/2] Exemplify the evolutionary mechanisms that have led to the current diversity of eukaryotes.
12. [O2/3] Explain the thought of Stephen Jay Gould.
13. [O2/3] Exemplify the thought of Stephen Jay Gould.
14. [O1/2/3] Compare evolutionary scenarios.
15. [O1/2/3] Assign a particular evolutionary scenario to one school of thought.

Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :

Having attended the BAC3 Microbiology course [MICR0711-1] (required part of the biology curriculum) or, alternatively, another course in microbiology (or in general botany) also covering algae and fungi, preferably with a phylogenetic perspective.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods :

With the exception of lessons 8 and 9, which are traditional lectures, lessons will only include some theoretical lectures and, if necessary, they will be kept short. The teaching methods are most often "constructivist", so that students are actively appropriating the material and learn to make connections between the various topics of the course. Lessons 3 to 6 and 10 will be as follows:

1. Brief introductory lecture by the teacher on the topic or organisms of the day.
2. Mining of English-speaking online resource printed from general websites [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) etc.]. Specifically, students will build identity cards for a variety of parasites, write answers to specific questions or summarize short texts on different topics (e.g., history, pathology, evolution). The work will be done in small groups of 3 or 4 students. During these activities, the teacher will be fully available and will help to overcome the difficulties that arise.
3. General group discussion. In some cases, students may be asked to make oral brief presentations of their discoveries based on group work and small slideshows prepared by the teacher.
4. Proofreading of the essays written in groups (at home, at the library, etc.). These are not systematic "homeworks". However, after each lesson, students will arrange to send a full version of each essay to the teacher. Some of these will be assessed and will be involved in the final grade (see below).

Other lessons will use the following teaching methods:

Reordering of paragraphs from scientific journal articles presenting the history of the classification of Life in general and in particular of protistology (course 1).
Taxonomic analysis and categorization of the main parasitic organisms (computer-assisted interactive work on websites) (course 2) .
Fulfilling of phylogenetic trees in which some parts are missing based on textual descriptions from scientific articles (see BAC3 course) (course 7) .
Inferring characteristics of different lineages represented in annotated phylogenetic trees (course 7).
Rational comparison of partially inconsistent phylogenetic trees (course 7).

To promote associations between the various topics of the course and to facilitate their assimilation, students will have to create (1) a time line (at the end of the course 1), (2) an infographic chart (type Information is beautiful) (course 2), (3) an annotated phylogenetic tree (course 7) and (4) a mind map (courses 8 and 9) summarizing the material presented in class. These assignments will be individual and graded (see below) and will prepare students for the final exam. They will be asked to be as creative as possible.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :

Face-to-face 90-min lectures.