The course syllabus is available here (PDF).
STUDY GUIDES, READINGS, AND HANDOUTS
Study guides are designed to help you navigate through the readings for this course. Although these are not graded, students who complete them consistently earn higher- than-average scores on course exams. Some may be turned in for optional points; we'll discuss that in class. Contact me, please, with any questions.
EXAM 1 - Feb. 5, 2009.
All reading assignments and outlines of course notes can be found here.
Study guide for assignment 1 (readings for 1/20): BR 2, TL 4 is here.
Study guide for assignment 2 (readings for 1/22): TL 1, TL 2 is here.
Study guide for assignment 3 (readings for 1/27): BR 9, TL 8 is here.
Study guide for assignment 4 (reading for 1/29): BR 13 is here.
Handout showing the domains of life is here.
Be sure to hand in at least one of your five reading summaries before Exam 1.
EXAM 2 - Mar. 5, 2009.
All reading assignments and outlines of course notes can be found here.
Study guide for assignment 4 (reading for 1/29): BR 13 is here.
Study guide for assignment 5 (reading for 2/17): BR 12 i-ii is here.
Study guide for assignment 6 (reading for 2/19): BR 12 iii is here.
Study guide for assignment 7 (reading for 2/24): BR 12 iv is here.
Study guide for assignment 8 (reading for 2/26): BR 12 v-XV is here.
Handout showing the domains of life is here.
Understanding the Archaea -- useful handout is here.
Phylogeny of the Bacteria is here.
EXAM 3 - Apr. 9, 2009.
All reading assignments and outlines of course notes can be found here.
There is no study guide for assignment 9 (Nature- Microbes). Click on the link for readings to access the paper (the paper is required reading).
Study guide for assignment 10 (reading for 3/26): BR 18 is here.
Study guide for assignment 11 (reading for 3/31): BR 11 is here.
Study guide for assignment 12 (reading for 4/2): BR 14 is here.
There is no study guide for assignment 13 (Doolittle - tree of life). Click on the link for readings to access the paper (the paper is required reading).
Handout showing the phylogeny of Eukaryotes is here.
EXAM 4 - May 12, 2009.
All reading assignments and outlines of course notes can be found here.
Brock ch. 15 (Microbial Genomics) is optional reading. You can use it for one of your reading summaries if you wish.
Study guide for assignment 14 (reading for 4/21): ToL 12 is here.
Study guide for assignment 15 (reading for 4/23): ToL 9 is here.
Study guide for assignment 16 (reading for 4/30): BR 21 is here.
Study guide for assignment 17 (reading for 5/5): ToL 30 is here.
Remember to turn in all remaining reading summaries by May 12 at 11am.
The final exam will cover only the last portion of the course, including the above readings/study guides and lectures on Apr. 14, 16, 21, 23, and May 5, and student presentations from Apr. 23, 28, and 30.
SEMESTER PROJECTS
Information on how to craft your semester projects is here.
READING SUMMARIES
Information on how to craft your reading summaries is here.
TREE OF LIFE ASSIGNMENT
The Tree of Life assignment is due at the start of class on January 27, 2009. You can download a copy of the assignment here.
OPTIONAL POINTS
Optional points will be added to your point total at the end of the term. You can earn up to 10 optional points by engaging in a diverse array of activities on campus, online, and elsewhere. See guidelines and suggestions here.
Optional reading assignment 1 (Unintelligent Design, Discover) can be found here.
Optional reading assignment 2 (Help from our microbial flora, Science) is here.
Optional reading assignment 3 (Prions and their partners in crime, Nature) is here.
Optional reading assignment 4 (Global patterns of EID outbreaks, Nature) is here.
Optional reading assignment 5 (Plant viruses in human waste, PLoS) is here.
Optional reading assignment 6 (Bacterial flora of hands, PNAS) is here.
Optional reading assignment 7 (Iron Mountain EPA statement) is here.
Optional reading assignment 8 (Discovery of ARMAN, Science) is here.
Optional reading assignment 9 (Clean-room Archaea, ISME) is here.
Optional reading assignment 10 (Nanoarcheum, Nature) is here.
Optional reading assignments 11, 12, and 13 (MRSA/etc.) are here, here, and here.
Optional reading assignment 14 (Phage contractile processes) is here.
Terrrific fungal videos, courtesy of Erik Nelson, are here:
Paul Stamets - How fungi will save the world
Paul Stamets - Bioremediation with fungi
Other remarkable TED presentations with microbial perspectives:
Nathan Wolfe - searching for viruses
Bonnie Bassler: bacterial communication
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This page will be updated throughout the course.
Please feel free to contact me with questions! The best way to reach me is by email: arnold@ag.arizona.edu.