New Frontiers in Microbial Ecology

Microbial communities are central to the key biogeochemical processes of all of Earth’s ecosystems. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly clear that microbiomes play fundamental roles in the life of nearly all other organisms, be they plants, coral reefs, insects or humans. A main thrust to our understanding of these communities has come from the rapid development and application of molecular techniques, and more recently high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies.

This course will examine our current understanding of the diversity and functioning of the relevant microbial communities in the above systems.
A limited number of expert teachers will deliver lectures and the students will also have the opportunity for in depth study a topic of their choice from the literature, after which the topic will be put up for discussion with the teachers and other students.