In this course, students build upon the knowledge and skills learned in MICB1560– Introduction to Microbiology. Major topics include the metabolic diversity of bacteria, the mathematics of growth, microbial gene transfer and recombination, regulation of gene expression, and the basics of intracellular microbes including chlamydias and rickettsias, viruses, and prions. In the laboratory, students expand their knowledge of basic microbiology laboratory techniques including isolating a pure culture from a mixed population, cultivating and quantifying bacteriophages, culturing and identification of molds, use of a growth curve to determine generation times, and isolating and characterizing a bacterial isolate which breaks down common environmental pollutants.