Admission requirements
Basic knowledge of microbiology, evolutionary biology or ecology.
Description
The course covers various aspects of the important role of microorganisms in their natural environments. This includes the role of bacteria and fungi in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, the cooperative and antagonistic interactions among microbes and with plant and animal hosts, the role of microorganisms in food chains and nutrient cycles, antagonist-plant pathogen interactions, and the evolutionary and ecological aspects of microbial diversification and community interactions. The course teaches modern approaches to detect and understand the processes that give rise to and maintain the diversity of microbial communities. Specialists in various fields of microbial evolution and ecology, both scientists from the IBL and guest speakers from other universities and research institutes will contribute to the course lectures. Practicals will develop knowledge and skills that complement the lecture material.
Course Objectives
After completion of the course, students are able to:
Explain the beneficial and harmful roles of microorganisms in natural systems.
Explain the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms by which microorganisms interact with each other and with plants or animals as pathogens, commensals and mutualists.
List different evolutionary and ecological mechanisms regulating microbial diversity and can discuss how these interactions evolved and are coordinated at a community level.
Measure and isolate microbial communities from natural sources.
Explain how microbiomes are shaped and can carry out analyses of microbiome composition.
Design and conduct experiments in microbial ecology and evolution and analyze microbial community data.
Discuss the development and consequences of microbiome engineering for plant and animal health.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of Instruction
Lectures (attendance is mandatory)
Assessment method
Written exam.
Minimum grade:
Second and third year courses require a minimum, unrounded 5.5 grade to complete.
If a course has 2 or more written partial exams, the minimum grade only applies to the weighted average of the exams.
For partial grades from components other than exams (e.g. practicals, seminars, writing assignments), the bottom grade does apply to the individual components.
Please refer to the Student Charter for an overview of regulations.
Reading list
Not applicable.
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Coördinator: Dr. D. Rozen
E-mail: d.e.rozen@biology.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
Inspection and feedback on the examination date: to be announced.
Lecture attendance is compulsory.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.