Applied Microbiology and Hygiene

APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
· Introduction to microbiology. Role of microbiology in applied sciences.
· Microscopy applied to microbiology.
· Structure and function of microbial cells. Bacterial Cell Surface Structures: cell wall and cytoplasmic membranes. Cell Inclusions: Gas Vesicles; Endospores. Microbial locomotion: flagella and gliding motility; chemotaxis and phototaxis. Cytoplasm. Ribosomes and polysomes.
· Microbial growth. Laboratory culture of microorganisms. Culture media. Disinfection and sterilization.
· Microbial nutrition and metabolism. Respiration and fermentation. C and N assimilation.
· The nucleoid. Organization and structures of prokaryotic chromosomes. Plasmids. Replication of DNA in prokaryotic organisms. DNA supercoiling; transcription and translation and their inhibitors.
· Regulation of prokaryotic gene expression. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional control.
· Bacterial genetics: mutations, mutagens and mutants. Transposable elements. Recombination. Horizontal gene transfer. Transformation. Conjugation. Bacteriophages: lytic and lysogenic cycle. Generalized and specialized transduction.
· Introduction to genetic engineering: DNA cloning, restriction enzymes and DNA ligases, cloning and expression vectors, genomic and cDNA libraries, PCR cloning, site-directed mutagenesis.
· Microorganism-host interactions. Commensalism and mutualism, human microbiota. Parasitism, pathogenesis and virulence. Endotoxins and exotoxins.
· Antibiotic drugs. Mechanism of action. Resistance to antibiotics.
· Viral infections. Viral replication cycle: adhesion, entry, genome replication, assembly and release. Antiviral drugs and their mechanism of action.

HYGIENE
Introduction to Hygiene. Health and diseases. Public health.
· Demographic studies.
· Descriptive epidemiology: measures of frequency, ratios, proportions, crude and adjusted rates. Disease prevalence and incidence.
· Anaytic and experimental epidemiology. Causality criteria. Cross-sectional vs longitudinal studies. Cohort and case-control studies. Relative risk and odds ratio. Clinical trials and preventive interventions.
· Preventive medicine and promotion of health. Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Mass screening campaigns. Sensitivity and specificity of screening tests. Oncological screening programs in Italy.
· General epidemiology of infectious diseases. The epidemiological transition. Koch's postulates. The chain of infection. Sources and reservoirs of infection. Modes of transmission. Patterns of infectious disease occurence: endemic, epidemic and pandemic diseases.
· Prophylaxis measures in infectious disease. Direct and indirect prophylaxis: notification, quarantine measures, diagnostic ascertainment, health surveillance, epidemiologic survey, disinfection, disinfestation, sterilization.
· The immune response: anatomical and physical barriers. Innate and adaptive immune responses. Humoral and cellular immune response. The role of B and T lymphocytes and antibodies.
· History of Vaccines. Vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccine types: life-attenuated vaccines; inactivated vaccines; toxoid vaccines; subunit , recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines. Adjuvants. Administration modes, side effects and contraindications. National vaccine plan. Passive immunization and immune-prophylaxis.
· Epidemiology and prophylaxis of transmittable disease:
o airborne infectious diseases
o sexually-transmitted diseases
o chronic viral hepatitis
o diseases transmitted via oral-fecal route
o vector-borne infectious diseases

Applied Microbiology Module
1) Overview of microbiology and its applications.
2) Overview of cell structure: prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Bacteria and Archaea. Cytoplasmic membrane, structure and function. Bacterial transport systems.Cell wall of prokaryotes. Outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Capsules. Flagella and bacterial motility. Surface structure for adhesion: pili. The nucleoid. Structure and organization of bacterial chromosome. Cytoplasm. Ribosomes. Cell inclusions. Endospores.
3) Microbial growth and microbial growth control. Principles of microbial nutrition. Liquid and solid media, growth conditions. Methods for sterilization. Disinfectants and antiseptics.
4) Nutrition and metabolism. Overview of metabolism. Fermentation and substrate level phosphorylation. Aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Chemiolithotrophy. Photosynthesis: anoxygenic photosynthesis. Autotrophic CO2 fixation. Nitrogen metabolism. Nitrogen fixation.
5) Microbial genetics. Mutations and mutants. Horizontal gene transfer mechanisms. Overview of regulation of gene expression.
6) Viruses. Overview of bacterial viruses. Lytic cycle and lysogeny.
7) Selected examples of microorganisms relevant in clinic and industry
8) Antibiotics. Structure and mechanisms of action. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). Overview on resistance mechanisms.

Hygiene Module
1) Human-Microbe interactions. The human normal microbiota. Microbiota and microbiome.
2) Microbes and disease. Pathogenicity and virulence. Virulence factors.
3) Lines of defenses against bacterial infections: overview of the innate immune system.
4) Pathogens of gastrointestinal tract and respiratory apparatus: mechanism of virulence.
5) Prophylaxis of infectious diseases. Antibiotics and resistance mechanisms. Vaccines.