Bacteriology and Bacterial Analyses

Recommended Prerequisites

 General Microbiology, Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, Portuguese, English.

Teaching Methods

The lectures are presented on the classical model, supported with summarized and illustrative presentations in Power- Point. Questions are formulated requiring that students use concepts previously acquired, thus correcting the limitations of dogmatic presentation. Theoretical subjects are essential for interpreting the results obtained in the laboratory classes, and are always taught before the laboratory class.

In laboratory classes, the teacher performs initially the procedure. Students work individually and in teams. The analysis of data is performed in group.

Learning Outcomes

The student should know the major groups of bacteria, their characteristics and infections associated with each group, the mechanism of action of antibiotics and their antibacterial spectrum, mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and the genetic basis of spread of resistance, and the methods used to assess the antibiotic susceptibility.

In Practical Laboratory teaching, the student should acquire knowledge on identification of the major groups of pathogenic bacteria and in the laboratorial methods for their identification, to perform a PCR and understand how it can be applied to the identification of bacteria, to evaluate the susceptibility to antibiotics, to screen for beta-lactamases phenotypically and to interpret the results.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

THEORETICAL PROGRAM

• Introduction to Bacteriology

Human microbiome in health and in disease

Bacteria-Host interaction: general pathogenesis mechanisms; virulence factors

• Etiological agents: Enterobacteriaceae; Non-fermenter Gram negative bacilli; Staphylococcus spp .; Streptococcus spp .; Enterococcus spp .; Neisseria sp; Haemophilus sp; Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Habitat, morphology, physiology, virulence factors, infections, bacterial identification.

• Antimicrobial agents: mechanisms of action, spectrum of activity, mechanisms of resistance. Quantitative and qualitative susceptibility methods.

• Molecular epidemiology of bacterial resistance.

 LABORATORY PROGRAM

 • Isolation and bacterial identification by phenotypic methods: Enterobacteriaceae, Non-fermenter Gram negative bacilli, Staphylococcus spp.; Streptococcus spp.; Enterococcus spp.

• Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by PCR

• Evaluation of antibiotic bacterial susceptibility

Head Lecturer(s)

Gabriela Conceição Duarte Jorge Silva

Assessment Methods

Final assessment
Exam: 100.0%

Bibliography

Microbiologia Médica, Ed Barroso, H, Meliço-Silvestre, A, Taveira, N, vol. 1, 1ª ed Lidel 2014

Microbiology -a Human Perspective Ed. Nester, E. W., Roberts, C. E., Pearsall, N. N. Anderson, D. G. and Nester, M. T. 5th ed. McGraw Hill, Inc. 2007

Medical Microbiology, P. R. Murray, K. S. Rosenthal, M. A. Pfaller, 5Th ed. Elsevier Mosby 2005.

Manual de Antibióticos Antibacterianos. JC Sousa. Edições Universidade Fernando Pessoa 2005

Microbiologia. Wanda Ferreira e J. C. Sousa. Volume 1. Lidel 1998   

Kaijian Hou, et al (2022) Microbiota in health and diseases.Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy volume 7: 135

Baohong Wang, Mingfei Yao, Longxian Lv, Zongxin Ling, Lanjuan Li. 2017. The Human Microbiota in Health and Disease. Engineering 3 (2017) 71–82

Rodney M. Donlan and J. William Costerton.2002. Biofilms: Survival Mechanisms of Clinically Relevant Microorganisms. CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS, p. 167–1930893-8512/02/$04.000 DOI: 10.1128/CMR.15.2.167–193.2002