The American Society for Microbiology, founded in 1899, strives to advance the microbiological sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health, environmental and economic well-being worldwide.
Microbiology Learning Framework
Society Learning Goals | Articles | Sample Learning Objectives |
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How is the evolutionary relatedness of organisms best reflected in phylogenetic trees? |
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Why is the traditional concept of species not readily applicable to microbes due to asexual reproduction and the frequent occurrence of horizontal gene transfer? |
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How do humans impact on the environment influence the evolution of microorganisms (e.g., emerging diseases and the selection of antibiotic resistance)? |
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How have mutations and horizontal gene transfer, with immense variety of microenvironments, selected for a huge diversity of microorganisms? |
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How did cells, organelles (e.g., mitochondria and chloroplasts), and all major metabolic pathways evolve from early prokaryotic cells? |
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How are replication cycles of viruses (lytic and lysogenic) different among viruses and how are they determined by their unique structures and genomes? |
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Even though microscopic eukaryotes (e.g., fungi, protozoa, and algae) carry out some of the same processes as bacteria, how do many of the cellular properties fundamentally differ? |
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How do specialized structures (e.g. flagella, endospores and pili) confer critical capabilities to bacteria and archaea? |
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How do unique bacterial cell structures make them targets for antibiotics, immunity, and phage infection? |
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How have the structure and function of microorganisms been revealed by the use of microscopy? |
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How are the growth of microorganisms controlled by physical, chemical, mechanical, or biological means? |
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How does the survival and growth of any microorganism in a given environment depend on its metabolic characteristics? |
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How are the interactions of microorganisms among themselves and with their environment determined by their metabolic abilities? |
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How do bacteria and Archaea exhibit extensive, and often unique, metabolic diversity? |
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How can cell genomes be manipulated to alter cell function? |
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How is the synthesis of viral genetic material and proteins dependent on host cells? |
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How is the regulation of gene expression is influenced by external and internal molecular cues and/or signals? |
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Although the central dogma is universal in all cells, how do the processes of replication, transcription, and translation differ in Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes? |
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How do genetic variations impact microbial functions (e.g., in biofilm formation, pathogenicity, and drug resistance)? |
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How do microorganisms, cellular and viral, interact with both human and non-human hosts in beneficial, neutral, or detrimental ways? |
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How do microorganisms interact with their environment and modify each other? |
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Why do most bacteria in nature live in biofilm communities? |
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How are microorganisms ubiquitous and live in diverse and dynamic ecosystems? |
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Why have the effects and potential benefits of microbial life not been fully explored? |
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How can humans utilize and harness microbes and their products? |
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How do microorganisms provide essential models that give us fundamental knowledge about life processes? |
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Why are microbes essential for life as we know it and the processes that support life? |
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