Objectives

In this course, main objective is to learn how diverse the life is on the Earth and consider basic principles that govern evolution. Another objective is to learn how extremophiles emerged in the tree of life and how their branches intervene and effect the diversification of other domains of life. The course will have a look at several examples of extreme environments, and introduce the microorganisms thrive under the extreme conditions.

Contents

What are Archaea? History of the archaeal domain. Root of the phylogenetic tree. Classification of Archaea. Halophiles. Thermophiles. Methanogens. Diversity of uncultivated Archaea. Metabolic pathways distinct in Archaea. Thermostable proteins from hyperthermophiles. Features of archaeal genome.

Impact

The students will learn about the diversity of life in extreme environments, basic knowledge of extremophiles, their classification and principles that govern protein stability in extremophiles.

Course Teachers