Microorganisms

This teaching unit will aim to address the elements necessary to understand the way of life of the major groups of unicellular organisms at the basis of the functioning of ecosystems (viruses, bacteria, archaea, and unicellular eukaryotes ....). The courses allow us to approach the biological organization of each type of organism, the modalities of reproduction, the diversity, to lead to notions of ecology. We will approach the role of these microorganisms in the functioning and dynamics of ecosystems, by considering the interactions that these organisms maintain with other living beings (notion of "symbiosis" in all its variations).

The practical work will:

 - the implementation of techniques allowing bacterial enumeration (CFU), the identification of a particular strain from an environmental sample

 - highlighting the diversity of phytoplankton (unicellular algae) in aquatic environments (fresh water)

 - the identification of the specificity of interactions between bacteria and bacteriophages

mastery of techniques used in laboratory work (handling of bacteria and viruses in a sterile environment, isolation and identification of bacterial species, etc.)

- integration of the role of different groups of unicellular organisms in the functioning of ecosystems

- develop a critical sense of the results obtained

- rigor in the implementation of the given protocols