Southern Utah University

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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

General Microbiology Lab (Face-to-Face)

BIOL 3015-01

Course: BIOL 3015-01
Credits: 1
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: BIOL
CRN: 30942

Course Description

Lab to accompany BIOL 3010. The student will use aseptic techniques and applied methodologies to isolate, cultivate, stain, and identify unknown bacteria. Laboratory exercises will include a survey of microorganisms and a demonstration of microbial properties. A minimum grade of "C" (2.0 or above) must be earned in this course before it can be counted in a biological science major or minor or as a prerequisite for any other biology course. (Fall, Spring, Summer) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Co-requisite(s): BIOL 3010 Prerequisite(s): BIOL 1610 and BIOL 1615 - Prerequisite Min. Grade: C

Required Texts

Manual of Laboratory Exercises (BIOL 3015: General Microbiology Laboratory, Revision 2025-0810). Available for download on Canvas.

Learning Outcomes

Upon the successful completion of this course students will be able to:
  • Microscopy Proficiency: Demonstrate the ability to use the brightfield light microscope effectively to observe bacterial and eukaryotic microorganisms.
  • Aseptic Technique Mastery: Apply proper aseptic techniques to maintain, transfer, and isolate microbial cultures across various media, including Petri plates, broths, stabs, and slants.
  • Staining Techniques: Utilize key staining techniques to visualize bacterial cells and their cellular features.
  • Understanding Differential Media: Explain the principles and applications of differential media in distinguishing between different microorganisms.
  • Experimental Design and Research: Design and conduct original microbiological research, including environmental bacterial isolation, biochemical testing, genomic DNA isolation, and 16S rRNA gene amplification.
  • Molecular Techniques Application: Perform Sanger dideoxy sequencing of amplified 16S SSU rRNA genes, analyze sequencing results, and use BLAST search to identify related species.
  • Research Communication: Prepare a comprehensive research report summarizing the findings of your microbiological research and present your work orally, introducing and explaining all aspects as a coherent narrative.
  • Integration of Theory and Practice: Integrate theoretical knowledge and practical skills to address microbiological problems and present scientifically valid solutions.

How these learning objectives will be achieved:
  • Prepare for and carry out each laboratory protocol 
    • Watch the introductory videos prior to coming to class
    • Review the lab protocols prior to coming to class
    • Write the protocol in your lab notebook before coming to class
    • Take notes in class over explanations and demonstrations
  • Take responsibility for your own learning and participate in class as an active learner
    • Attend class each day and actively participate in lab discussions
    • Ask questions about anything you do not understand
    • Work through each protocol carefully 
    • Build upon your understanding throughout the semester, seeking to master each technique
    • Keep your mind focused on understanding the underlying principles for each step and each protocol
    • Maintain a proper lab notebook, recording your procedures, observations, results, and drawing appropriate conclusions
  • Prepare for, and take, each lab pre-quiz with a sincere effort to learn and further your understanding
  • Develop familiarity with the equipment and techniques used by researchers in a microbiology laboratory
  • Seek to master aseptic technique and the various sampling and staining methods to isolate and differentiate between different microorganisms
  • Use the skills you learn in the first part of the semester to identify bacteria isolated from environmental samples during the second part of the semester

Course Requirements

  • Syllabus Quiz: To help encourage study and understanding of the Lab Syllabus, a Syllabus quiz will be administered on Canvas. This quiz is open note but must be taken individually.

  • Lab Safety Quiz: The first lab listed in the Lab Manual is over Lab Safety. To help ensure that everyone understands the lab safety expectations, a detailed open book quiz, administered on Canvas, will be given over this material. Each student must pass this quiz with a score of 90% or better.

  • Lab Notebook Preparatory Quiz: To help encourage study and understanding of the requirements for writing the Laboratory Notebook, a Lab Notebook preparatory quiz will be administered on Canvas. This quiz is open note but must be taken individually.

  • Lab Pre-Quizzes: A lab Pre-Quiz will be administered at the start of each lab exercise to encourage the need to come to lab prepared for the day’s activities. Prepare for this quiz by reading and taking notes over the lab Introduction, Precautions, and Procedure in the Lab Manual, watching the preparatory videos, and listening carefully to verbal instructions at the start of each class. You must attend and be present on time to take this daily quiz. There will be no make-up opportunities if you are late or absent.

  • Lab Checkout: Each day you come to a scheduled lab you will be scored on the following:
    • Advance preparations
      • Wearing lab coat
      • Having a printed copy of the lab manual in your possession
      • Writing the protocol(s) in your lab notebook before coming to class
      • Wiping down the bench with disinfectant before beginning
      • Placing bags and personal items at the front of the classroom or far back within cubbies (not on the bench top or in the aisles)
    • In class activities 
      • Actively working on the assigned protocol during the scheduled lab session
      • Recording all updates to the protocol and all observations as the procedure is performed (the listed date for all entries must be made on the same day the action is performed)
      • Behaving in a safe and ethical manner, using proper aseptic techniques, and carefully following printed and verbal instructions 
      • Being congenial and considerate of others
      • Properly labeling all cultures
      • Maintaining a clean and safe work environment throughout the lab session
    • Clean up
      • Returning all chemicals and tools to their designated locations (if you don’t know where they belong, please ask)
      • Wiping down the bench and sink areas
      • Placing all trash, spent media, and disposables in appropriate receptacles
    • If you do not attend lab, you will not receive a score for checkout points. Points will be subtracted for infractions of lab rules.

  • Laboratory Research Notebook: A crucial skill in science is maintaining a complete and accurate Laboratory Notebook; it is from this notebook that scientific reports, papers and presentations are created. Accordingly, each student will be expected to submit the Laboratory Research Notebook in which they maintained their record for the isolation and characterization of the microbes studied in the research project. This notebook should represent a complete record of every procedure and every observation made relative to this research project throughout the semester. For a detailed description, please consult the instructions for the Laboratory Research Notebook, available on Canvas. This notebook is worth 50 points. As mentioned above, a preparatory quiz will be administered on Canvas to help you recognize some of the important expectations associated with this assignment.

  • Samples to Sequence Declaration: After completing the genetic work, you will be asked to declare which of your bacterial isolates you want to send in for sequencing. For this purpose, you will be asked to complete a short Google Form, providing information about each isolate.

  • Final Summary Report (Google Forms Report): The Final Summary Report will be administered via Google Forms. This report will ask you to summarize the results of your project, including the characteristics of your bacterial isolate using drop-down menus and brief text entry. If you have kept a proper laboratory notebook throughout the semester, all the information required for the Final Report will be found therein. The Final Report is a crucial part of the lab project as these reported results will be used to classify the microorganisms that will be added to the permanent microbe library collection. 

  • Final Oral Presentation: Rather than writing a full research paper, as is typically required in this class, you are being asked to summarize all your evidence in an extensive oral presentation wherein you bring all your evidence together and present a well-constructed argument for the positive identification of one specific bacterial species. For a complete list of instructions on preparing the Final Oral Presentation, see Appendix II in the Lab Manual and watch the Oral Report Discussion video.

Course Outline

  • Laboratory Safety
  • Laboratory I. Getting Started
  • Laboratory II. Aseptic Technique I
  • Laboratory III. Aseptic Technique II
  • Laboratory IV. Microscopy
  • Laboratory V. Negative Staining
  • Laboratory VI. Gram Staining
  • Laboratory VII. Biochemical Testing
  • Laboratory VIII. DNA Isolation
  • Laboratory IX. Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Laboratory X. Agarose Gel Electrophoresis
  • Laboratory XI. Endospore Staining
  • Laboratory XII. DNA Sequencing

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Assignments are due at the date and time listed on Canvas. In general, late assignments will automatically receive a 10 percent deduction for each day they are late, beginning one minute after the assignment is due. If you have plans to be away from your computer when an assignment is due, you need to plan ahead and ensure that you submit your work in advance. Technical problems are not an excuse for late submissions; it is your responsibility to ensure that submissions have been successfully uploaded by the submission time by submitting early and by ensuring that you have a strong and reliable internet connection. The only exception for this late policy would be extended hospitalizations or deaths in the immediate family; in these cases, you may submit a petition to have late work considered; such petitions are intended to cover one assignment or, at most, one week’s worth of assignments, and must be submitted within 1 week of the assignment due date.

Attendance Policy

Because this course involves the learning of manual skills, in-person attendance is required for this course. Most labs cannot be made up; if you are absent, you will forfeit all points associated with that day’s activity (including pre-quiz and check-out points). The only option for making up an absence (excused or unexcused) is to attend another section of the BIOL 3015 lab that is teaching the same lab. Consult the schedules posted on the door of SC 104 for other BIOL 3015 sections and ask the instructor of that section for permission to attend. Note that the Tuesday and Thursday sections have the same weekly schedules.

Canvas

We will be using Canvas (https://suu.instructure.com) as our course management system; this is where you will access assignments, exams, discussion boards, and where your grades will be reported. Please make certain that you have access to this important tool. 

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.