Scope

Microbial Biotechnology: Fundamentals and Applications is designed to be a reference textbook for an advanced course for undergraduate and graduate majors in a biological science field.  These majors can be in Biotechnology, Biomedical science and Engineering, Biology, Genetics, and Microbiology.   The materials are organized to cover a single semester of lecture materials.  The book will cover fundamental concepts of microbiology and genetics, followed by the myriad applications of those concepts in biotechnology as used in different industries, including agriculture, medicine, environment and energy.  The concepts presented should prepare the student users for careers in academe, research, or industries.

To facilitate the book’s use in the classroom by instructors, PowerPoint slides are provided.  The open textbook will expound on the summary concepts that will be presented in the slides.  Pictures and diagrams in the book are downloadable.  There will be illustrations of concepts and links to instructional videos on experimental methods and techniques in YouTube and Journal of Visual Experiments and these are expected to significantly improve student learning abilities.  The book will include results of actual experiments and methods used rather than plain theories.  These are geared to enable students to better appreciate molecular, biochemical, and genetic techniques.  Review questions and practice quizzes are available at the end of each chapter to enable students to self-assess their understanding of the concepts.

As biotechnology is a very rapidly advancing field, instructor and student users of this book are encouraged and invited to contribute new knowledge to evolve this open resource.  We plan to add new developments in the field to the OER at least every 3 years.