MB 360 Lab Workbook

MB 360: Scientific Inquiry in Microbiology At the Bench| Microbial Metabolism and Genomics

Authors
Affiliations

Carlos C. Goller, Ph.D.

Department of Biological Sciences, NC State University

Camila Loyola, Graduate Teaching Assistant

Master of Microbial Biotechnology, NC State University

Published

April 17, 2026

MB 360 ELN Workbook

This Quarto book reorganizes the MB 360 schedule and ELN outline into eight modules that follow the flow of the course from basic lab technique to final project design.

How To Use This Book

Each module is structured as a working lab-book chapter with the same core parts:

  • purpose and learning outcomes
  • skills and knowledge
  • task and criteria for success
  • background and procedures
  • results, analysis, and discussion prompts

Module Sequence

  1. Getting Started: Lab safety, pipetting, and serial dilutions
  2. Microbial Propagation: Plate streaking and liquid cultures
  3. Microbial Growth Curves: Strain comparisons and biofilms
  4. Microbial Metabolism: Biolog GEN III characterization
  5. Microbial Interactions: Isolate co-culture
  6. Microbial Genome Sequencing: DNA isolation, quantification, and sequencing
  7. Data Analysis and Experimental Design: Assembly, annotation, and interpretation
  8. Share Your Results: Final experiment planning, execution, and reflection

Notes

The chapters preserve the structure of the source outline while adapting it to a cleaner Quarto book format. Module 8 remains intentionally open-ended because it is designed for student-defined experiments.