The microbial physiology laboratory, with a basic emphasis on metabolism and regulation, is an important aspect of undergraduate education in microbiology, and an area in which we excel at the University of Oklahoma. Our microbial physiology laboratory is based on the van Niel approach (microbial diversity) coupled with a major biochemistry component. Quantification of metabolites in experiments and field samples is critical for a successful laboratory. We are requesting support for two HPLC's (UV detector and refractive index detector) and a gas chromatograph for this and other undergraduate laboratories. They are to be used to quantify substrates, ions, and end-products of metabolism, and used by the students themselves. Currently, these instruments are not available in our undergraduate laboratories. This hands-on, quantitative biological laboratory where students study their own environmental isolates is a very important part of our major's undergraduate education at the University of Oklahoma.
