★ Microbiology: An Evolving Science — 6th Edition (2023) REQUIRED · free via Canvas
This is the course textbook. Every "Chapter(s)" entry in Rowen's schedule — 2.1–2.6, 3.2–3.6, 4.3–4.6, 5.1–5.6, 6, 7.1–7.6, 8.1–8.5, 9, 10, 12.1–12.2, 13, 14, 15.1–15.2, 17.3/17.5, 18.1, A3.6 — is a Slonczewski section number. Do not buy it: UNO's First Day / Inclusive Access program delivers the ebook through Canvas → B&N Course Materials, free for the first two weeks, then billed to your student account unless you opt out.
Opt out by Mon Sept 7, 2026, 11:59 PM if you don't want the charge
Confirmed in the B&N portal. The PDF syllabus's 10/7/26 is a typo. This title is offered as Read Now — reading access, not a graded platform — and the full text is on this site, so opting out is a real option here. See the course home for what you would be giving up.
Exactly which Slonczewski 6e sections Rowen assigns — verified against the book
Section titles below are the real 6th-edition headings, not guesses. Sections inside an assigned chapter that Rowen did not list are marked skipped — read them only if you want depth.
- Ch 2 · Observing the Microbial Cell → U1
2.1 Observing Microbes · 2.2 Optics and Properties of Light · 2.3 Bright-Field and Phase-Contrast Microscopy · 2.4 Fixation and Staining · 2.5 Fluorescence Microscopy, FISH, and Chemical Imaging · 2.6 Electron Microscopy, Scanning Probe Microscopy, and X-Ray Crystallography — whole chapter assigned - Ch 3 · Cell Structure and Function → U3
3.2 Membrane Molecules and Transport · 3.3 The Envelope and Cytoskeleton · 3.4 Bacterial Cell Division · 3.5 Cell Asymmetry, Membrane Vesicles, and Extensions · 3.6 Specialized Structures. 3.1 The Bacterial Cell: An Overview — skipped, but read it first anyway; it is the map for the rest. - Ch 4 · Bacterial Culture, Growth, and Development → U1 + U5
4.3 Culturing and Counting Bacteria · 4.4 The Growth Cycle → U1. 4.5 Biofilms · 4.6 Cell Differentiation → U5. 4.1 Microbial Nutrition · 4.2 Nutrient Uptake — skipped (4.2 overlaps 3.2 transport). - Ch 5 · Environmental Influences and Control of Microbial Growth → U5
5.1 Extremophiles and the Constraints of Temperature and Pressure · 5.2 Osmolarity and Halophiles · 5.3 Hydronium (pH) and Hydroxide Ion Concentrations · 5.4 Oxygen · 5.5 Starvation and Eutrophication · 5.6 Physical, Chemical, and Biological Control of Microbes — whole chapter assigned - Ch 6 · Viruses → U3 (whole chapter) and U2 (6.3)
6.1 Viruses in Ecosystems · 6.2 Virus Structure · 6.3 Viral Genomes and Classification (also listed under Unit 2 genomes) · 6.4 Bacteriophages: The Gut Virome · 6.5 Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viral Pathogens · 6.6 Culturing Viruses - Ch 7 · Genomes and Chromosomes → U2
7.1 DNA: The Genetic Material · 7.2 Genome Organization · 7.3 DNA Replication · 7.4 Plasmids and Secondary Chromosomes · 7.5 Eukaryotic and Archaeal Chromosomes · 7.6 Microbiomes and Metagenomes — whole chapter assigned - Ch 8 · Transcription, Translation, and Protein Processing → U5
8.1 From DNA to RNA to Protein · 8.2 Transcription of DNA to RNA · 8.3 Translation of RNA to Protein · 8.4 Protein Modification, Folding, and Degradation · 8.5 Secretion: Protein Traffic Control — whole chapter assigned - Ch 9 · Genetic Change and Genome Evolution → U2
9.1 Mutations · 9.2 DNA Repair · 9.3 Gene Transfer Mechanisms · 9.4 Mobile Genetic Elements · 9.5 Genome Evolution (also listed under sequencing & annotation) — whole chapter assigned. Note that horizontal gene transfer lives here in 9.3, not in a chapter of its own. - Ch 10 · Molecular Regulation → U5
10.1 Transcription Repressors and Activators · 10.2 Alternative Sigma Factors and Anti-Sigma Factors · 10.3 Regulation by RNA · 10.4 Second Messengers · 10.5 Clocks, Thermometers, and Switches — whole chapter assigned - Ch 12 · Molecular Complexity and Synthetic Biology → U5 (12.1 and 12.2 only)
12.1 Chemotaxis: Movement with a Destination (listed under "molecular regulation") · 12.2 Biofilm Formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (listed under "biofilms and cell differentiation") — this is Rowen's own organism, assigned by name. 12.3 CRISPR and Other Antiphage Defenses · 12.4 Synthetic Biology — skipped. - Ch 13 · Energetics and Catabolism → U4
13.1 Energy for Life · 13.2 Energy Carriers and Electron Transfer · 13.3 Catabolism: The Microbial Buffet · 13.4 Glucose Fermentation and Respiration · 13.5 Our Gut Microbiome · 13.6 Aromatic Catabolism and Syntrophy — whole chapter assigned - Ch 14 · Electron Flow in Organotrophy, Lithotrophy, and Phototrophy → U4
14.1 Electron Transport Systems and the Proton Motive Force · 14.2 The Respiratory ETS and ATP Synthase · 14.3 Anaerobic Respiration · 14.4 Nanowires, Electron Shuttles, and Fuel Cells · 14.5 Lithotrophy and Methanogenesis · 14.6 Phototrophy — whole chapter assigned - Ch 15 · Biosynthesis → U4 (15.1–15.2 only)
15.1 Overview of Biosynthesis · 15.2 CO₂ Fixation: The Calvin Cycle and Other Pathways. 15.3 Fatty Acids and Antibiotics · 15.4 Nitrogen Fixation and Regulation · 15.5 Amino Acids and Nucleobases — skipped. Nitrogen fixation being off the list is worth noticing, since most microbiology courses drill it. - Ch 17 · Origins and Evolution → U2 (17.3 and 17.5 only)
17.3 Evolution: Phylogeny and Gene Transfer · 17.5 Microbial Species and Taxonomy. 17.1 Origins of Life · 17.2 Forming the First Cells · 17.4 Natural Selection and Adaptation · 17.6 Symbiosis and the Origin of Mitochondria and Chloroplasts — skipped. - Ch 18 · Bacterial Diversity → U2 (18.1 only)
18.1 Bacterial Diversity at a Glance. 18.2–18.6 (cyanobacteria, Firmicutes/Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, spirochetes, Planctomycetes) — skipped. The course samples diversity through 18.1 rather than surveying every phylum. - eAppendix 3 · Laboratory Methods for Microbiology, §A3.6 → U2
Sequencing and annotation methods. The eAppendices exist only in the Norton Illumine Ebook — a print copy will not have this reading, which is a concrete reason to activate your First Day access. - Not assigned at all: Ch 1 (Microbial Life: Origin and Discovery), Ch 11 (Viral Molecular Biology), Ch 16 (Food and Industrial Microbiology), Ch 19 (Archaeal Diversity), Ch 20 (Eukaryotic Diversity), Ch 21–22 (Microbial Ecology, Element Cycles), Ch 23–28 (immunity, pathogenesis, disease, antimicrobial therapy, clinical microbiology). Rowen's research is P. aeruginosa pathogenesis, so examples may borrow from Ch 25 — but no exam unit covers it.
Brock Biology of Microorganisms — 16th Edition (2021) EMBEDDED READER · supplement
Kept as a second explanation — 30 chapters with figures, at Brock (suppl.). Now that Slonczewski itself is readable here, reach for Brock only when a concept does not click the first time. Its chapter numbers do not match the syllabus, so use the crosswalk below.
Crosswalk — Rowen's syllabus topic → Brock chapter in the reader
- U1 Methods for studying microorganisms → Brock Ch 1 The Microbial World
- U1 Culturing and counting cells (Slon 4.3–4.4) → Brock Ch 4 Microbial Growth and Its Control
- U1 Observing cells / microscopy (Slon 2.1–2.6) → Brock Ch 1 (microscopy sections)
- U2 Genomes and chromosomes (Slon 7.1–7.6) → Brock Ch 6 Molecular Information Flow + Ch 10 Microbial Genomics
- U2 Sequencing and annotation (Slon A3.6, 9.5) → Brock Ch 10 Microbial Genomics and Other Omics
- U2 Genome evolution (Slon 9) → Brock Ch 13 Microbial Evolution and Genome Dynamics + Ch 9 Genetics of Bacteria and Archaea
- U2 Phylogeny and taxonomy (Slon 17.3, 17.5, 18.1) → Brock Ch 13, Ch 16 Phylogenetic Diversity of Bacteria, Ch 17 Diversity of Archaea
- U3 External structures, envelope, membrane, internal structures (Slon 3.2–3.6) → Brock Ch 2 Microbial Cell Structure and Function
- U3 Bacterial cell division (Slon 3.4–3.5) → Brock Ch 8 Molecular Aspects of Microbial Growth (FtsZ, divisome)
- U3 Viruses (Slon 6) → Brock Ch 5 Viruses and Their Multiplication + Ch 11 Viral Genomics and Diversity
- U4 Energetics and catabolism (Slon 13) → Brock Ch 3 Microbial Metabolism
- U4 Respiration, lithotrophy, phototrophy (Slon 14) → Brock Ch 14 Metabolic Diversity of Microorganisms
- U4 Biosynthesis and CO₂ fixation (Slon 15.1–15.2) → Brock Ch 3 + Ch 14 (autotrophy)
- U5 Transcription and translation (Slon 8.1–8.5) → Brock Ch 6 Molecular Information Flow and Protein Processing
- U5 Molecular regulation (Slon 10, 12.1) → Brock Ch 7 Microbial Regulatory Systems
- U5 Biofilms and cell differentiation (Slon 4.5, 12.2) → Brock Ch 4 (biofilms) + Ch 8 (sporulation/differentiation)
- U5 Environmental adaptations (Slon 4.6, 5.1–5.6) → Brock Ch 4 Microbial Growth and Its Control
- Brock Ch 15, 18–30 (ecology, symbioses, pathogenesis, immunology, clinical, epidemiology) → background reading; no unit on Rowen's schedule covers them.
OpenStax Microbiology — Free open textbook
Free and open-licensed, so you can legally reuse its figures in your own notes and in the Microbe Presentation. Lighter than Slonczewski, but solid on cell structure, growth, metabolism, and genetics — the four places most students want a second explanation.
Microbial Physiology — Moat, Foster, Spector — 4th Edition (2002) older reference · not assigned
An earlier version of this page listed Moat as the course's primary text. It is not — the syllabus names Slonczewski 6e. Moat is still a decent deep reference for bioenergetics and central metabolism (Unit 4), but it is from 2002 and predates most of the genomics in Unit 2.
For Assignment 1 — searching the literature
Assignment 1 (due Aug 28) asks you to find four bacterial species reported in your chosen biome twice: once by AI-assisted search, once by database search, then compare. Verify every citation — the point of the exercise is catching fabricated sources.
- PubMed — the primary check: if a paper has no PMID, be suspicious.
- Google Scholar — broader, includes preprints and books.
- doi.org — paste a DOI; a real one resolves to the article.
- PMC — free full text for verifying that a species is actually named in the paper.
- LPSN — check that a bacterial name is validly published and currently accepted.
Rowen's research area (P. aeruginosa pathogenesis)
Not a syllabus unit, but it is where his examples come from.