BIOL 431Bacterial Molecular Genetics
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Science
- Subject
- Biology
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
Bacterial molecular biology with an emphasis on the use of genetic tools to study the biology of microorganisms. Topics include mutagenesis, conjugation, recombination, gene regulation, plasmids, transposons, bacteriophage, and genomics.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Must have completed the following:
- Complete 1 of the following
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Reviewed on UW Flow
50% liked it28% easy79% useful
From 8 ratings and 3 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
I took this course with Trevor Charles in the Winter 2023 term. This course has so much potential to be extremely useful and engaging. I am sure that Dr. Charles is highly respected as a researcher but his inability to teach made this course a chore. Some of the topics covered in the course include transposon mutagenesis, plasmid conjugation, metagenomics, the history of bacterial genetics, genome engineering, and a variety of relevant research articles. There were two midterms and a final exam. The grading scheme was extremely flexible since the two midterms could weigh anywhere between 0-60% and the final exam could weigh anywhere between 40-90%. Overall, I would definitely recommend…
May 2023 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
I really thought this course would have been my downfall, however I somehow passed. While the topics are very interesting, expect to teach yourself a lot of the concepts. The marking scheme is fair. I recommend looking for the course images within textbooks to get a clear description. If the course was taught well, this would be very easy as it focuses on a few main topics. Ultimately, passing is not hard but this is not an easy course and be prepared to put in more work than most biology courses.
Jun 2024 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
This course name is intimidating....BUT I loved this course. I found Dr. Charles to be a very good professor, he really knows what he is talking about.
Be warned though, that you must go to class, and MUST take notes because he posts slides with basically no words on them then talks about them for ever. I spent hours trying to find the papers he was referencing to make my own notes about his slides because I skipped some classes.
Long answer exams seem intimidating also, but if you know your stuff, try to predict what he will ask and you will be fine! He is very fair, if too many students bomb a question, he will take it off.Mar 2015 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
11 posts and comments in 10 threads mention BIOL 431, February 2016 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Winter 2023
Biol 431 1 point, 0 comments
Winter 2021
I feel like a robot 66 points, 11 comments
u/sunlightflower5: “Yes, I feel like a lot of tests are just memorizing details rather than thoughtful/involve problem solving in biology. Exceptions are BIOL 309 and BIOL 431 imo.”
Most useful course you have taken? 1 point, 1 comment
[deleted]: “So far, the most useful courses I've taken are BIOL 309 (molecular biology techniques), BIOL 469 (genomics), BIOL 308 (molecular biology), BIOL 431(bacterial genetics) and BIOL 434 (human genetics). What are your most useful courses?”
Is this course load too heavy? Pls help :( 1 point, 6 comments
u/lunaayu: “Hi guys, so I'm taking the following courses: BIOL241 (LEC/LAB) BIOL431 (LEC) BIOL346 (LEC/LAB) CHEM265 (LEC) CHEM237 CHEM237L I really don't know if its too heavy or if waterloo makes it mandatory that to be a fulltime student you need to do 5 courses (I know osap says 3 …”
Winter 2020
Winter 2020 Biology courses 4 points, 1 comment
u/biogooooose: “Has anyone taken BIOL 331, BIOL 341, BIOL 431, BIOL 359 and BIOL 365 together? I heard it's a bad idea to take BIOL 331 and BIOL 341 together.”
Spring 2019
BIOL 431 2 points, 0 comments
u/FeridunsBitch: “Thoughts on the difficulty of the course, I’m considering taking it. Thank you so much! Cheers,”
Spring 2018
Is this semester doable? 0 points, 7 comments
u/orbitfactors: “I'm taking BIOL 331, BIOL 341 and either BIOL 484 or BIOL 431 in the winter term alongside maybe an arts elective. For those who have taken these courses before—how hard are they?”
Fall 2017
BIOL 431 vs BIOL 308/9 3 points, 1 comment
Winter 2017
Best Biochem electives 6 points, 7 comments
“Are there certain Group A and B electives for 3rd and 4th year biochem that are easy/interesting. Also, are there any that are extremely hard and should be avoided at all costs? Thanks”
u/asylum19: “… group projects Chem 464 is challenging but if you want to work with NMR take this course Biol 431 and 432 pretty easy, but a good chuck of memorizing avoid Biol 308 unless you are very good at memorizing Biol 431 was a lot of content, not super organized, and a lot of outside …”
Winter 2016
Has anyone taken BIOL 431 - Bacterial Molecular Genetics? 5 points, 16 comments
u/Xenophons: “Midterm's on friday, struggling a bit with this one. If anyone in the class wants to study together, or if someone who took it before and did well would be willing to help me out, I'll pay you.”
u/DeadEndStreets: “Biol 431 crew what's up. Watching those screen casts really help just saying...”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
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