Master Course incompassing: Lectures and seminars will include: 1. archaeal genomics 2. evolution and relationship to eukaryotes and bacteria 3. basic cellular processes which are exclusive to archaea as well as those those distantly related to eukaryotic and bacterial systems 4. adaptation to habitats of high temperature, high pressure, high salt concentrations, strictly anaerobic conditions and extremes of pH 5. structural and functional biology of the unique archaeal viruses and their host regulatory systems. 6. development of genetic systems for archaea 7. archaea as models for studying complex cellular systems in higher eukaryotes 8. exploiting archaea for biotechnology Laboratory exercises will be performed mainly on Sulfolobus species which grow at 80oC: 1. genetic experiments 2. isolation and characterisation of functional RNA molecules 3. expression and characterisation of proteins 4. cloning, sequencing and characterisation of hyperthermophilic viruses 5. bioinformatic analyses