BackMicrobiology: Key Concepts and History
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Terms in this set (27)
Microorganisms too small to be seen with the unaided eye, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, microscopic algae, viruses, and prions.
Microbiome is the group of microbes living stably on/in the human body. Normal microbiota are the acquired microorganisms on or in a healthy human, which may be permanent or transient.
Microbes can be pathogenic, cause food spoilage, decompose waste, fix nitrogen, produce oxygen, create chemicals like ethanol, and produce fermented foods and medicines.
A system established by Linnaeus using two names: genus (capitalized) and specific epithet (lowercase), both italicized or underlined.
Prokaryotes with peptidoglycan cell walls, unicellular, reproduce by binary fission, and may have flagella for movement.
Prokaryotes lacking peptidoglycan, often living in extreme environments, and not known to cause human disease.
Eukaryotes with chitin cell walls; yeasts are unicellular, molds and mushrooms are multicellular with hyphae.
Eukaryotes that absorb or ingest organic chemicals, may be motile by pseudopods, cilia, or flagella, and reproduce sexually or asexually.
Eukaryotes with cellulose cell walls, found in water and soil, use photosynthesis to produce oxygen and carbohydrates.
Acellular entities with DNA or RNA core, protein coat, sometimes lipid envelope, and replicate only inside living host cells.
Eukaryotic multicellular animals, including parasitic flatworms and roundworms (helminths), with some microscopic life stages.
Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya (which includes protists, fungi, plants, and animals).
All living things are composed of cells, as first reported by Robert Hooke in 1665.
Spontaneous generation is the idea that life arises from nonliving matter. Biogenesis states that living cells arise only from preexisting living cells.
Using S-shaped flasks, Pasteur showed that broth remained free of microbes unless exposed to air containing microorganisms.
Fermentation is microbial conversion of sugar to alcohol without air. Pasteurization uses heat to kill harmful bacteria without evaporating alcohol.
The theory that microbes cause disease, supported by discoveries from Pasteur, Lister, and Koch.
Experimental steps to prove that a specific microbe causes a specific disease.
Inoculation with a less harmful virus (e.g., cowpox) to provide immunity against a related disease (e.g., smallpox), discovered by Edward Jenner.
Treatment of disease using chemicals, including synthetic drugs and antibiotics produced by bacteria and fungi.
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, produced by the Penicillium fungus.
Bacteriology: study of bacteria; Mycology: study of fungi; Parasitology: study of protozoa and parasitic worms; Immunology: study of immunity; Virology: study of viruses.
Microbial genetics studies inheritance in microbes; molecular biology studies how genetic information is carried in DNA molecules.
Genomics studies an organism's genes; recombinant DNA technology combines DNA from different sources to produce proteins or hormones.
Microbes recycle vital elements, treat sewage, clean pollutants, control insect pests, and produce useful products via biotechnology.
Complex microbial communities attached to surfaces; can be beneficial (protect mucous membranes) or harmful (cause infections, resist antibiotics).
Evolutionary changes like antibiotic resistance, modern transportation, and increased human exposure to infectious agents.