01: The Main Themes of Microbiology

Question 1

Microbiology

Answer 1

study of organisms too small to be seen without magnification

Question 2

Microorganisms

Answer 2

• Bacteria
• Viruses
• Fungi
• Protozoa
• Algae
• Helminths (worms)

Question 3

Prokaryotes

Answer 3

• Simple cells (pre-nucleus)
• microscopic, unicellular organisms, lack nuclei and membrane-bound organelles

Question 4

Eukaryotes

Answer 4

• Complex cells (true nucleus)
• unicellular (microscopic) and multicellular, nucleus and membrane-bound organelles

Question 5

Viruses

Answer 5

• Acellular, parasitic particles composed of a nucleic acid and protein

Question 6

Photosynthesis

Answer 6

Light fueled conversion of carbon dioxide to organic material

Question 7

Decomposition

Answer 7

Breakdown of dead matter and wastes into simple compounds

Question 8

Which of the following does NOT describe a fungus?

A. Contains a nucleus

B. Has 80S Ribosomes

C. Useful in Decomposition

D. Is photosynthetic

Answer 8

D. Is photosynthetic

Question 9

Biotechnology

Answer 9

Production of foods, drugs, and vaccines using living organisms

Question 10

Genetic Engineering

Answer 10

Manipulating the genes of organisms to make new products

Question 11

Bioremediation

Answer 11

Using living organisms to remedy an environmental problem

Question 12

Lifestyles of Microorganisms

Answer 12

Majority live a free existence, are relatively harmless and often beneficial, and in many cases essential to life.

Question 13

Parasites

Answer 13

live on or in the body of another organism called the host and it damages the host

Question 14

Pathogens

Answer 14

• Microbes that do harm
• Nearly 2,000 different microbes cause diseases
• 10 B new infections/year worldwide
• 13 M deaths from infections/year worldwide

Question 15

Spontaneous Generation

Answer 15

an early belief that some forms of life could arise from vital forces present in nonliving or decomposing matter (flies from manure, etc.)

Question 16

Theory of Biogenesis

Answer 16

• the idea that living things can only arise from other living things
• Louis Pasteur

Question 17

A Scientific Theory has little or no evidence to support it and could be best described as a “best guess”.

A. True

B. False

Answer 17

B. False

Question 18

Endospores

Answer 18

demonstrated the presence of heat-resistant forms of some microbes.

Question 19

Sterility

Answer 19

requires the elimination of all life forms including endospores and viruses.

Question 20

Taxonomy

Answer 20

organizing, classifying and naming living things

Question 21

Classification

Answer 21

orderly arrangement of organisms into groups

Question 22

Nomenclature

Answer 22

assigning names

Question 23

Identification

Answer 23

determining and recording traits of organisms for placement into taxonomic schemes

Question 24

Levels of Classification

Answer 24

• Domain - Archaea, Bacteria, & Eukarya
• Kingdom
• Phylum or Division
• Class
• Order
• Family
• Genus
• Species

Question 25

Assigning Scientific Names

Answer 25

Binomial (scientific) nomenclature

Gives each microbe 2 names:

1. Genus - capitalized
2. species - lowercase

Question 26

Phylogeny

Answer 26

natural relatedness between groups of organisms

Question 27

Evolution

Answer 27

• All new species originate from preexisting species
• Closely related organism have similar features because they evolved from common ancestral forms
• Evolution usually progresses toward greater complexity

Question 28

Three Domains of Life

Answer 28

• Bacteria - true bacteria
• Archaea - odd bacteria that live in extreme environments, high salt, heat, etc.
• Eukarya - have a nucleus and organelles

Question 29

Organisms in the Domain Archaea have more DNA sequence similarity to:

A. Escherichia coli which is in the Domain Bacteria

B. Humans which are in the Domain Eukarya

C. Archaea have no DNA sequence similarity to any other organism

Answer 29

A. Escherichia coli which is in the Domain Bacteria