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BMSC210 CH4.1 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the three domains of life?

A

Archaea, Bacteria, Eukarya

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2
Q

What are the characteristics of prokaryotic organisms?

A

No nuclei or membrane-bound organelles

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3
Q

Where can prokaryotes be found?

A

Everywhere on our planet

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4
Q

Where do bacteria thrive within the human body?

A

Mouth, nasal cavity, throat, ears, gastrointestinal tract, and vagina

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5
Q

Where can large colonies of bacteria be found on healthy human skin?

A

Moist areas (armpits, navel, and areas behind ears)

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6
Q

Are drier areas of the skin free from bacteria?

A

No

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7
Q

What is the role of microorganisms in soil formation?

A

Breakdown of organic matter and development of biofilms

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8
Q

What do bacteria metabolize from plant roots as nutrients?

A

Acids and carbohydrates

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9
Q

What are halophiles?

A

Prokaryotes that can thrive in extremely salty environments.

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10
Q

What is meant by the term ‘metabolically flexible’ for prokaryotes?

A

They can easily switch energy sources and metabolic pathways.

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11
Q

What can bacteria produce when they switch to a different metabolic pathway?

A

Acids and free hydrogen ions

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12
Q

What do animals rely on prokaryotes for?

A

Converting carbon dioxide into organic carbon products

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13
Q

What is the process of converting carbon dioxide to organic carbon products called?

A

Carbon fixation

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14
Q

What is nitrogen fixation?

A

Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia

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15
Q

What is the role of nitrogen-fixing bacteria?

A

Enrich soil and be used by other plants

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16
Q

Where do nitrogen-fixing bacteria live?

A

Root nodules of legumes

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17
Q

What are bacteroids?

A

Bacterium-like cells or modified bacterial cells

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18
Q

What role do some bacteria play in manmade environments?

A

Degrading toxic chemicals

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19
Q

What are the potential negative effects of prokaryotes on human health?

A

Illness, infection, and food contamination

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20
Q

What percentage of prokaryotes are human pathogens?

A

Less than 1%

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21
Q

What is one example of how prokaryotes affect humans indirectly?

A

Contributing to climate change

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22
Q

What greenhouse gases are released when permafrost thaws?

A

Carbon dioxide and methane

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23
Q

What is the impact of carbon dioxide and methane released from thawing permafrost?

A

They contribute to the greenhouse effect

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24
Q

What is an example of a unique relationship between organisms?

A

Bacteria living on plant roots or leaves getting nutrients from the plant and protecting it from pathogens

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25
What is the study of interactions between populations called?
Microbial ecology
26
What is a population?
A group of individual organisms belonging to the same biological species and limited to a certain geographic area
27
What is symbiosis?
Any interaction between different species within a community
28
What are the main types of symbiotic relationships among prokaryotes?
Mutualism, Amensalism, Commensalism, Neutralism, Parasitism
29
What is mutualism?
Benefit for both populations
30
What is amensalism?
Harm for one population, no effect on the other
31
What is commensalism?
Benefit for one population, no effect on the other
32
What is neutralism?
No effect on either population
33
What is parasitism?
Benefit for one population, harm for the other
34
What vitamin do humans derive from E. coli?
Vitamin K
35
What is vitamin K important for?
Formation of blood clotting factors
36
How does Staphylococcus epidermidis benefit from commensalism?
Uses dead cells of human skin as nutrients
37
What do we call this type of symbiosis when neither of the organisms is affected?
Neutralism
38
What is the name of the symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits while harming the other?
Parasitism
39
How can the relationship between humans and pathogenic prokaryotes be characterized?
As parasitic
40
What are some examples of diseases that arise from interactions between bacteria and humans?
Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, tuberculosis, leprosy
41
What is a microbiome?
All microorganisms associated with an organism
42
What are the two types of microbiota in the human microbiome?
Resident and transient
43
What is resident microbiota?
Microorganisms constantly living in/on our bodies
44
What is transient microbiota?
Microorganisms temporarily in the human body
45
Name some bacteria that showed significant differences in prevalence between individuals.
Streptococcus, Haemophilus, Neisseria
46
What genus becomes predominant in the intestine?
Bacteroides
47
Where do humans acquire their first inoculations of normal flora?
During natural birth and shortly after birth
48
What population serves as the first colonization of microbiota during natural birth?
Lactobacillus spp.
49
What is the process of acquiring additional microbes after birth?
Acquired from health-care providers, parents, relatives, and individuals who come in contact with the baby.
50
Why are resident microbiotas important for human health?
They occupy niches that might be taken by pathogenic microorganisms.
51
What happens to the pH of the vagina when the population of resident microbiota is decreased?
It increases
52
What can disrupt the microbiota of the intestinal tract and respiratory tract?
Antibiotic therapy
53
Why is it challenging to assign prokaryotes to a certain species?
No sexual reproduction, few morphological features
54
What were the traditional criteria used for the classification of prokaryotes?
Shape, staining patterns, biochemical or physiological differences
55
What is the more recent criterion for microbial classification?
Nucleotide sequences in genes
56
Who published A Manual in Determinative Bacteriology?
David Hendricks Bergey
57
What classification system did Bergey use?
Latin binomial classification
58
What properties did Bergey include in his manual?
Morphological, physiological, and biochemical properties
59
What is the importance of Bergey's manual?
It is a great aid in bacterial taxonomy and methods of characterization of bacteria
60
What determines the approved names of bacteria in the publication?
List of Prokaryotic Names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN)
61
How are bacteria traditionally classified based on their staining patterns?
Gram-positive, gram-negative, and atypical
62
What is the staining characteristic of gram-positive bacteria?
Retains crystal violet and appears purple
63
What is the difference between the cell walls of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria?
Gram-positive bacteria have a thick peptidoglycan cell wall, while gram-negative bacteria have a thin peptidoglycan cell wall.
64
What happens to gram-negative bacteria during the decolourizing step of the Gram stain procedure?
Gram-negative bacteria lose the crystal violet and appear light red/pink after staining with the safranin.
65
What are bacteria called that cannot be stained by the standard Gram stain procedure?
Atypical bacteria
66
Which bacterial species are included in the atypical category?
Mycoplasma and Chlamydia
67
Why do atypical bacteria not retain the gram-stain reagents?
They lack a cell wall.
68
Why are Rickettsia considered atypical?
Too small for Gram stain
69
How are gram-negative bacteria further classified?
Proteobacteria, CFB, spirochetes
70
What is a characteristic feature of spirochetes?
They have a spiral shape.
71
How are gram-positive bacteria classified based on nucleotides?
Low G+C and high G+C
72
What percentage of guanine and cytosine nucleotides do low G+C gram-positive bacteria have in their DNA?
Less than 50%
73
Name three human pathogens from the low G+C gram-positive bacteria group.
Anthrax, tetanus, listeriosis
74
What are high G+C gram-positive bacteria?
Bacteria with more than 50% guanine and cytosine nucleotides in their DNA.
75
Which diseases are caused by high G+C gram-positive bacteria?
Diphtheria, tuberculosis, and others.

BMSC 210 (24 decks)

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