Ch16 Flashcards
Fleming, Florey, and Chain
gained Nobel Prize for discovery/development of penicillin as the first clinically proven antibiotic to treat infections
biotechnology
Give examples
the use of biological processes/organisms to produce goods
(cheese, yogurt, beer, food preservatives, antibiotics, food preservatives)
red biotechnology
white biotechnology
green biotechnology
biotechnology related to MEDICAL applications
biotechnology related to INDUSTRIAL applications
biotechnology related to AGRICULTURE (bioremediation)
What must microbes be able to do in order to be useful for biotechnology? Why is this the case?
They must be able to replicate well under laboratory conditions, as naturally occurring strains may not produce enough/ desired product
What are alternatives utilized when natural strains of microorganisms fail to make enough desired product?
1.)The isolation of microorganisms from natural strains with improved characteristics
2.) (If that ain’t fast/sufficient enough) Recombinant DNA technology
culture collections
public collections of microbes that all scientists have access to for study and whatnot
bioprospecting
the search for novel (new/different) organisms, biological materials/processes
fermentation (industrial microbiology)
fermentation (metabolic or biochemical)
any industrial process of the culture of anaerobic OR aerobic microorganisms to make desired things
(many modern industrial fermentations occur in the presence of oxygen)
catabolic reactions that result in ATP in the absence of O2
bioreactors
fed-batch reactor
chemostat
culture vessels where industrial fermentation occurs
a type of bioreactor that provides culture with nutrients over time (extends the lag phase)
a type of bioreactor that has the same amount of removed culture and added medium
biofilms
groups/layers of microbes on a surface that interact/support each other
How are biofilms formed?
group of bacteria forms the first layer
secondary colonizers join
all microbes secrete EPS (exopolysaccharides)
What is EPS? Why is it important?
Exopolysaccharides are secreted by microbes; help protect biofilm and form water-filled channels for nutrients and wastes
Winogradsky column
enrichment column, different microbes flourish in different areas
direct sequencing
a cultivation-independent technique where DNA is extracted and sequenced
Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)
separates DNA from an environmental sample and cuts it up into pieces (fragmentation)
Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP)
PCR of a common gene causes the amplification/labeling of a fragment
size of label depends on fluorescence
Fluorescent in situ hybridization
use of oligonucleotide probes to BIND to specific DNA/RNA in a mixed population of cells
Flow cytometry
detection of labeled cells in a mixed population by passing them through a laser and detecting light emittance
stable isotope method
microbes are fed radioactive ISOTOPES of carbon/nitrogen
a chloride gradient separates DNA/RNA molecules in the cells based on cell metabolism
Metagenomics
DNA from an environmental sample is used to create a genomic library
OTU
operational taxonomic unit; a group of organisms that share 97% or more of SSU rRNA gene sequence identity (closely related individuals)
What percentage of the ocean’s biomass is microbial?
random mutagenesis
What is a drawback of this approach
the exposure of the genome to mutagens like UV and X rays increases the chance of a mutation
the resulting mutations are undefined
effective screens aren’t available for wanted phenotypes
“Penicillium chrysogenum”
The mold that started the antibiotic revolution
site-directed mutagenesis
(give an example)
(explain a drawback of the example)
allows specific mutations to be made at specific spots of DNA
genome editing (started by ZFN and TALENs)
relies on DNA binding protein motifs
CRISPR-Cas
Clustered regularly Interspaced short palindromic repeats with Cas enzyme;
Doesn’t rely on DNA-binding protein motifs
causes an antiviral defense mechanism in bacteria
oligonucleotide
affiliated with primers (bsed imsry)
directed enzyme evolution
rounds of random mutation/ selection to achieve desired changes
what produces chimeric fragments when recombining DNA
PCR
fusion/ tagged proteins
protein of interest (usually) that fuse with another protein, giving that charasteristic
Why is human insulin preffered?
a hormone produced by the pancreas; It is safe and abundant
statins
a secondary metabolite (not antimicrobial) that inhibits enzyme “hydroxymethylglutaryl (HMG)-CoA reductase, in order to reduce cholesterol linked to diseases
briefly describe recombinant insulin
translational fudions with lacZ gene containing B-gal
B-gal is removed, resulting in the created insulin
What occurs in an ethanol still
heat is used to evaporate alcohol from fermented solution, condensed and collected
What are most of the biomass from agriculture composed of?
lignocellulose (made of polymeric cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin)
Why is butanol a better transportation biofuel than ethanol?
Ethanol is more destructive and has less energy compared to gasoline
Why are bioplastics preferred
They are biodegradable
transgenic plants
plants that contain DNA from another type of organism
can aid in producing bioplastics
biocatalysts
enzymes that aid in the production of goods like detergent/ high fructose corn syrup
Name an advantage of microbial production of amino acids
stereospecificity
What is PHA
polyhydroxyalkanoates; a bioplastic produced by microbes
Bt toxin
produced by bacillus thuringiensis; has high insecticidal activity
What is used in roundup to kill weeds? How?
Glyphosate; inhibits EPSP synthase, blocking essential amino acids
How does Agrobacterium tumefaciens cause the genetic modification of plants?
pathogen that caused tumor growth in plants, this enables the entrance of DNA into the plant genome, results in opine/ phytohormone production
chmosynthesis
light-independent autotrophic process
rhizosphere
the soil surrounding the roots (an important ecosystem
humic material
material from the complete breakdown of biomass
Go over the soil horizons (top to bottom)
O Horizon (Organic matter exposed)
A Horizon (topsoil)
B Horizon (subsoil)
C Horizon (mostly inorganic matter)
epilimnion
hypolimnon
warmer low-density water
high density colder water
THe zone between the latter
piezophiles/barophiles
microbes that can withstand high atmospheric pressures
ocean zones
surface photic zone
dark mid-water zone
Deep sea zone
How many times more do Earth’s microbial biomass exceed human biomass?
104-530
guilds
groups of organisms that carry out similar processes
niche
the specific functional role in an ecosystem
briefly describe biofilm formation
primary colonizers populate a surface
as biofilm matures, secondary colonizers are produced
depending on quorum sensing, an EPS can be formed depending on a sufficient amount of bacteria
When it comes to marine biomass, how much d microbes constitute
98%
oligotrophy
In what areas to microbes undergo this?
the use of nutients at very low concentrations
microorganisms in marine envieonments
How is carbon and energy distributed throughout an ecosystem?
zooplankton chew on primary producers and other organisms at the surface and this is distributed
What happens at the dark mid water zone
photosynthesis is not possible, but lysis of phytoplankton support their growth
Whit comes to bacteria/archea and VIRUSES, what has higher biomass? Higher abundance?
bacteria/ archaea (95%)
viruses (94%)
