Chapter 1 Flashcards
two themes of microbiology
- understanding basic life processes
2. applying that knowledge to the benefit of humans
microbes play important roles in…
- medicine
- agriculture
- industry
importance of microorganisms (5)
- oldest form of life
- largest mass of living material on Earth
- carry out processes for biogeochemical cycles
- can live in places unsuitable to other organisms
- other life forms require microbes to survive
cell
dynamic entity forms fundamental unit of life
cytoplasmic membrane
barrier that separates inside of cell to outside environment
cell wall
present in most microbes, confers structural strength
six characteristics of living systems
- metabolism
- reproduction
- differentiation
- communication
- movement
- evolution
metabolism
chemical transformation of nutrients
reproduction
generation of two cells from one
differentiation
synthesis of new substances or structures that modify the cell (in some microbes, not all)
communication
generation of, and response to, chemical signals (in some microbes, not all)
movement
via self-propulsion, many forms in microbes
evolution
genetic changes in cells that are transferred to offspring
cells function as ________ and ________
catalysts, coding devices
cells as catalysts function to…
carry out chemical rxns
cells as coding devices
store and process info that is eventually passed on to offspring during reproduction through DNA and evolution
enzyme
protein catalyst of cell that accelerates chemical rxns
transcription
DNA produces RNA
translation
RNA makes protein
________ is the link between cells as machines and cells as coding devices
growth
microbial communities
populations of interacting microbes existing in nature
habitat
the environment in which a microbial population lives
ecosystem
all living organisms plus physical and chemical constituents of their environment
microbial ecology
the study of microbes in their natural environment
diversity and abundances of microbes are controlled by ________ and ________
resources (nutrients) and environmental conditions (temperature, pH, O2 etc.)
ecosystems greatly influenced (if not controlled) by…
microbial activity
microorganisms change the ________ and ________ properties of their habitats through their activities (excreting waste, removal of nutrients from environment)
physical, chemical