Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is a microbe?
a living organism that requires a microscope to be seen
What are the three contradictions to the general definition of a microbe?
- Supersize microbial cells
- Microbioal Communities
- Viruses
What is a prokaryote and what are examples of them?
A prokaryote is a simple cell that lacks a nucleus. Examples are bacteria and archaea.
What is a eukaryote and what are examples of them?
A eukaryote is a complex cell that has a nucleus. Examples are algae, fungi, and protists.
What is a genome?
the total genetic information contained in an organism’s chromosomal DNA
Who developed the first method of DNA sequencing fast enough to sequence large genomes?
Fred Sanger
What was the first bacterium that the first genome sequence completed on?
Haemophilus influenzae
What is a metagenome?
The collection of sequences taken directly from the environment
How have microbes shaped human culture?
- Yeasts and Bacteria for foods and beverages.
2. “Rock-eating” bacteria for mining metals
What microbial disease devastated human populations in the 14th Century?
Bubonic plague caused by Yersinia pestis
What microbial disease devastated human populations in the 19th Century?
Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
What microbial disease devastates the human populations today?
AIDS/HIV
Who was Florence Nightingale?
- British Nurse who recognized the significance of diseases in warfare
- founded the science of medical statistics
- Showed the deaths of soldiers due to various causes, she devised the “polar area chart”
Who built the first compound microscope, published Micrographia, and coined the term “cell”?
Robert Hooke
Who built single-lens magnifiers, complete with sample holder and focus adjustment and was the first to observe single-celled microbes?
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
What is spontaneous generation?
The theory that living creatures could arise without parents
Who showed that maggots in decaying meat were the offspring of flies?
Francesco Redi
Who showed that a sealed flask of meat broth sterilized by boiling failed to grow microbes?
Lazzaro Spallanzani