Chapter 1: Introduction to Microbes and Their Building Blocks Flashcards
Terms
A specialized area of biology that deals with living things ordinarily too small to be seen without magnification, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses.
Microbiology
Invisible to the naked eye
Microscopic
A living thing ordinarily too small to be seen without magnification; an organism of microscopic.
Microorganisms
Prokaryotic single celled organisms of primitive origin that have unusual anatomy, physiology, and genetics, and live in harsh habitats.
Archae
Macroscopic and microscopic heterotrophic eukaryotic organisms that can be uni- or multicellular.
Fungi
A group of single-celled eukaryotic organisms
Protozoa
A term that designates all parasitic worms
Helminths
Microscopic, acellular agent composed of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat.
Viruses
A concocted word to denote “proteinaceous infectious agent”, a cytopathic protein associated with the slow-virus spongiform encephalopathies of humans and animals.
Prions
A cell that differs from a prokaryotic cell chiefly by having a nuclear membrane, membrane-bound subcellular organelles, and mitotic cell division.
Eukaryotic
Small cells lacking special structures such as a nucleus and organelles. All are microorganisms.
Prokaryotes
Present everywhere at the same time
Ubiquitous
A designation for bacteria and archaea
Akaryotes
Scientific principle that states that living things change gradually through hundreds of millions of years, and these changes are expressed in structural and functional adaptations in each organism. Evolution presumes that those traits that favor survival are preserved and passed on to following generations, and those traits that do not favor survival are lost.
Evolution
The evidence cited to explain how evolution occurs.
Theory of Evolution
A process occurring in plants, algae, and some bacteria that traps the sun’s energy and converts it to ATP in the cell, this energy is used to fix CO2 into organic compounds.
Photosynthesis
The intentional use by humans of living organisms or their products to accomplish a goal related to health or the environment.
Biotechnology
A field involving deliberate alterations of the genomes of microbes, plants, and animals through special technological processes.
Genetic Engineering
A technology, also known as genetic engineering, that deliberately modifies the genetic structure of an organism to create novel products, microbes, animals, plants, and viruses
Recombinant DNA Technology
Decomposition of harmful chemicals by microbes or consortia of microbes or insects.
Bioremediation
Any agent that causes disease
Pathogens
The state of damage or toxicity in the body caused by an infectious agent.
Infectious Disease
A small component of eukaryotic cells that is bounded by a membrane and specialized in function.
Organelles
Early belief that living things arose from vital forces present in nonliving, or decomposing, matter
Spontaneous Generation
The belief in spontaneous generation as a source of life
Abiogenesis
Belief that living things can only arise from others of the same kind
Biogenesis
Completely free of all life forms, including spores and viruses
Sterile
Method of handling microbial cultures, patient specimens, and other sources of microbes in a way that prevents infection of the handler and others who may have been exposed
Aseptic Techniques
Large, molecular compounds assembled from smaller subunits, most notably biochemicals.
Macromolecules
A simple molecule that can be linked by chemical bonds to form larger molecules.
Monomers
A macromolecule made up of a chain of repeating units; starch, protein, DNA
Polymers
A compound containing primarily carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a 1:2:1 ratio
Carbohydrate
A 6-carbon sugar such as glucose and fructose
Hexoses
A monosaccharide with five carbon atoms per molecule; arabinose, ribose, xylose
Pentoses
One of the carbohydrates commonly referred to as sugars. characterized by 6-carbon structure.
Glucose
One of the carbohydrates commonly known as sugars. Commonly a fruit sugar
Fructose
One of the carbohydrates commonly referred to as sugars. Commonly found in milk
Lactose
One of the carbohydrates referred to as sugars. A fermentable sugar formed from starch.
Maltose
One of the carbohydrates referred to as sugars. Common table or can sugar.
Sucrose
A long, fibrous polymer composed of β -glucose; one of the most common substances on earth
Cellulose
A polysaccharide found in seaweed and commonly used to prepare solid culture media.
Agar
A network of polysaccharide chains cross-linked by short peptides that forms the rigid part of bacterial cell walls. Gram-negative bacteria have a smaller amount of this rigid structure than do gram-positive bacteria.
peptidoglycan
A polysaccharide similar to cellulose in chemical structure. This polymer makes up the horny substance of the exoskeletons of arthropods and certain fungi.
Chitin
A molecular complex of lipid and carbohydrate found in the bacterial cell wall. The gram-negative bacteria are an endotoxin with generalized pathologic effects such as fever.
Lipopolysaccharide
A filamentous network of carbohydrate-rich molecules that coats cells.
Glycocalyx
A type of lipid composed of glycerol molecule bound to three fatty acids.
Triglycerides
A 3-carbon alcohol, with three OH groups that serve as binding sites.
Glycerol
Best-known member of a group of lipids called steroids. Commonly found in cell membranes and animal hormones.
Cholesterol
Predominant organic molecule in cells, formed by longs chains of amino acids.
Proteins
The building blocks of protein. Exist in 20 naturally occurring forms that impart different characteristics to the various proteins they compose.
Amino Acid
Molecule composed of short chains of amino acids, such as a dipeptide (two amino acids), a tripeptide (3), and a tetrapeptide (4)
Peptide
A relatively large chain of amino acids linked by peptide bond.
Polypeptide
Initial protein organization described by type, number, and order of amino acids in the chain. This varies extensively from protein to protein.
Primary Structure
Protein structure that occurs when the functional groups on the outer surface of the molecule interact by forming hydrogen bonds. These bonds cause the amino acid chain to either twist, forming a helix, or pleat into an accordion pattern called a β- pleated sheet.
Secondary Structure
Protein structure that results from additional bonds forming between functional groups in a secondary structure, creating a three-dimensional mass.
Tertiary Structure
A nonessential amino acid that is related to the essential amino acid cystine.
Cysteine
Most complex protein structure, characterized by the formation of large, multiunit proteins by more than one of the polypeptides. This structure is typical of antibodies and some enzymes that act in cell synthesis.
Quaternary Structure
A protein biocatalyst that facilitates metabolic reactions
Enzymes
A large protein molecule evoked in response to an antigen that interacts specifically with that antigen.
Antibodies
A polymeric strand of nucleotides; exist in two forms; ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
Nucleic Acid
A nucleotide that is the primary source of energy to cells.
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
The formal system for organizing, classifying, and naming living things.
Taxomy
Scientific method of assigning names to organisms that employs two names to identify every organism genus name plus species name.
Binomial System
In the levels of classification, the broadest general category to which an organism is assigned. Members of this chare only one of a few general characteristics.
Domain
In the levels of classification, the second division from more general to more specific.
Kingdom
In the levels of classification, the third level of classification from general to more specific. Divided into numerous divisions.
Phylum
In the levels of classification, an alternate term for phylum.
Division
In the levels of classification, the division of organisms that follows phylum.
Class
In the levels of classification, the division of organisms that follows class. Increasing similarity may be noticed among organisms assigned to the same.
Order
In the levels of classification, a midlevel division of organisms that groups more closely related organisms than previous levels.
Family
In the levels of classification, the most specific level of organization.
Species
In the levels of classification, the second-most-specific level.
Genus
One of the three domains of living organisms that contains all eukaryotes.
Eukarya
Category of prokaryotes with peptidoglycan in their cell walls and circular chromosomes. This group of small cells is widely distributed in the earth’s habitats.
Bacteria
saccharide
monosaccharide
disaccharides
peptide bond
nitrogen base
phosphate
Adenine
Guanine
Thymine
Cytosine
Uracil
