Chapter 1 Vocabulary

Question 1

the manipulation of sterile instruments or culture media in such a way as to maintain sterility

Answer 1

Aseptic Technique

Question 2

a rigid layer present outside the cytoplasmic membrane; it confers structural strength on the cell

Answer 2

Cell Wall

Question 3

a form of metabolism in which energy is generated from the oxidation of inorganic compounds

Answer 3

Chemolithotrophy

Question 4

a macroscopically visible population of cells growing on solid medium, arising from a single cell

Answer 4

Colony

Question 5

the ability to resolve a cell or structure from its surroundings

Answer 5

Contrast

Question 6

a collection of microbial cells grown using a nutrient medium

Answer 6

Culture

Question 7

the fluid portion of a cell, enclosed by the cytoplasmic membrane

Answer 7

Cytoplasm

Question 8

a semipermeable barrier that separates the cell interior (cytoplasm) from the environment

Answer 8

Cytoplasmic Membrane

Question 9

modification of cellular components to form a new structure, such as a spore

Answer 9

Differentiation

Question 10

one of the three main evolutionary lineages of cells: the Bacteria, the Archaea, and the Eukarya

Answer 10

Domain

Question 11

the process by which information from DNA is copied into a new strand of DNA

Answer 11

DNA replication

Question 12

a method for isolating specific microorganisms from nature using specific culture media and incubation conditions

Answer 12

Enrichment culture technique

Question 13

a protein (or in some cases an RNA) catalyst that functions to speed up chemical reactions

Answer 13

Enzyme

Question 14

having a membrane-enclosed nucleus and various other membrane-enclosed organelles; cells of Eukarya

Answer 14

Eukaryotic

Question 15

a change over time in gene sequence and frequency within a population of organisms, resulting in descent with modification

Answer 15

Evolution

Question 16

microorganisms that inhabit environments characterized by extremes of temperature, pH, pressure, or salinity

Answer 16

Extremophiles

Question 17

an organism’s full complement of genes

Answer 17

Genome

Question 18

a bacterial cell with a cell wall containing small amounts of peptidoglycan and an outer membrane

Answer 18

gram-negative

Question 19

a bacterial cell whose cell wall consists chiefly of peptidoglycan; it lacks the outer membrane of gram-negative cells

Answer 19

gram-positive

Question 20

a differential staining procedure that stains cells either purple (gram-positive cells) or pink (gram-negative cells)

Answer 20

gram staining

Question 21

in microbiology, an increase in cell number with time

Answer 21

growth

Question 22

the microbial communities present in the animal gastrointestinal tract

Answer 22

gut microbiome

Question 23

the transfer of genes between cells through a process uncoupled from reproduction

Answer 23

horizontal gene transfer

Question 24

interactions between cells using chemical signals

Answer 24

intercellular communication

Question 25

a set of criteria for proving that a given microorganism causes a given disease

Answer 25

Koch's postulates

Question 26

a polymer of monomeric units, for example proteins, nucleic acids, polysaccharides, and lipids

Answer 26

macromolecules

Question 27

the optical enlargement of an image

Answer 27

magnification

Question 28

in microbiology, the liquid or solid nutrient mixture(s) used to grow microorganisms

Answer 28

medium

Question 29

all biochemical reactions in a cell

Answer 29

metabolism

Question 30

two or more populations of cells that coexist and interact in a habitat

Answer 30

microbial community

Question 31

the study of microorganisms in their natural environments

Answer 31

microbial ecology

Question 32

an organism that is too small to be seen by the unaided human eye

Answer 32

microorganisms

Question 33

the movement of cells by some form of self-propulsion

Answer 33

motility

Question 34

the aggregated mass of DNA that makes up the chromosome(s) of prokaryotic cells

Answer 34

nucleoids

Question 35

a membrane-enclosed structure in eukaryotic cells that contains the cell’s DNA genome

Answer 35

nucleus

Question 36

a bilayer-membrane-enclosed structure such as the mitochondrion, found in eukaryotic cells

Answer 36

organelle

Question 37

a disease-causing microorganism

Answer 37

pathogen

Question 38

a diagram that depicts the evolutionary history of organisms

Answer 38

phylogenetic tree

Question 39

the evolutionary history of organisms

Answer 39

phylogeny

Question 40

an extrachromosomal genetic element that is not essential for growth

Answer 40

plasmid

Question 41

lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and other organelles; cells of Bacteria or Archaea

Answer 41

prokaryotes

Question 42

a culture containing a single kind of microorganism

Answer 42

pure culture

Question 43

the ability to distinguish two objects as distinct and separate when viewed under the microscope

Answer 43

resolution

Question 44

a structure composed of RNAs and proteins upon which new proteins are made

Answer 44

ribosomes

Question 45

the types of RNA found in the ribosome

Answer 45

rRNA

Question 46

the hypothesis that living organisms can originate from nonliving matter

Answer 46

Spontaneous generation

Question 47

free of all living organisms (cells) and viruses

Answer 47

sterile

Question 48

the synthesis of an RNA molecule complementary to one of the two strands of a double-stranded DNA molecule

Answer 48

Transcription

Question 49

the synthesis of protein by a ribosome using the genetic information in a messenger RNA as a template

Answer 49

Translation