Chapter 6 Flashcards
Any substance that must be provided to an organism
Essential nutrient
Required in relatively large quantities and play principal roles in cell structure and metabolism
Examples:
- Carbon
- Oxygen
- Hydrogen
Macronutrients
Present in much smaller amounts and are involved in enzyme function and maintenance of of protein structure.
Examples:
- Magnesium
- Zinc
- Nickel
Micronutrients or trace elements
Categorizing Nutrients According to their Carbon Content
Inorganic Nutrient
6.1 Outcome
Differentiate between macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients are required in larger quantities; they play principal roles in cell structure and metabolism
-carbon, hydrogen, oxygen
Micronutrients are required in much smaller amounts; they are involved in enzyme function and maintenance of protein structure
-zinc, nickel, manganese
An atom or simple molecule that contains a combination of atoms other than carbon and hydrogen
-natural reservoirs are the crust of the earth, bodies of water, and the atmosphere
Inorganic Nutrient
List examples of inorganic nutrients
metals and their salts such as magnesium sulfate, ferric nitrate
gases like o2, co2
water
Molecules contain carbon and hydrogen atoms and are usually the product of living things
Organic nutrients
List examples of organic nutrients
methane (CH4), and large polymers such as carbos, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
Some microbes obtain their nutrients entirely from inorganic sources and other require a _________ of organic and inorganic sources
combination
What percent of the dry cell weight is composed of organic compounds?
97%
About 96% of the dry cell weight is composed of just six elements, what are they?
CHONPS
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur
The main determinants of a microbe’s nutritional type are its source of ______ and its source of _____.
carbon; energy
An organism that must obtain its carbon in an organic form
Heterotroph
An organism that uses inorganic CO2 as its carbon source
- has the capacity to convert CO2 into organic compounds
- not nutritionally dependent on living things
Autotrophs
Microbes that photosynthesize
Phototrophs
Microbes that get their energy from chemical compounds
Chemotrophs
What microbes use CO2 as carbon source?
Photoautotroph
Chemoautotroph
-Chemoorganic autotrophs
-Chemolithoautotrophs
What microbes use organic carbon as a carbon source?
photoheterotroph
chemoheterotrophs
saprobe
parasite
Define saprobe and parasite and explain why these terms
can be an oversimplification.
Saprobe: free-living organisms that feed on organic detritus from dead organisms
Parasites: derive nutrients from the cells or tissues of a living host
(range from helminths to viruses)
Parasite is an oversimplification due to the fact that their are endo and ecto parasites that range from viruses to helminths.
-Obligate parasites: unable to grow outside of living host such as leprosy bacillus and syphilis spirochete
Saprobe is an oversimplification because they are decomposers and recycle organic nutrients
Chemoorganic Autotrophs
use organic compounds for energy and inorganic compounds as a carbon source
Lithoautotrophs
rely totally on inorganic minerals and require neither sunlight nor organic nutrients
Phototrophs vs Chemotrophs
P: microbes that use photosynthesis to feed
C: organisms that oxidize compounds to feed on nutrients
Essential to protein synthesis and membrane function
Potassium (K)