Classification and Ecology Flashcards
Describe the binomial naming system
The first name is the genus of the organisms. The second name is the specific epithet. Together these names are referred to as the species.
List the 3 basic shapes of bacteria
Spherical (cocci), Rod (bacilli), Spiral (spirilla)
Describe the colour of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria after Gram staining
Gram positive - blue purple (thick)
Gram negative - red/pink (thin)
How/why is Mycobacteria stained?
Have a cell wall that contains waxes therefore need an acid-fast stain - red
Colony
A number of bacteria that form a mound
Obligate aerobe
bacteria that have an absolute requirement for an atmosphere with around 20% oxygen (similar to room air). At concentrations below this these bacteria will not grow or multiply.
Obligate anaerobe
bacteria that can only grow in an anaerobic environment (an
atmosphere with no oxygen)
Microaerophiles
needs oxygen of some level
Aerotolerant anaerobes
Can grow in oxygen, but grow better without it
Facultative anaerobes
Can survive in either atmosphere (oxygen or no oxygenn)
Name 2 obligate intracellular pathogens
Rickettsias and Chlamydias are both Gram-negative bacteria.
What feature makes Mycoplasmas resistant to many antibiotics?
they do not have a cell wall
Symbiosis
Living together of dissimilar species
List 3 types of symbiotic relationships
Commensalism, Mutualism, Parasitism
Indigenous microflora
Microbes that live on or in the human body
Functions indigenous microflora
Synthesis of vitamins B and K, Stimulate the immune system, Inhibit invasion by and growth
of pathogenic microbes, Gut microbiome – recent
evidence of a link with mental health
Bioflims
complex communities
of different microbes attached to a surface with a slime layer
Describe a biofilm in dentistry
initiated by Streptococcus
mutans which feeds on sugar and
produces caustic lactic acid. - Plaque
