Exam 1 Study Guide (Lecture 1 -5) Flashcards
Define microbes
living things ordinarily too small to be seen without magnification, there are cellular and noncellular microorganisms.
Acellular microorganisms: Viruses and prions
Cellular microorganisms: Bacteria, Archaea, Fungi, Plants, Protozoa, and Helminths
Define cells
An autonomous self-replicating unit that may exist as a functional independent unit of life or a sub-unit in a multi-cellular organism.
Define organisms
A living thing that has an organized structure, can react to stimuli, reproduce, grow, adapt, and maintain homeostasis.
Why should we study microbes?
- To advance human life and shape civilizations
- To understand them to treat infectious diseases
Benefits of microbes?
-Gut health
-Ocean microbes produce majority of earth’s oxygen
-Can study them to create antibiotics and medications
-Wine/beer
Who is Antonie van Leeuwenhoek?
Father of Protozoology and Bacteriology. Observed the first microbe.
Self-taught scientist inspired by Hook.
Robert Hooke and the discovery of cells
In 1665 Hooke discover the first cell with a primitive microscope he designed
What is cell theory?
All living things are composed of cells and comes from cells
What is spontaneous generation?
Living organisms arise from nonliving matter due to “vital force”
What is biogenesis?
Living organisms arise from preexisting life.
“beginning with life”
What is abiogenesis?
Embraced spontaneous generation
“beginning in absence of life
What were the four questions of the Golden Age of Microbiology?
- What causes fermentation?
- Is spontaneous generation of microbial life possible?
- What causes diseases?
- How can we prevent diseases?
What is the scientific method?
Observation (identify a problem)
-> hypothesis (ask questions to develop a prediction)
-> experiment (test the hypothesis)
-> data collection/ analysis (record and analyze experiment results)
-> reject/accept/modify hypothesis (draw conclusions based on data and hypothesis)
->theory or law
What is Pasteur’s experiments? (set up, purpose, results, conclusions, critics)
Set up: Used a swan neck flask filled with beef and plant extract, and boiled it
Purpose: To prove whether Biogenesis or Spontaneous Generation was accurated
Results: Dust formed at the neck of the open swan flask and no bacteria grew on the liquid, so he modified the experiment to reject Spontaneous Generation, and swirled the liquid with the dust to later see microbes growing in the water.
Conclusions: Proved Biogenesis, that microbes are present in the air, and the living organisms arise from preexisting life.
Critics:
What are Koch’s four postulates?
- The suspected pathogenic organism should be present in all cases of the disease and absent from health animals
- The suspected organism should be grown in pure culture.
- Cells from a pure culture of the suspected organism should cause disease in a healthy animal.
- The organism should be re-insulated and shown to be the same as the original.
How can microbes be classified?
Microbes can be classified as prokaryotic or eukaryotic.
Prokayrotic microbes are Eubacteria and Archaea that have no nucleus.
Eukaryotic microbes have a nucleus and are classified as Protist, Plant, Fungi, and Animal (Helminths).
What are the main characteristics of Prokaryotes?
- No nucleus
- 1-cell organisms/ uni-cellular
- Rigid walls that confer cell shape
- Cytoplasmic membrane is comprised from a phospholipid bilayer
- Bacteria and Archaea
- Chromosome is found in an area of the cytoplasm called the nucleoids
What are the main characteristics of helminths?
- Eukaryote (has nucleus)
- Multicellular animals (macro-organisms) 3. Parasitic flat worms and round worms
- Microscopic stages in life cycles
What are the main characteristics of fungi?
- Eukaryotic
- Membrane-bound nucleus
- Multi-cellular or unicellular
- Obtain food from other organisms (decomposers)
- Possess cell walls
- Composed of molds (multicellular, have hyphae, reproduce sexually and asexual spores)
- Composed of yeasts (unicellular, reproduce asexually by budding, some produce sexual spores)
What are the main characteristics of protozoa?
- Single-celled Eukaryote
- Most free living (need water to survive)
- Capable of locomotion by: pseudopodia, cilia, and flagella
- Most reproduce asexually
What are the main characteristics of algae?
- Unicellular or multicellular eukaryote
- Photosynthetic
- Simple reproductive structures
- Categorized based on: pigmentation, storage of products, and composition of cell wall
What are the main characteristics of viruses?
- Acellular (not cells)
- Consists of DNA or RNA core (never both)
- Has a protein coat
- Only replicates inside a living host.
- Bacteriophages can be rises that attack bacteria
What are the five I’s in order?
- Inoculation
- Incubation
- Isolation
- Inspection
- Identification
What is the process of inoculation?
When a sample is placed into a container of growth medium. Medium can be solid or liquid or a live animal such as a a chicken embryo.
- culture: to grow microorganisms
-medium: nutrients for the growth of microbes
-inoculum: a small sample of microbes
-inoculation: the introduction of an inoculum into media to culture/ grow
-clinical specimens are obtained from body fluids, discharges, anatomical sites, or diseased tissue
What is the process of incubation?
Creates the proper growth conditions with respect to temperature and gas requirements.
-atmospheric gases such as oxygen or carbon dioxide may be required for the growth of certain microbes
-during the incubation period, the microbe multiplies and produces growth that is observable macroscopically
What is the process of isolation?
Re-inoculate to separate species.
Once the cultures have grown, they may need to be re-inoculated (and incubated) in such a way that separate species are obtained.
What is the process of inspection?
The colonies on agar or the broth cultures are observed macroscopically and microscopically, possibly with the aid of staining.
New plate/tube, observe colonies
What is the process of identification?
Identity of isolated microbe is usually determined on a species level.
Genus and species
Discuss three physical states of media and when each is used?
- Solid - plate, slant, agar deep
- Semisolid - “low density jello”
- Liquid - for broth
Compare and contrast selective and differential media and give an example of each.
Selective Media
-Contains one or more agents that inhibit the growth of a certain microbe or microbes:
-important in the primary isolation of a specific type of microorganism from a sample containing dozens of different species
-Speed up isolation by suppressing unwanted background organisms and favoring the growth of the desired ones
Differential Media
-Allow multiple types of organisms to grow but display visible differences in how they grow:
-Variations in colony size or color
-Media color changes
-Production of gas bubbles
-Variations often come from chemicals in the media with which microbes react
Compare and contrast selective and differential media and give an example of each.
Selective Media contains on or more agents that inhibit the growth of a certain microbe or microbes.
Differential Media allow multiple types of organisms to grow but display visible differences in how they grow. While selective media focuses on primary isolation of a specific type of organisms by suppressing unwanted background organisms, differential media can also place focus on specific type of bacteria by focusing on displaying visible differences in how they grow. It is a form of isolation that allows the bacteria to standout apart from other variations.
Example: MacConkey agar suppresses the growth of some organisms while producing a visual distinction between the ones that do grow.
Dyes are used as differential agents because many are pH indicators that changed color in response to the production of an acid or a base.
Provide brief definitions for defined media and complex media
Defined Media:
- composition is precisely chemically defined
-Contains pure organic and inorganic compounds that vary little from one source to another
-Molecular content specified by means of an exact formula
Complex Media:
-One or more components is not chemically defined
-Contains extracts of animals, plants, or yeasts
-Blood, serum, meat extracts or infusions, milk, yeast extract, soybean digests, and peptone
What is the use of agar in culture media?
A complex polysaccharide that is solid at room temperature and liquefies at 100 C, it is flexible and moldable, and it is not a digestible nutrient for most microorganisms
Describe the 3 methods to isolate bacteria on plates
Streak Method: on solid media, use a loop to dip into bacteria for a sample and do a streak in one corner of the plate, sterilize loop in fire, touch the first bacteria line, and streak the second line, sterilize loop again, and repeat these steps until fourth line is created.
Pour Method: On liquified solid medium, use loop to get bacteria sample and put in water or broth, get concentration from this then dilute it into the second tube, do previous steps into third tube, pour into a plate (for each solution in tubes), use solid agar that you liquefy, pour agar liquid into plates, media forms for bacteria to grow.
Spread Method: On solid media, add an amount of bacteria in liquid onto plate, use a “hockey stick” and anchor in center of plate, turn plate 360 degrees a couple of times, incubate, and find colonies.
How do you calculate the total magnification when viewing specimens under specific microscope lenses?
total magnification is
objective lens x ocular lens
ex:
objective lens (10x) x 10x low power objective= 100x magnification
10x x 40x high dry objective= 400x magnification
10x x 100 oil immersion objective= 1000x magnification
Explain the pathway of light through the compound light microscope
The light begins from the light sources, goes through the condenser, then shine onto the specimen/sample located on top of the stage, light then travels through the objective lens giving a real image, the real image will then be projected through the tube through the ocular lens and perceived by the human eye or onto a camera.
light source -> condenser -> sample -> objective lens -> tube -> ocular lens -> eye or camera
Which parts of the microscope allow adjustment of light through the specimen?
Iris diaphragm and Condenser
List and describe three elements of good microscopy?
- Resolution: aka resolving power is the capacity of an optical system to distinguish two adjacent objects or points from one another.
- Magnification: occurs in two phases through the real image formed by the objective lens and the virtual image formed when the image is projected up through the microscope body to the plane of the eyepiece, the ocular lens forms the second image
- Contrast: the degree of bending that light undergoes as it passes from one medium to another; refractive index; the higher the difference in the refractive indexes (the more bending of light) the sharper the contrast registered
Differentiate between the principles of light microscopy and the principles of electron microscopy
Light Microscopy: forms image when light is transmitted through the specimen; the specimen being denser and more opaque than its surroundings absorb some of this light, and the rest of the light is transmitted directly up through the ocular lens
Electron Microscopy: transmits electrons, 3D view, electrons deflect and electron pattern is displayed on screen
Give examples of simple, differential, and special stains
Simple Stains: Crystal violet stain
Differential Stains: Gram Stain
Special Stains: Capsular Stain
What are the basic characteristics of prokaryotes?
-Single celled organisms
-No nucleus
-Have a cell wall
-Lack complex membrane bound organelles
-Have ribosomes
What are the habitats of prokaryotes?
Diverse habitats and can live in extreme conditions:
- Antarctic glaciers, thermal hot springs
-Colons of animals
-Distilled water
-Disinfectant solutions, basalt rocks
Known estimated number of prokaryotic species?
200 species
What are the main characteristics of bacteria vs. archaea?
Archaea
-membrane lipids with branched hydrocarbons
-Methionine is the initiator amino acid for protein synthesis
-Lack peptidoglycan in the cell wall
-Growth not inhibited by streptomycin and chloramphenicol
-Histones are associated with DNA
-Contains several types of RNA polymerase
Bacteria and Archaea:
-Chromosomes are circular
-Lacks nuclear envelopes
-Lacks membrane bound organelles
What are the prokaryotic external cell structures?
Prokaryotic external appendages:
1. Flagella
2. Fimbriae
3. Pili
What is the function of the flagella?
This external prokaryotic appendage facilitates movement (motility) and can rotate 360 degrees. It can tumble by clockwise rotation and it can run by counterclockwise rotation.
It has 4 types:
1. Monotrichous (one pole)
2. Amphitrichous (both poles)
3. Lophotrichou (multiple from one pole)
4. Petrichous (all over)
What is the function of the fimbriae?
This external prokaryotic appendage has non motile extensions, and can adhere to other bacteria, hosts, and substances. Required for formation of biofilms (dental plaque).
What is the function of the pili?
This external prokaryotic appendage has non motile extensions. Join 2 bacteria and mediate the DNA transfer between cells (conjugation)
What is the function of the prokaryotic cell wall?
Composed of peptidoglycan (polysaccharides) it provides structures and shape from osmotic forces, helps cells attach to other cells, helps eludes antimicrobial drugs
What is the function of the prokaryotic cell membrane?
The phospholipid bilayer (fluid mosaic) controls the passage of substances in and out of the cell
What is the function of the prokaryotic ribosomes?
This is the site for protein synthesis floating in the cytoplasm.
What is the function of the prokaryotic nuceloid?
Area containing DNA
What are the function of plasmids in prokaryotes?
Extra chromosomal DNA capable of replicating independently
What are the methods or reproduction for prokaryotes?
Binary Fission: a sexual reproduction by a separation of the body into new bodies. The organism duplicates its genetic material and then divides into two new parts.
Snapping Division: two daughter cells remain attached by the outer layer of the cell wall. DNA replication and binary fission has already occurred.
Reproductive Structures: Nucleoid replicates, new nucleoid moves into the bud, resulting in budding and new cell.
What are the shapes of prokaryotes?
Coccus - round
Coccobacillus - round and long
Bacillus - rod
Vibrio - long and thicker on one end
Spirillum and Spirochete - spiral
Pleomorphic - irregular shapes