Final Exam Flashcards

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1
Q

agar

A

a polymer of galactose that is used as a gelling agent

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2
Q

antibiotic

A

a molecule that can kill or inhibit the growth of selected microorganisms

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3
Q

antiseptic

A

a chemical that kill microbes

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4
Q

archaea (3)

A

one of the three domains of life
- members are prokaryotic, posses ether linked phospholipid membranes

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5
Q

aseptic

A

free of microbes

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6
Q

autoclave

A

a device that used pressurized steam to sterilize materials by raising the temperature above boiling point of water at standard pressure

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7
Q

bacteria (3)

A

one of the three domains of life
- members are prokaryotic, possess ester linked phospholipid membranes

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8
Q

biofilm

A

a community of microbes growing on a solid surface

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9
Q

chain of infection

A

serial passage of a pathogenic organisms from an infected individual to an uninfected one

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10
Q

chemiosmotic theory

A

a theory stating that the products of oxidative metabolism store their energy in an electrochemical gradient that can drive cellular processes like ATP synthesis

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11
Q

colony

A

visible cluster of microbes on a plate, all derived from a single founding microbe

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12
Q

DNA sequencing

A

a technique to determine the order of bases in a DNA sample

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13
Q

electron microscope

A

a microscope that obtains high resolution and magnification by using magnetic lenses to focus electron beams on samples

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14
Q

endosymbiont

A

an organsim that lives as a symbiont inside another organism

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15
Q

endosymbiosis

A

an intimate association between different species in which one partner population grows within the body of another organism

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16
Q

enrichment culture

A

the use of selective growth media to allow only certain microbes to grow

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17
Q

eukarya

A

one of the three domains of life
- members possess nuclei

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18
Q

extemophile

A

an organism that grows only in an extreme environment - relative to conditions for human life

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19
Q

fermentation

A

aka fermentative metabolism
- the production of ATP via substrate level phosphorylation using organic compounds as both electron donors and acceptors

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20
Q

geochemical cycling

A

the global interconversion of various inorganic and organic forms of elements

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21
Q

germ theory of disease

A

the theory that many disease are caused by microbes

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22
Q

Koch’s postulates (4)

A
  1. the microbe is found in all cases of the disease but is absent in healthy individuals
  2. the microbe is isolated from the diseased host and grown in pure culture
  3. when the microbe is introduced into a healthy, susceptible host, the host shows signs of the same disease
  4. the same strain of microbe is obtained from the nealy diseased host; when cultures the strain shows the same characteristics as before
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23
Q

metagenome

A

sum of all genomes of all members of a community of organisms

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24
Q

microbe

A

an organism or virus so small it cannot be seen with the unaided eye

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25
Q

microbiota

A

the total community of microbes associtated with an orgamisn or a defined habitat

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26
Q

monophyletic

A

having a single evolutionary origin, diverging from a common ancestor

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27
Q

nitrogen fixation

A

the ability of some prokaryotes to reduce inorganic diatomic nitrogen gas to ammonium ions

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28
Q

photosynthesis

A

the metabolic ability to absorb and convert solar energy into chemical energy for biosynthesis

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29
Q

polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

A

a method to amplify DNA in vitro using many cycles of DNA denaturation, primer annealing, and DNA polymerization with a heat-stable polymerase

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30
Q

polyphyletic

A

having multiple evolutionary origins

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31
Q

pure culture

A

a culture containing only a single strain or species of microorganisms

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32
Q

RNA world

A

a model of early life in which RNA performed all the informational and catalytic roles of today’s DNA and proteins

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33
Q

spontaneous generation

A

the theory that under current earth conditions, life can arise spontaneously from nonliving matter

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34
Q

transformation

A

the internalization of free DNA from the environment into bacterial cells

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35
Q

ultracentrifuge

A

a machine that subjects samples to high centrifugal forces and can be used to separate subcellular components

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36
Q

virus

A

a noncellular particle containing a genome that can replicate only inside a cell

37
Q

Winogradsky column

A

a glass tube containing a stratified environment that causes specific microbes to grow at particular levels

38
Q

aberration

A

an imperfection in a lens

39
Q

absorption (optics)

A

the capacity of a material to absorb light

40
Q

acid-fast stain

A

a diagnostic stain for mycobacteria, which retain the dye fuchsin because of mycolic acids in the cell wall

41
Q

angle of aperture

A

the width of a light cone that projects from the midline of a lense; greater angles of aperture increase resolution

42
Q

antibody tag

A

the attachment of a stain to an antibody to visualize cell components recognized by the antibody with high specificity

43
Q

artifact

A

a structure viewed through a microscope that is incorrectly interpreted

44
Q

atomic force microscopy (AFM)

A

a technique that maps the 3D topography of an object using van der Waals forces between the object and the probe

45
Q

bacillus

A

a rod shaped bacterial or archael cell

46
Q

bright-field microscopy

A

a type of light microscopy in which the specimen absorbs light and appears dark against a light background

47
Q

chemical imaging microscopy

A

a method of microscopy that maps the distribution of specific elements or chemicals within a sample

48
Q

coccus

A

a spherically shaped bacterial or archaeal cell

49
Q

compound microscope

A

a microscope with multiple lenses to compensate for lens aberration and increase magnification

50
Q

condenser

A

a lense that focuses parallel light rays from the light source onto a small area of the specimen to improve the resolution of the objective lens

51
Q

contrast

A

differential absorption or reflection of electromagnetic radiation between an object and a background that allow the object to be distinguished

52
Q

counterstain

A

a secondary stain used to visualize cells that do not retain the first stain

53
Q

dark-field microscopy

A

a type of light microscopy in which structures that are too small to be resolved by light rays are detected by observing the light they scatter

54
Q

depth of field

A

a region of the optic column over which a specimen appears to focus

55
Q

detection

A

the ability to determine the presence of an object

56
Q

differential stain

A

a stain that differentiates among objects by only staining particular types of cells or specific subcellular structures

57
Q

empty magnification

A

magnification without an increase in resolution

58
Q

excitation wavelength

A

the wavelength of light that must be absorbed by a molecule in order for the molecule to fluoresce

59
Q

fixation

A

the adherence of cells to a slide by a chemical or heat treatment

60
Q

fluorescence

A

property that occurs when molecules that absorb light of a specific wavelength re-emit energy as light with a longer wavelength

61
Q

fluorescence in situ hybridization - FISH

A

a technique to detect individual microbes in an ecological or clinical sample using fluorophore-labeled oligonucleotide probes that hybridizes to microbial DNA or rRNA

62
Q

fluorophore

A

a fluorescent molecule used to stain specimens for fluorescence microscopy

63
Q

gram-negative

A

describing cells that do not retain gram stain

64
Q

gram-positive

A

describing cells that retain the gram stain and appear dark purple after staining

65
Q

gram stain

A

a differential stain that distinguishes cells that possess a thick cell wall and retain a positively charged stain from cells that have a thin cell wall and outer membrane and fail to retain the stain

66
Q

mordant

A

a chemical binding agent that causes specimens to retain stains better

67
Q

negative stain

A

a stain that colors the background and leaves the specimen unstained

68
Q

simple stain

A

a stain that makes an object more opaque, increasing its contrast with the external medium or surrounding tissue

69
Q

spirochete

A

a bacterium with a tight, flexible spiral shape; a species of the phylum Spirochetes

70
Q

spore stain

A

a type of differential stain that is specific for the endospore coat of various bacteria, typically a firmicute species

71
Q

capsule

A

a slippery outer layer composed of polysaccharides that surround the cell envelope of some bacteria

72
Q

carboxysome

A

a protein-enclosed compartment containing rubisco to fix CO2

73
Q

cell fractionation

A

a procedure to separate cell components that often includes ultracentrifugation

74
Q

chemotaxis

A

the ability of organisms to move toward or away from specific chemicals

75
Q

electrophoresis

A

a technique to separate charged proteins and nucleic acids based on how rapidly they migrate in an electrical field through gel

76
Q

endotoxin

A

a lipopolysaccharide in the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria that becomes toxic to the house after the bacterial cell has lysed

77
Q

envelope

A

a structure external to the cell membrane of a bacteria

78
Q

gas vesicle

A

an organelle that traps gases to increase the buoyancy of aquatic microbes

79
Q

lipid A

A

the anchor lipid of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), composed of glucosamine plus six lipid chains

80
Q

lipopolysaccharide (LPS)

A

structurally unique phospholipids found in the outer leaflet of the outer membrane in gram-negative bacteria, many are endotoxins

81
Q

magnetosome

A

an organelle that contains the mineral magnetite and thus enables microbes to sense a magnetic field

82
Q

motility

A

the ability of a microbe to direct its own movement

83
Q

nucleoid

A

the looped coils of a bacterial chromosome

84
Q

O antigen

A

a sugar chain that connects to the core polysaccharide of LPS

85
Q

osmotic pressure

A

aka turgor pressure; pressure exerted by the osmotic flow of water through a semipermeable membrane

86
Q

outer membrane

A

in gram-negative bacteria, a membrane external to the cell wall

87
Q

penicillin-binding protein

A

a bacterial protein involved in cell wall synthesis, that is the target of the penicillin antibiotic

88
Q

peptidoglycan

A

aka murein
- a polymer of peptide linked chains of amino sugars