Final Exam Flashcards
agar
a polymer of galactose that is used as a gelling agent
antibiotic
a molecule that can kill or inhibit the growth of selected microorganisms
antiseptic
a chemical that kill microbes
archaea (3)
one of the three domains of life
- members are prokaryotic, posses ether linked phospholipid membranes
aseptic
free of microbes
autoclave
a device that used pressurized steam to sterilize materials by raising the temperature above boiling point of water at standard pressure
bacteria (3)
one of the three domains of life
- members are prokaryotic, possess ester linked phospholipid membranes
biofilm
a community of microbes growing on a solid surface
chain of infection
serial passage of a pathogenic organisms from an infected individual to an uninfected one
chemiosmotic theory
a theory stating that the products of oxidative metabolism store their energy in an electrochemical gradient that can drive cellular processes like ATP synthesis
colony
visible cluster of microbes on a plate, all derived from a single founding microbe
DNA sequencing
a technique to determine the order of bases in a DNA sample
electron microscope
a microscope that obtains high resolution and magnification by using magnetic lenses to focus electron beams on samples
endosymbiont
an organsim that lives as a symbiont inside another organism
endosymbiosis
an intimate association between different species in which one partner population grows within the body of another organism
enrichment culture
the use of selective growth media to allow only certain microbes to grow
eukarya
one of the three domains of life
- members possess nuclei
extemophile
an organism that grows only in an extreme environment - relative to conditions for human life
fermentation
aka fermentative metabolism
- the production of ATP via substrate level phosphorylation using organic compounds as both electron donors and acceptors
geochemical cycling
the global interconversion of various inorganic and organic forms of elements
germ theory of disease
the theory that many disease are caused by microbes
Koch’s postulates (4)
- the microbe is found in all cases of the disease but is absent in healthy individuals
- the microbe is isolated from the diseased host and grown in pure culture
- when the microbe is introduced into a healthy, susceptible host, the host shows signs of the same disease
- the same strain of microbe is obtained from the nealy diseased host; when cultures the strain shows the same characteristics as before
metagenome
sum of all genomes of all members of a community of organisms
microbe
an organism or virus so small it cannot be seen with the unaided eye
microbiota
the total community of microbes associtated with an orgamisn or a defined habitat
monophyletic
having a single evolutionary origin, diverging from a common ancestor
nitrogen fixation
the ability of some prokaryotes to reduce inorganic diatomic nitrogen gas to ammonium ions
photosynthesis
the metabolic ability to absorb and convert solar energy into chemical energy for biosynthesis
polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
a method to amplify DNA in vitro using many cycles of DNA denaturation, primer annealing, and DNA polymerization with a heat-stable polymerase
polyphyletic
having multiple evolutionary origins
pure culture
a culture containing only a single strain or species of microorganisms
RNA world
a model of early life in which RNA performed all the informational and catalytic roles of today’s DNA and proteins
spontaneous generation
the theory that under current earth conditions, life can arise spontaneously from nonliving matter
transformation
the internalization of free DNA from the environment into bacterial cells
ultracentrifuge
a machine that subjects samples to high centrifugal forces and can be used to separate subcellular components