Introduction to Microbiology Flashcards
Ways that microorganisms affect human life
- Subjects of interest
- Normal flora
- Recycling of nutrients and elements
- Used industrially and commercially
- Genetic engineering
Major groups of microorganisms:
Bacteria Protozoa Algae Fungi Viruses
What is spontaneous generation?
It is a phenomenon wherein living organisms can be formed from non-living things.
What is the title of Robert Hooke’s book? About what?
Micrographia - description of plant cells
He observed the microorganisms under a simple light
microscope and called them “animal-cules.”
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
He did the “Three Jars experiment”.
Francisco Redi
He Boiled mutton broth in several tubes, sealed and observed…said that putrefaction could generate the vital force for spontaneous generation
John Needham
He challenged Needham’s experiment by boiling the tubes longer.
Lazzaro Spallanzani
What theory did Louis Pasteur develop?
The Germ theory of disease
What does the germ theory of disease state?
It states that specific microorganisms are the cause of specific diseases.
What other things did Pasteur do?
- Pasteurization of food
2. Development of several vaccines: anthrax, diptheria, and rabies
British surgeon who noticed that majority of postoperative deaths are caused by infections
Joseph Lister
What did Joseph Lister do?
Developed antiseptic or sterile surgery - the use of carbolic acid to sterilize surgical tools and clean wounds
Who discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis?
Robert Koch
Enumerate statements in Koch’s postulates.
- The microorganism must be present in every case of the disease but is absent from healthy organisms.
- The suspected microorganism must be isolated and grown in a pure culture.
- The same disease must result when the isolated microorganism is inoculated into a healthy host.
- The same microorganism must be isolated again from the diseased host.
Proposed that antibodies are responsible for immunity, and that certain chemicals (e.g. algae toxin) might be toxic against microbes (ex. arsenic for syphilis).
Paul Ehrlich
What did Alexander Fleming do?
He discovered penicillin from the mold Penicillium notatum
in 1928.
What is penicillin?
Penicillin is a beta-lactam antibiotic that inhibits the formation of peptidoglycan cross-links in the bacterial cell wall.
What are the two schemes used for classifying organisms?
5-kingdom scheme
2-domain scheme
Who proposed the five-kingdom scheme?
Robert Whittaker
The five-kingdom classification is based on what characteristics of organisms?
- Cell type (prokaryote or eukaryote)
- Cellular organization (solitary vs. colonial, multicellular vs unicellular)
- Nutritional Pattern (heterotrophs, etc.)
Which kingdoms are eukaryotic?
- Kingdom Protista
- Kingdom Fungi
- Kingdom Plantae
- Kingdom Animalia
Which kingdom is prokaryotic?
Kingdom Monera
Organisms are classified in three-domain classification scheme based on what characteristics?
- Based on molecular biology and biochemistry
- Comparing the sequences of nucleotides in rRNA from the different cell groups
