L-29 Flashcards
How do we identify individual microbes in microbiomes?
- using genetic fingerprints
- Currently there are millions of unique 16S rRNA sequences (molecular barcodes) available in databases
What is a population?
A group of microbes of a particular species
What is a community?
Populations interacting and communicating with each other
What is microbial ecology?
The study of the interrelationships among microorganisms and their environments
What does an enrichment culture do?
provides the temperature and chemical conditions in the laboratory that encourage the growth of specific groups of microbes
What is a mesocosm?
An experimental system that stimulates real life conditions as closely as possible
What are autotrophs?
Primary producers that can fix CO2 to use its carbon
What are heterotrophs?
Decomposers that rely on fixed carbon from primary producers
What are chemotrophs?
Organisms that use chemical energy from organic or inorganic compounds
What are phototrophs?
Organisms that use solar energy
How do microbes coexist without dying off from competition?
Adapting to uniquely utilise a common resource
Give an example or microbes adapting to use resources to reduce competition:
Layers of microbes in a marsh can all survive by tuning their antenna to different wavelengths of light
