(LE1) Scope and History of Microbiology Flashcards
What are the different organism types?
- fungi
- bacteria
- viruses
- protozoans
- helminths (certain stages)
What are the defining traits of bacteria?
- Prokaryotic organism
- no nucleus
- no membrane-bound organelles
How are viruses intracellular parasites?
They need to be inside cells to live (divide, make protein, etc.)
Define protozoans
- mostly unicellular, eukaryotic
- “animal-like” meaning motile
- most are harmless; few are pathogenic
Describe fungi
- eukaryotic
- most are harmless (beneficial)
- Saprobes: eat decaying matter
What kind of fungi are yeast?
unicellular
What kind of fungi are molds and mushrooms?
multicellular
Describe helminths
- multicellular eukaryote
- Eggs and sometimes larvae are microscopic
- adults are not
Describe Ebola
- largest known virus
- hemorrhagic
- contagious seven days after patient passes
An example of a bacteria with a symbiotic relation to humans and our normal flora. What are the outcomes?
Escherichia coli
- breaks down certain foods (cellulose)
- produces gas
- produces vitamin K
- microbial competition for resources
What are saprobes? What microbes are saprobes?
Organisms that aid in decomposition and facilitate the nutrient cycling of Carbon and Nitrogen
- fungi
- bacteria
- protozoans
What is bioremediation? Name some examples
Using microbes to clean up waste and toxins
- sewage treatment plants
- Oleophiles: eat oil
What are examples of humans harnessing the power of microbes?
Penicillin
- insulin (recombination techniques: put human DNA into bacteria)
What is Robert Hooke’s significance?
- first to look at cells using a compound microscope
What is Antonie van Leeuwenhoek’s significance?
first to look at living cells, “animalcules”
- led to cell theory: all living things made of cells and came from pre-existing cells
Spontaneous generation vs. Biogenesis
SG: life comes from non-life (theory)
BG: life comes from life
What was Redi’s significance?
did the fly experiment to try and prove biogenesis
What was Needham’s significance?
Boiled broth and left in open flask to try and prove spontaneous generation
What was Spallanzani’s significance?
Did the same experiment as Needham but corked the flask to prevent microbes from growing, proving biogenesis
What was Louis Pasteur’s significance regarding biogenesis?
Used an S-neck flask to recreate Needham’s original experiment to allow oxygen in the flask. Disproved spontaneous generation
What were Pasteur’s other achievements?
Pasteurization: killing microbes with low heat
Vaccine development
- Cholera: used attenuated (weakened) strain
- Rabies: used a killed pathogen from rabbit spinal cord
What is the premise of Germ Theory? Who is credited for it?
microbes are the cause of human disease
Ignaz Semmelweis
Florence Nightingale significance
First to enact hygiene in clinical care.
Joseph Lister significance
Developed aseptic surgical techniques
- used carbolic acid to clean air prior to surgery
Robert Koch’s significance to germ theory
- proved bacterium B. anthracis caused anthrax
- first to use agar
What is Koch’s postulate?
Four stipulations to prove pathogen causes disease
What is John Snow’s significance?
Credited with the birth of Epidemiology
- Cholera epidemic in London (Broad St pump)
Edward Jenner significance
First modern vaccine: Smallpox
- Discovered from milkmaid and cowpox
What is variolation? Who is well-known for utilizing it?
Infect people with milder forms of a disease.
- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu variolated her children against Smallpox
Paul Ehrlich significance
“magic bullet”
- Salvarsan (sulfa): chemical that kills pathogen w/o killing host
Alexander Flemming significance
Discovered Penicillin from Penicillium notatum
What are some targets for the magic bullet?
Bacteria: cell wall, different ribosomes, etc.
Fungi: ergosterol in cell membrane
Viruses: varies (ex/ HIV: reverse transcriptase)
Protozoans and helminths: specific enzymes
What is Metchnikoff’s significance to immunology?
First to see phagocytosis
What is Dmitry Iwanowski’s significance to virology?
First to discover viruses
What are the three domains for organism classification?
Eukarya: all eukaryotes
Bacteria: Prokaryotes
Archaea: Prokaryotes and extremophiles
