Lecture 1 Flashcards
Define Microbiology
The study of entities too small to be seen with the naked eye
What are the three groups of microorganisms
Prokaryotes, Eukaryotes, and Viruses
What are listed under the gruop Prokaryotes?
Bacteria and archaea
What are listed under the group Eukaryptes
Fungi
algae
protozoa
helminths
What are the characteristics of living organisms?
- metabolism
- reproduction
- differentiation
- communication
- locomotion
- evolution
Describe metabolism
enzyme-catalyzed chemical reactions
Describe reproduciton
Progeny formed sexually of asexually
Describe differentiation
Different cell sypes can occur
Describe communication
Signaling within and between cells
Describe locomotion
relative movement of cell or organism
What are the 4 importance of microbes?
- earliest organisms found on fossil record
- perform essential reactions in environment
- can be harnessed to work for us
- sometimes cause infectious diseases
Describe evolution
genetic change over time
Microbes in evolutionary biology
- thought to first appear 3.5 bya
- only life for 1.5 by
Microbes in environmental biology
- microbial photosynthesis makes most of atmospheric oxygen on earth
- cycle important elements
- decomposition of organisms
Microbes in industrial microbiology and food microbiology
- make or preserve food (cheese)
- produce important compounds (antibiotics)
Microbes in recombinant biol, moleculat biol, and agricultural biol
- altered to make producs or modify organisms
What does bacteriology study?
prokaryotes