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Microbial world > Lecture 1 > Flashcards

Lecture 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What groups do microbes include?

A

Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, microscopic algae, viruses

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2
Q

What are microbes?

A

Minute, living things too small to see with the unaided eye

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3
Q

What do bacteria in human intestines synthesize?

A

Some B vitamins for metabolism

Vitamin K for blood clotting

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4
Q

What are some commercial products synthesized by bacteria?

A

Chemicals such as acetone, organic acids, enzymes, alcohols and drugs

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5
Q

In 1914, Chaim Weizmann, discovered what?

A

The process by which microbes produce acetone and butanol

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6
Q

What was the production of acetone useful for when world war I started?

A

Making cordite (gunpowder)

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7
Q

What are some substances that microbes have been manipulated into producing, despite not normally?

A

Cellulose, digestive aids, drain cleaner, therapeutic substances (insulin)

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8
Q

What does pathogenic mean?

A

Disease-producing

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9
Q

Who created the bionomical system of nomenclature?

A

Carolus Linnaeus, in 1735

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10
Q

What are the two names assigned to an organism?

A

The genus, the specific epithet (species)

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11
Q

Why are bacteria called prokaryotes?

A

Because their genetic material is not enclosed in a nuclear membrane

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12
Q

What two groups are included in prokaryotes?

A

Bacteria, archaea

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13
Q

What are the shapes of bacterial cells?

A
  • Bacillus: rodlike
  • Coccus: spherical/ovoid
  • Spiral: corkscrew or curved
  • Star-shape
  • Square
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14
Q

In what type of formation can individual bacteria be arranged?

A
  • Chains
  • Clusters
  • Other groupings
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15
Q

What is the composition of a bacterial cell wall?

A

Carbohydrate and peptidoglycan (protein complex)

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16
Q

How do bacteria most commonly reproduce?

A

Binary fission

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17
Q

How do archaea differ from bacteria?

A

Where present, their cell walls do not contain peptidoglycan

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18
Q

What are the three main groups of archaea?

A

Methanogens
Extreme halophiles
Extreme thermophiles

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19
Q

What are fungi?

A
  • Eukaryotes

- Single or multicellular

20
Q

What is the cell wall of fungi composed of?

A

Chitin

21
Q

What are unicellular fungi called? How are these different to bacteria (other than being eukaryotes)?

A

Yeasts, larger than bacteria

22
Q

What are the most typical fungi called?

A

Molds

23
Q

What are visible masses that mold form called?

A

Mycelia, composed of hyphae

24
Q

How do fungi reproduce?

A

Sexual and asexual reproduction

25
Q

What are protozoa?

A

Unicellular eukaryotic microbes

26
Q

How do protozoa move?

A

Psuedopods, flagella, cilia

27
Q

How do amoebas move?

A

Psuedopod

28
Q

How do protozoa reproduce?

A

Sexually or asexually

29
Q

What are algae?

A

Photosynthetic eukaryotes

30
Q

What is the cell wall of algae composed of?

A

Cellulose

31
Q

What are the two major groups of parasitic worms? What are these collectively called?

A

Flatworms and roundworms

Collectively called helminths

32
Q

How many years ago did life first appear on Earth?

A

~3.8 billion years ago

33
Q

For how many years was the atmosphere anoxic?

A

2 billion years

34
Q

How many years ago did eukaryotic life evolve?

A

~2 billion years ago

35
Q

What name is given to the process by which microorganisms degrade/detoxify pollutants such as oil or mercury?

A

Bioremediation

36
Q

Name a bacteria that is fatal to most insects by harmless to humans and plants?

A

Bacillus thuringiensis

37
Q

Name 2 food additives produced by microorganisms.

A

Monosodium glutamate, citric acid

38
Q

Bacteria are ______. They are found in all types of ecological niches.

A

Ubiquitous

39
Q

What are microbial communities?

A

Dynamic, interacting populations of microbes found in nature

40
Q

What is a microbial habitat?

A

The environment in which a microbial population lives.

41
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

The microbial communities, as well as the physical and chemical constituents in their environment

42
Q

Define microbial ecology.

A

The study of microbes in their natural environment

43
Q

What are the two things microbes in communities can do?

A
  • Interact with each other

- Interact with the chemical and physical environment

44
Q

What are the two ways microbes in communities can interact with each other?

A
  • Cooperation

- Competition

45
Q

What is an infection that can be caused by biofilms?

A

Endocarditis- Inflammation of the heart

46
Q

Approximately how many microbes are present in or on the human body?

A

10^13

47
Q

What are two benefits of the normal microbiota present in or on humans?

A
  • Prevent growth of pathogens

- Produce growth factors such as folic acid and vitamin K

Microbial world (12 decks)

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