Lecture 1: Introduction

Question 1

pathogen

Answer 1

microbes that cause disease

Question 2

microbiology

Answer 2

Microbiology is the study of the dominant form of life on Earth, and the effect that microbes have on our planet and all of the living things that call it home.

Question 3

infectious disease

Answer 3

Infectious diseases are disorders that are caused by organisms, usually microscopic in size, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites that are passed, directly or indirectly, from one person to another.

Question 4

Does the pathogenicity of a microbe depend on the host?

Answer 4

No, pathogenicity means microbe will become a pathogen regardless of host

Question 5

Do pathogens always cause disease?

Answer 5

Yes

Question 6

How do microbes and microorganisms differ?

Answer 6

Microbes and microorganisms are the same

Question 7

microbial community

Answer 7

A group of different microorganisms that interact with one another while living in an environment together

Question 8

Growth

Answer 8

the increase in cell number as a result of cell division

Question 9

Culture

Answer 9

a collection of cells that have been grown in or on a nutrient medium

Question 10

Medium

Answer 10

a liquid or solid nutrient mixture that contains all of the nutrients required for a microorganism to grow

Question 11

When was microbiology born?

Answer 11

Microbiology was born of the microscope, and microscopy is foundational to microbiology

Question 12

In what ways are microorganisms important to humans?

Answer 12

microscopic organisms are diverse in form and function, and they inhabit every environment on Earth that supports life

Question 13

Why are microbial cells useful for understanding the basis of life?

Answer 13

Microorganisms represent a major fraction of Earth’s biomass, and their activities are essential to sustaining life.

Question 14

What is a microbial colony and how is one formed?

Answer 14

a macroscopically visible population of cells growing on solid medium, arising from a single cell

Question 15

Microbial community

Answer 15

two or more populations of cells that coexist and interact in a habitat

Question 16

Enveloped

Answer 16

In reference to a virus, having a lipoprotein membrane surrounding the virion

Question 17

Host cell

Answer 17

a cell inside which a virus replicates

Question 18

Virus

Answer 18

a genetic element that contains either RNA or DNA surrounded by a protein capsid and that replicates only inside host cells

Question 19

Colonization

Answer 19

the growth of a microorganism after it has gained access to host tissues

Question 20

Disease

Answer 20

an injury to a host organism, caused by a pathogen or other factor, that is accompanied by specific signs and symptoms that affect host function

Question 21

Infection

Answer 21

an event during which a microorganism not a member of the local microbiota is established and grows in a host, regardless of whether the host is harmed

Question 22

Opportunistic pathogen

Answer 22

an organism that causes disease only in the absence of normal host resistance

Question 23

Pathogenicity

Answer 23

the ability of a pathogen to cause disease

Question 24

Virulence

Answer 24

the relative ability of a pathogen to cause disease

Question 25

Virulence factors

Answer 25

substances or strategies of a pathogen that indirectly or directly enhance invasiveness and host damage by facilitating and promoting infection

Question 26

Microorganisms

Answer 26

life forms too small to be seen by the unaided human eye

Question 27

Epidemiology

Answer 27

the study of the occurrence, distribution, and determinants of health and disease in populations

Question 28

Clinical/Medical microbiology

Answer 28

subdiscipline of microbiology whose focus is diagnosing infectious diseases by identifying pathogenic microbes and advising medical providers on treatment

Question 29

Can ethanol hand sanitizer destroy all viruses?

Answer 29

NO: Enveloped virus have phospholipid bilayer which sanitizer CAN destroy. Non Enveloped viruses cannot be destroyed by hand sanitizer.

Question 30

Sterilization

Answer 30

the process of making something free from bacteria or other living microorganisms

Question 31

Can drinking beer destroy pathogens?

Answer 31

No, need ethanol to be 60-80% strength which beer is not

Question 32

Are viruses alive?

Answer 32

No- need a host cell to imitate what we would consider to be living

Question 33

Does ingesting a pathogenic microbe always result in infection?

Answer 33

No- pathogens bind to specific receptors. The pathogen may not bind to gastrointestinal receptors and is therefore unable to cause disease in gastrointestinal track

Question 34

What colour is the photo produced by an electron microscope?

Answer 34

Always black and white

Question 35

Culture-dependent microbiology

Answer 35

means of obtaining microorganisms from natural samples

Question 36

culture-independent microbiology

Answer 36

the use of methods that are not based on cultivation of microorganisms from their natural environment to study microorganisms in a specific ecosystem.