lecture 29 -microbes & energy flow Flashcards
What is the name for a group of microbes of the same species?
Population
What is the name for a group of populations of different species of microbes?
A community
What is an enrichment culture, and what is its function?
A culture that provides the temperature and chemical conditions required to grow specific groups of microbes, and attempts to mimic real-life conditions.
What are the 2 key types of electron carrier used to transport energy in microbial cells?
NAD+ and NADP+
What are electron carriers reduced to in microbial cells?
NADH and NADPH
How do NADP+ and NAD+ facilitate redox reactions?
They gain electrons during a redox reaction due to their oxidising power, and can then be oxidised to do the reverse reaction, releasing energy.
How do electron carriers facilitate the production of carbohydrates from CO2 in a microbial cell?
They act as a reductant, and lose electrons which can be gained by the CO2 to reduce it to a polysaccharide.
How do microbes avoid completion for light resources?
Microbes in a community tune their antenna to different wavelengths to absorb different wavelengths of light, allowing them to coexist.
What is a mesocosm?
An experimental system that simulates microbial real-life conditions as closely as possible.
What trophic group of bacteria acts as primary producers?
Autotrophs - they can fix carbon dioxide
What trophic group of bacteria act as decomposers?
heterotrophs - they rely on primary producers for a source of carbon
What trophic group are heterotrophs reliant on?
Autotrophs, as they are primary producers of carbon compounds
