Lecture 4: Microbes

Question 1

What is a microbe

Answer 1

smaller than ~50nm

Question 2

Levels of biological organization: Individual

Answer 2

Mechanism: metabolism and replication
Process: requires continual input of energy and material to keep the cell out of thermodynamic equilibrium

Question 3

Levels of biological organization: population

Answer 3

Mechanism: variation and evolution
process: replication causes variation; reproduction causes competition
mean fitness increases with high variation

Question 4

Levels of biological organization: community

Answer 4

Mechanism: Consumption and nutrient cycling
process: populations are linked by consumption. must be in mass and energy balance at level of ecosystem

Question 5

Plasma membrane

Answer 5

boundary of cell
- separates life from environment
- sugars, amino acids and ions must be transported across membrane

Question 6

Dual system of the cell: metabolism

Answer 6

cell generates or harvests energy, chanelling it for new biomass–> including metabolism components

Question 7

dual system of cell : information

Answer 7

cell stores info necessary to synthesize metabolic system
- genome stores info

Question 8

Reproduction

Answer 8

• division of biomass and replication of information
• large cells inefficient–> volume increases faster than surface area
  large cell splits into daughter cells

Question 9

plasmids