Lecture exam 1 Flashcards
Powerpoints 1-3
Give an example of a solute
Sodium chloride
Define halophile and osmotolerance
Halophile: loves salts
Osmotolerance: has a salt limit
Define acidophile, neutrophil, and alkaliphile
Acidophile: Likes acidic environments
Neutrophil: Likes neutral environments
Alkaliphile: Likes basic environments
Define psychrophile, mesophile, thermophile
Psychrophile: Likes extreme cold
Mesophile: Likes moderate temperatures
Thermophile: Likes extreme heat
Define piezophile (barophile)
Likes high-pressure environments
Define obligate aerobe, obligate anaerobe, and microaerophile
Obligate aerobe: Needs lots of air/ oxygen
Obligate anaerobe: Needs no air/ oxygen
Microaerophile: Likes a little air/ oxygen, but not a lot
Define metabolism
The total of all chemical reactions occurring in the cell
Define anabolism and catabolism
Anabolism: the biosynthesis of new organic molecules from smaller organic and inorganic compounds
Catabolism: breaking down of molecules into smaller units while releasing energy, ‘fueling reactions’
Microbes are big producers of what two elements?
Oxygen and nitrogen
Define and give examples of the 3 types of cellular work
1) Chemical: synthesis of complex biological molecules
2) Transport: taking up nutrients, eliminating wastes, and maintaining ion balances
3) Mechanical: movement of structures that are part of the cell (motility, rotation of flagella, partitioning of chromosomes)
Define chemoorganotroph, chemolithotroph, and phototroph
Chemoorganotroph: energy source is organic molecules
Chemolithotroph: energy source is inorganic molecules
Phototroph: energy source is light
Define autotroph and heterotroph
Autotroph: Carbon source is CO2
Heterotroph: Carbon source is organic molecules
Define organotroph and lithotroph
Organotroph: electron source is organic molecules
Lithotroph: electron source is inorganic molecules
The most commonly used practical form of energy is?
ATP
Give 3 examples of altered ATP, and briefly describe how altering ATP works
-Guanosine, cytidine, uridine
-Enzymes hydrolyze bonds and alter original triphosphate molecule of ATP to make different energy sources
Name the basic purposes of GTP, CTP, and UTP (guanosine, cytidine, uridine)
GTP: protein synthesis
CTP: lipid synthesis
UTP: peptidoglycan, and polysaccharide synthesis
Give 5 examples of cellular processes that are exergonic reactions.
Aerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration
Fermentation
Phototrophy
Chemolithotrophy
Give 3 examples of cellular processes that are endergonic reactions
Chemical work
Transport work
Mechanical work
Give 4 examples of carbon sources
CO2, sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids
Define substrate level phosphorylation
The generation of ATP (or GTP/UTP, etc)) from ADP (or GDP/ UPT, etc) by chemical reaction
Define oxidative phosphorylation
An alternative way to create ATP generated by a proton gradient
Define oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions
Electrons move from an electron donor to an electron acceptor
The ETC (electron transport chain) of bacteria is very similar to that of what?
Mitochondria
Describe the chemiosmotic hypothesis and how it relates to the ETC
As electrons move through the chain, energy is generated; this energy allows protons to be pumped across the membrane to create electrochemical gradient. This gradient (charge separation) is the energized state called Proton Motive Force
Give a quick 5 bullet-point synopsis of what happens during the ETC
1) NADH is an electron donor
2) A series of redox reactions pump protons through the membrane
3) Until the electrochemical gradient is established
4) Oxygen is the final electron acceptor
5) ATP synthase accepts protons to generate ATP
What are the three pathways of glucose catabolism, and which is the most common?
1) Embden-Meyerhof pathway: most common
2) Entner-Doudoroff pathway: only in prokaryotes
3) Pentose Phosphate Pathway
Describe the Embden-Meyerhof pathway of glucose catabolism
-Amphibolic (both catabolic and anabolic)
-Generates NADH as its electron donor
-Starts with glucose, 2 ATP are used to generate 3 Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate
-End product is pyruvate
-Uses a redox active coenzyme
Describe the Entner-Doudoroff pathway of glucose catabolism (what is it found in, what is its electron donor, what does it make)
1) Only found in prokaryotes
2) NADPH is generated, which an electron donor
3) Produces:
-KDPG
-Part 1 end products are pyruvate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate
-Part 2 end product is pyruvate
-Creates 2 pyruvates, doesn’t create 2 extra ATPs like the embden-meyerhof pathway (but does still generate ATP)
Describe the Pentose Phosphate Pathway of glucose catabolism (what makes it unique, what does it start with, what’s a part of the pathway, what is the electron acceptor)
-May be older than the other pathways. It’s carried out by enzymes in the cells, but can be done without them.
-Starts with 3 glucose-6, changes the chemistry of it until you end up with pyruvate
-Glyceraldehyde-3-p and 6-phosphogluconate are a part of the pathway
-NADP is electron acceptor
Describe the TCA Cycle (Aka Krebs Cycle, Aka Citric Acid Cycle)
What is made right away, what plays a large role, what is broken down, what are the electron donors, and what gets oxidized?
-NADH is made right when it enters the cycle
-Acetyl-coenzyme A plays a large role
-GDP is broken down into GTP, which are the high-energy molecules
-FAD and FADH2 and NAD and NADH are electron donors; there are 5 electron donors in the cycle
-The process oxides pyruvate into 3 carbon dioxides
-Generates GTP
Describe what happens to the ETC if we grow bacteria with low aeration in the stationary phase
Then there’s only a certain amount of oxygen to help the ETC run, so they generate less hydrogen and have to conserve
What two things is proton motive force driven by?
The proton gradient and active transport
What is the ATP yield from aerobic respiration, and what kind of phosphorylation do these ATP come from?
-Yields 32 ATP
-Primarily from oxidative phosphorylation, but also uses some substrate-level phosphorylation.
Give an example of chemorganotropy
Anaerobic glucose metabolism
What is anaerobic glucose metabolism called?
Chemorganotrophy
Describe the diversity of electron acceptors and why it’s important
-There’s a huge diversity of electron acceptors, which is important for the diversity of microbes in general.
-Diversity is impacted by nitrate waste that leaks from farms, factories, etc into the environment; nitrate occurs in oxygen depleted sediments and soils.
What type of reaction is chemorganotrophy
A dissimilatory nitrate reduction (denitrification)
What does chemorganotrophy break down, and what does three things does it then break down into?
Nitrate > nitrite > nitric oxide > nitrogen gas
Nitrites oxidate iron atoms in hemoglobin, which means _____ nitrite consumption can lead to poor oxygen
high
What are the four unifying themes of fermentation?
1) NADH is oxidized to NAD+
2) Oxygen is not needed
3) Electron acceptor is pyruvate
4) ETC cannot operate, which leads to reduced ATP production
What happens to pyruvate during fermentation, and why do people find this valuable?
Pyruvate is converted to lactate and/or X (which is then turned into Y); X & Y can be used in weapons production
True or false: A lot of fermenters can be explosive, so they’re often used to manufacture weapons
True
List 4 types of fermentation
1) Lactic acid fermentation (has two types)
2) Alcohol (ethanol) fermentation
3) Complex fermentation
4) Other fermentation substrates: variety of sugars, amino acids, and organic acids
List and describe the two different types of lactic acid fementers
1) Homolactic fermenters: use the Embden-Meyerhof pathway to reduce pyruvate to lactate (lactate dehydrogenase). (tldr: only make lactate)
2) Heterolactic fermenters: also produce ethanol and CO2
Briefly describe reactants, products, and enzyme of alcohol (ethanol) fermentation
Sugars > ethanol + CO2 (enzyme: alcohol dehydrogenase)
Briefly describe the components of complex fermentation
Mixed acid (#1, 5, 6, 8, 9)
Butanediol (#1, 4, 5, 6, 9)
Give examples of monosaccharides and disaccharides, and describe what monosaccharides do
Monosaccharides such as: galactose, mannose, fructose are modified by enzymes to make the sugar the enzyme wants to carry down the pathway
Disaccharides such as: maltose, sucrose, lactose, cellobiose
List 4 other types of catabolism not otherwise talked about
Lipid catabolism, protein catabolism, fatty acid beta oxidation, and transamination
Describe what happens in lipid catabolism and protein catabolism (ex: X is broken down using Y into Z)
1) Lipids: Tricylglycerols and other lipids are broken down with lipases into fatty acids
2) Proteins: Polypeptides are broken down by proteases into amino acids
Describe what happens in fatty acid beta oxidation and transamination
1) Fatty Acid Beta Oxidation: 2 carbons are broken down for every fatty acid broken down because they’re good electron donors, as well as acetyl-Coa.
-The fatty acid carbon sources can be extremely beneficial to the cell.
2) Transamination: If the cell is starving and needs pyruvate, they can take an amino acid and a-Ketoglutarate to make pyruvate and glutamate
-Intermediates of the krebs cycle are produced
What are the energy and carbon sources in phototrophy?
Light is a source of energy; the pigments in the cell (chlorophyll b and bacteriochlorophyll a) trap light energy
Carbon source is often CO2
Describe how pigments are important to phototrophy
-The alternating/ conjugated double bonds of the pigments allow for the generation of electron resonance (meaning they bounce from double bond to double bond)
-The types of chlorophyll have a great versatility in wavelength absorption
In what types of organisms does oxygenic photosynthesis occur, and briefly describe its two stages
1) Occurs in plants, eukaryotic algae, and cyanobacteria
2) Photons initiate the transfer of electrons, then:
-Photosystem 1 traps light at longer wavelengths
-Photosystem 2 traps light at shorter wavelengths
Photosystem 1 traps light at _____ wavelengths, and photosystem 2 traps light at ______ wavelengths
longer; shorter
Describe what happens during the light reactions of oxygenic photosynthesis (what does it generate and need; what does it initiate; where do electrons flow; what’s made to be used in the dark reactions?)
-Generates O2 and NADPH; needs H2O to initiate photolysis and needs NADP.
-Initiate the two photosystems
-Electrons flow from H2O to NADP with aid of energy from photosystems; ATP is synthesized by noncyclic photophosphorylation
-ATP and NADPH are then used to generate CO2 in the dark reactions
What are the reactants and products of oxygenic photosynthesis?
ATP and NADPH are used to generate CO2 in the dark reactions
What is cyclic photophosphorylation? What does it produce, what doesn’t it produce, and what organisms use it?
-Cyclic photophosphorylation is used to generate ATP by organisms who have only developed one photosystem
-Produces no oxygen and no NADPH is made
-Used by all phototrophic bacteria, but plants can shift to this when their ATP runs low
____________ are the type of bacteria that evolved the second photosystem
Cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria are Gram-____________
negative
Describe the ecological and evolutionary contributions of cyanobacteria
-They’re the organisms that evolved photosystem II
-They’ve had a large impact on how we’ve estimated how long life has been around (4.5 billion years/ as old as the universe)
-Big impacts in the astrobiology field (Richard Hoover claims he found cyanobacteria inside a meteorite
Name the 3 structures unique to cyanobacteria
1) Gas vesicles
2) Phycobilisomes
2) Thylakoid
Describe phycobilisomes
Found only in cyanobacteria, they’re antenna on the thylakoids that are loaded with photopigments to take in light; >95% energy efficiency. Are recycled when the cell is starving.
Describe the morphology diversity, colony formation, and motility of cyanobacteria
-Very diverse shapes (rod-structures, spiral strands, balls of cells, etc)
-Usually form a colony with a gelatinous sheath around it
-No flagella, but can move together as a colony
What does bacterial photosynthesis resemble, what does it have for efficiency, and what is the most important thing they produce?
-Resembles plant system
-Has an on/ off switch for efficiency
-Produce oxygen (among other things) and are used in the generation of ‘clean and green energy’
Describe the problem of algal blooms
-The organisms can excrete toxins during algal blooms when there are to too many bacteria in one area
-Implicated in causing ALS
Describe anoxygenic (or anaerobic) phototrophy; what is it, what type of bacteria use it, and how fast is it compared to oxygenic phototrophy
1) Defined as photosynthesis without the use of oxygen
-There’s a cyclic electron flow during anoxygenic phototrophy due to only having 1 photosystem
2) Carried out by purple sulfur bacteria and nonsulfur bacteria
3) Much slower than oxygenic phototrophy and generates less ATP
>Green sulfur bacteria have chlorosomes (store chlorophyll) and a baseplate to make up for only having 1 photosystem
What is unique about green sulfur bacteria?
They have chlorosomes that store chlorophyll and a baseplate to make up for only having 1 photosystem (because they’re anaerobic phototrophs)
Name two light-processing structures
Phycobilisomes and chlorosomes
Name the 3 types of phototrophy
1) Anoxygenic phototrophy
2) Oxygenic phototrophy
3) Rhodopsin-based phototrophy
Describe rhodopsin-based phototrophy
A light-driven proton pump; conformation changes relocate protons to the periplasm and generates a pH gradient for chemiosmosis (No ETC!)
What are the 3 major groups of chemolithotrophs?
Hydrogen-oxidizing
Nitrifying
Sulfur-oxidizing
Define and describe chemolithotrophy; what is its definition, and what is its major disadvantage?
-Defined as the breaking down of inorganic substances for energy
-These substrates have a much higher reduction potential than organic substrates; so if less energy is obtained, the bacteria need to eat more to grow
What can be directly oxidized to provide electrons for ETC and PMF, and what is this called?
Sulfite; sulfite oxidation
Describe the two methods of sulfur oxidation
-Sulfite can be directly oxidized to provide electrons for ETC and PMF
-Can also be oxidized and converted to APS; this process yields electrons + ATP (substrate level phosphorylation)
Describe the unusual electron flow in the ETC of Nitrobacter
-Nitrate can go with forward electron flow to make ATP and PMF, or reverse electron flow to make NADH for biosynthesis
-Can’t generate a ton of ATP
-When nitrites are converted to nitrates, nitrates are readily absorbed by the plants
Define anabolism; give an example of catabolism, and when does anabolism go backwards?
1) “Building reactions”
2) Catabolism: Heterotrophs degrade their carbon sources into one or more intermediates of the central metabolic pathway
3) Anabolism only goes backwards if the cell is eating itself
List the 6 principles governing biosynthesis
1) Large molecules are made from small molecules
2) Many enzymes are bifunctional
3) Some enzymes function in one direction only
4) Anabolic pathways are irreversible
5) Catabolism and anabolism are physically separated
6) Catabolism and anabolism use different cofactors
What are the 3 phases of the Calvin cycle?
1) Carboxylation
2) Reduction
3) Regeneration
In what two places does the Calvin Cycle occur?
Occurs in:
1) The stroma of chloroplasts
2) The carboxysomes of bacteria
Describe the Calvin cycle (what is it, what is its goal, where does it occur, and what are its 3 phases?)
-Defined as the reductive pentose phosphate pathway; aka carbon fixation.
-Its goal is to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds to be used by the cell
-Its 3 phases are carboxylation, reduction, and regeneration
-Occurs in stroma of chloroplasts and in carboxysomes of bacteria
-There is also a reductive TCA cycle
Describe the difference between enzymes and ribozymes
Proteins called enzymes
RNA called ribozymes
What do enzymes do?
Speed up chemical reactions (catalysts)
Bacteria are ________, whereas fungi, protozoa, parasites are _________.
prokaryotes; eukaryotes
What structures and organelles do bacteria have?
-Bacteria do not have internal membrane-bound organelles
-Bacteria have no sophisticated internal structures: no nuclear membrane, no mitochondria, no Golgi, no endoplasmic reticulum
List and describe the 6 common shapes of bacteria
Cocci: round
Coccobacilli: two cocci attached to each other
Curved: horseshoe shaped
Diplococci: two cocci next to each other
Bacilli: rod-shaped
Spiral: wavy-shaped
Define morphology
The form and structure of an organism or group of identical organisms
What do you need to know about a bacteria cell to identify its morphology?
What stage of growth a bacteria is in
Patterns of groups of identical bacteria are reflective of what?
cell division/ binary fission
Define pleomorphic
Each cell of a species has a slightly different shape when it divides
Describe aggregation properties (how are they determined and how can they be important)
-Determined by the orientation of the cell division plane to the axis of the cell and the tendency of progeny cells to adhere to one another
-Can be characteristic of a species
What functions do structures from the cytoplasmic (inner) membrane and outward perform?
1) Protection from the external environment (includes host defense)
2) Permeability barrier for selective transport of nutrients and information
3) Control over physical location (ex: through flagella)
What does an environment primarily see first about a bacteria? Why?
Structures, because they are both external and unique (or foreign)
How does medicine exploit bacterial structures?
Structures are often important antigens, so they can be used as vaccine targets and in diagnostics and epidemiology
Bacterial structures and their composition often reflect what?
Adaptations to the environment
Cell surface _______ can be targets for antibiotics
Cell surface _______ can be a barrier to antibiotics
structures; properties
What do bacterial cells use external structures for?
1) Cell surface structures often used to attach to and invade host cells and “sense” their environment to appropriately express virulence factors
2) Certain structures are not necessarily essential for viability, but are often important in pathogenesis as virulence factors
True or false: Structures are not expressed at all times and may be lost during continuous culture in laboratory media
True
What does peptidoglycan (murein) do in a cell?
One of the key components of bacteria that makes up cell wall and is the basis for a Gram stain reaction
The cell membrane of a bacteria is called the _______ membrane
cytosolic
List the 4 uses of peptidoglycan
1) Key contributor in overall shape of bacteria
2) Crucial for osmotic stability
3) Unique structure found only in bacteria
4) Makes a good target for antimicrobial agents (since it’s unique to bacteria and crucial to their survival)
Define lipopolysaccharide
An endotoxic structure found in the outer membrane (of the cytosolic membrane) of gram-negative bacteria.
How can you tell lipoteichoic acid and teichoic acid apart?
Lipoteichoic acid has a connection down to the cell membrane, whereas teichoic acid is only on the surface of the cell wall.
Lipoteichoic acids and teichoic acids are only found in gram-_______ bacteria
positive
Describe the characteristics of a gram-negative cell envelope (4)
1) Inner membrane: symmetrical bilayer of phospholipids
2) Periplasm: sandwiched between IM and OM / gel-like matrix
3) Outer membrane: asymmetrical bilayer of lipids
-Phospholipids in the inner leaflet and LPS in outer leaflet
4) Outer membrane serves serves as a selective permeability barrier that is virtually impermeable to hydrophilic solutes
How does the difference between gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria affect treatment plans for patients?
Since gram-negative bacteria’s outer membranes are virtually impenetrable to hydrophilic solutes, it affects which antibiotics are used in treatment
Define porins
Channel-forming proteins for the purpose of allowing
influx of nutrients and extrusion of waste products
True or false: The fluid mosaic model applies to the lipid bilayer of bacteria
True
What is a phospholipid made of?
Has a head group and long hydrophobic fatty acid chains
Describe the importance of phospholipids to bacteria
-There’s a lot of diversity in just phospholipids; there are numerous fatty acids that can make up the fatty acid chains.
-Can vary in saturation (triple bonds, double bonds, single bonds, etc), length, cis/trans bond confirmations, isomerase, branched fatty acids, anteiso, and modification with OH groups
-Aids in membrane homeostasis (particularly with environmental changes like pH, salinity, oxygen, pressure, temperature, etc)
If a bacteria needed to change an element of itself to avoid lyseing due to environmental changes, what element would that be?
The fatty acids of phospholipids
Define a cell wall and describe where they can and can’t be found
-Defined as a semirigid structure surrounding the cytoplasmic membrane enabling the cell to resist bursting from osmotic pressure
-Found only in true Eubacteria, not found in Mycoplasmas
True or false: the cell membranes of bacteria are porous
True, so nutrients/ metabolites can actively diffuse to the plasma membrane
What is the main component of a bacteria’s cell wall?
Peptidoglycan (murein)
Describe what peptidoglycan (murein) is composed of
-Consist of a polymer of sugars and amino acids that forms a mesh-like layer located outside the cytoplasmic membrane
-Carbohydrate portion consists of alternating residues of N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM)
-A peptide chain (3-5 amino acids) is attached to N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM)
-Contains cross-linking bridges