LO 1 Flashcards
What are the four groups of microorganisms?
Protozoa, Fungi, Bacteria, Viruses
What is a microorganism?
An organism that is too small to be seen without the aid of a microscope - simple in structure and often unicellular
Define: Protozoa
- Unicellular creature that moves by flagella or in ameboid motion - Has a nucleus and a plasma membrane - Live in water and soil, by feeding on bacteria and sm particles
What is a Giardia infection?
‘Beaver fever’ disease - the Protozoa attach to the intestinal wall by two sucking discs and cause diarrhea **antiprotozoal drugs are used as treatment
Define: Amoebae
A type of Protozoa - can invade the intestinal wall causing diarrhea and move into deeper tissue - in poor countries with poor sanitation - move by pseudopods, no flagella
Define: Fungi
A non-photosynthetic plant - has a nucleus and is enclosed by a rigid cell wall
What are the two types of fungi?
Yeasts and moulds
What is candida?
Candida sp. is a yeast disease that may cause vaginal discharge, skin infections, pneumonia and even death **antifungal drugs are used as treatment
Define: Yeasts
Unicellular oval structures that reproduces by budding
What type of infections are caused by moulds?
Atheletes foot and ringworm are infections caused by the fungus mould **antifungal drugs are used as treatment
Define: Moulds
Multicellular structure that form visible clumps of growth - Moulds start with long tubular structures (hyphae) that produce spore (responsible for the blue green color)
Define: Bacteria
Unicellular organisms typically surrounded by a rigid cell wall - No organized nucleus but can grow and reproduce
What can bacteria cause?
- Strep throat is caused by the bacteria streptococcus which cause skin abscesses called boils - Food poisoning is caused by the bacteria salmonella from poultry ** bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics
T or F: there is bacteria in our pee
False; there is no bacteria in our pee, it’s sterile
Define: Viruses
-Smaller than bacteria and have a very simple structure - unable to grow and reproduce on their own and must rely on a living host cell to replicate the viral parts - animal, plant and bacterial cells serve as host cells for viruses
What are some diseases caused by viruses ?
- Influenza and colds are viral infections - hepatitis, rabies and aids are more serious viral infections ** viral infections are treated with antiviral drugs
How are microorganisms measured?
In metric units called micrometers * 1 micrometer = 0.001 of a millimetre ** all microorganisms are smaller than 0.1mm=100 micrometers
*Micrometre= um
* 1000 micrometres in 1 millimetre
What is the size of a Protozoa? Fungi? Bacteria? Viruses?
Protozoa = 15-20 micrometers Fungi = 5-10 micrometers Bacteria = 0.3-5 micrometers Viruses = 0.02-0.2 micrometers