Microbes & Energy Flow Flashcards
How many microbes are cultured and characterised?
tens of thousands
What has been identified by pure cultures?
Mostly pathogens or fast growing organisms
What does pure cultures ignore?
Complex interactions and the fact that most organisms live in communities
What many prokaryotes are on the planet?
9.2-31.7x10^29
What portion of the biomass do prokaryotes make up?
20-50%
Most organisms…
cannot or have not been isolated in pure culture
What is identification now done using?
Genetic fingerprints
What is currently available in databases?
Millions of unique 16S rRNA sequences (molecular barcode)
What are majority of the genes in the database?
From uncultivated bacteria (of unknown function)
what is the uncultured microbial world?
Far greater than the cultured world
How are populations formed?
When individual microbial cells of the same species proliferate (grow)
How are communities formed?
Populations of different species interacting and communicating
What is microbial ecology?
The study of the interrelationships among micro-organism and their environment
What gave rise to the term microbiome?
Molecular tools
What is microbiome?
All microorganisms, and their genes, within a particular environment
What does breaking a compound result in?
Harvesting of building blocks and energy