Microbiology Exam 2 Flashcards
What are the two key principles of microbial ecology
- Every molecule existing in nature can be used as a source of carbon or energy by a microorganism found somewhere in the biosphere.
- Microbes are found in every environmental on Earth
What is assimilation
process by which organisms acquire an element, such as carbon from CO2, to build cells
What is dissimilation
the process of breaking down organic nutrients to inorganic minerals such as CO2 and NO2-, usually through oxidation.
What is biomass
the bodies of living organisms
food webs depict what?
the way in which various organisms consume each other, and products
trophic levels
levels of consumption
How much biomass is lost between trophic levels?
10%
Every food web depends on primary producers for what two things?
absorbing energy from outside ecosystems, assimilating minerals into biomass
consumers
acquire nutrients from producers
grazers
first level consumers that feed on producers
predators
level of consumers that feed on grazers
decomposers
returning carbon and minerals back to the environment for use by producers
detritus
discarded biomass such as leaves and stems that require decomposition
In aerobic conditions what acts as an electron acceptor?
molecular oxygen
in anaerobic conditions what acts as an electron acceptor?
Fe3+, and NO2-
What types of microbe are found in acidic environments at or below pH3
acidophiles
What types of microbe are found in pH environments 9-14
alkaliphile
What types of microbe are found in high pressure (200-1000atm)?
Barophile
What types of microbe are found in high salt (2M)
Halophile
What types of microbe are found in extreme high temperatures (above 80C)
hyperthermophile
What types of microbe are found in low temperature (below 15C)
psychrophile
What types of microbe are found in moderately high temperature (50-80C)
thermophile
two orgainsms grow in intimate species-specific relationship in which both partner species benefit
mutualism
One species benefits while the other partner species neither benefits nor is harmed
commensalism
Relationship where one species benefits at the expense of the other
parasitism
a metabolic association between two species, requiring both partners in order to complete the metabolism
syntrophy
Grazers make up how much of the biomass formed?
10%
First level predators make up how much of the biomass formed?
1%
Second level predators make up how much of the biomass formed
0.1%
Microbes are decomposers and are responsible for what?
responsible for biotic breakdown or organic material
recycling biomass through varied metabolic routes
dependent on abiotic environmental conditions
microbes are dependent upon what environmental conditions?
O2 availability, enzyme activity
What is biogeochemical cycling?
microbes use their collective metabolism to convert chemical elements into various compounds
CO2 can become what 2 products in the carbon cycle?
fixed into organic biomass (CH2O) or reduced to methane (CH4)
What is succession?
organism 1 creates metabolites that organism 2 will use to thrive
Microbes on the marine floor are what in terms of the carbon cycle?
decomposers that aid producers
Hypoxia occurs in what type of circumstances?
Increased aerobic microbial growth, consumng the O2 in the water
What are the consequences of marine hypoxia?
no dissolved O2 due to the aerobes using all the dissolved O2 in the water, fish are not able to live here any longer and they move to other locations.
What to we know about the microbes used in oil spill clean up?
Aerobes, that degrade aromatic or saturated hydrocarbons,
Often psychrophiles, use enzymes at low temperatures
Effects on methane levels when using microbes for oil spill cleanup?
oil/hydrocarbon degrading yields methane
Creates nutrients for methanotrophs
diversifies food web as consumers feed
Moves carbon into new species and locations in carbon cycle
What is nitrogen fixation?
N2 going to NH4+
What is nitrification?
oxidation of ammonia to nitrate (NO2-) or nitrate (NO3-)
What is denitrification?
Nitrite/nitrate back to N2/NH4+
Where is nitrogen found biologically
In nucleic acids. You can’t make nucleic acids from gas N2, but rather from eating other organisms amino acids.
What is a microbe that does nitrogen fixation?
Clostridium (endospore former and strict anaerobe)
What microbes do nitrification?
Nitrosomonas, Nitrobacter, Nitrospira
What microbes do denitrification?
Proteobacteria, Sulfurimonas, denitrofication
What is the microenvironment around a plant root?
mycorrhizae
What are the fungi that gather outside the root but never invade?
ectomycorrhizae
What are the projections that extend outside the root to absorb and metabolize the soil
fungal hyphae
What is the microbe that assists plants in nitrogen fixation?
Rhizobia
How does a plant acquire Rhizobia?
Nod flavonoid proteins (chemoactrant)
Rhizobia does what when taking up residence in the root?
Release factors to promote root growth
Moves in and around the cells of the root
Form nitrogen-fixing bacteroids in nodules
What is the name of fungi that penetrate into the root cells?
endomycorrhizae
What is the microbe that lives in the gut of termites?
Mixotricha paradoxa (protist)
Describe microbial succession
Microbes competing for nutrients/ resources
Microbes attacking competitors
Some microbes taking advantage of the metabolic activities of others, moving into environments after pioneers
What are the steps in biofilm formation?
- attachment monolayer
- microcolonies
- exopolysaccharide (EPS) production
- Mature biofilm
- dissolution and dispersal
What is quorum sensing?
the ability to tell how many other microbes are around.
describe the microbial succession of microbes in a closed system of milk.
- Lactococcus lactis converts all the lactose to lactic acid
- lactobacillus sp. works to slowly ferment the lactose, only after the initial pH change
- Yeasts and molds, buffer the solution by breaking down non sugar substances
- Putrefying bacteria, stripping off the amino acids, some containing sulfur, they wait for all other competition to go away.
What did Sergei Winogradsky do/ when did he live?
1856-1953, water-column model, studied interactions, rather than isolated species