PMI02-2001 Flashcards
What is microbiology?
Biology of organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye
What does TSE stand for?
Transmissable Spongiform Encephalopathies
Which microbes are eukaryotic?
Fungi
Protozoa
What are TSEs?
“Infective” proteins based on the structure of prions but misfolded
Spread their misfolding to form plaques/sponge-like lesions in the brain which are impossible to remove
Where is the genetic information found in bacteria?
Circular chromosome, free-floating in cytoplasm
Plasmids
What is special about plasmids?
Can be passed between bacterial cells
What kind of ribosomes are found in bacteria?
70S
How do bacteria replicate?
Binary fission
Do bacteria have a cell wall?
Yes
What shape are bacilli? Give an example of a bacillus.
Long rods
E. coli
What shape are cocci? Give and example of a coccus.
Balls
Streptococcus aureus
What shape are spirochaetes? Give an example of a spirochaete.
Spiral
B. burgdorferi –> Lyme’s disease
What does a curved bacterium look like? Give an example of a curved bacterium.
Comma
V. cholerae
What shape are streptococci? Give an example of a streptococcus.
Chains of balls
S. pyogenes –> tonsilitis
What shape are staphylococci? Give an example of a staphylococcus.
Clumps of balls
S. aureus
What does the Gram stain show?
Peptidoglycan
What is the difference between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria?
Gram-positive = lots of peptidoglycan in cell wall
Gram-negative = less peptidoglycan in cell wall, has an outer membrane to prevent Gram stain from reaching peptidoglycan
What is a periplasmic space?
Space between plasma membrane and peptidoglycan cell wall
What anchors the outer membrane to the cell wall in Gram-negative bacteria?
Lipoproteins
Is peptidoglycan electron-dense or electron-translucent?
Electron-translucent