The Main Themes of Microbiology Flashcards
The study of organisms too small to be seen without magnification
Microbiology
Bacteria
Viruses
Fungi
Protozoa
Helminths (microscopic worms)
Algae
Microorganisms
Bacteria-like organisms have existed on earth for about
3.5 billion years
(pre-nucleus): Simple cells
Prokaryotes
(true nucleus): Complex cells
Eukaryotes
microscopic, unicellular organisms, lack nuclei and membrane-bound organelles
Prokaryote
unicellular (microscopic) and multicellular, nucleus and membrane-bound organelles
Eukaryote
Acellular, parasitic particles composed of a nucleic acid and protein
Viruses
Light fueled conversion of carbon dioxide to organic material
Photosynthesis:
Breakdown of dead matter and wastes into simple compounds
Decomposition
Production of foods, drugs, and vaccines using living organisms
Biotechnology:
Manipulating the genes of organisms to make new products
Genetic engineering
Using living organisms to remedy an environmental problem
Bioremediation:
live on or in the body of another organism called the host and it damages the host.
Parasites
Microbes that do harm, cause disease
Nearly 2,000 different microbes cause diseases
10 B new infections/year worldwide
12 M deaths from infections/year worldwide
Pathogens
thousands of microbiologists over 300 years
Prominent discoveries include:
Microscopy
Scientific method
Development of medical microbiology
Microbiology techniques
is an early belief that some forms of life could arise from vital forces present in nonliving or decomposing matter (flies from manure, etc.)
Spontaneous Generation
the idea that living things can only arise from other living things
Theory of Biogenesis
Dutch linen merchant
First to observe living microbes
Single-lens magnified up to 300X
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Approach taken by scientists to explain a certain natural phenomenon
Form a hypothesis - a tentative explanation that can be supported or refuted
Deductive approach “If…, then….”
A lengthy process of experimentation, analysis, and testing either supports or refutes the hypothesis
Results must be published and repeated by other investigators.
Scientific Method
If hypothesis is supported by a growing body of evidence and survives rigorous scrutiny, it moves to the next level of confidence - it becomes a _____
theory.
If hypothesis is supported by a growing body of evidence and survives rigorous scrutiny, it moves to the next level of confidence - it becomes a _____
theory.
If evidence of a theory is so compelling that the next level of confidence is reached, it becomes a
Law or principle.
each demonstrated the presence of heat resistant forms of some microbes.
John Tyndall and Ferdinand
Cohn determined these forms to be heat-resistant bacterial _________
endospores.
requires the elimination of all life forms including endospores and viruses.
Sterility
observed that mothers of home births had fewer infections than those who gave birth in hospitals
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes
correlated infections with physicians coming directly from the autopsy room to the maternity ward
Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis
introduced aseptic techniques to reduce microbes in medical settings and prevent wound infections
Joseph Lister
The Germ Theory of Disease
Major Contributors
Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch
Showed microbes caused fermentation and spoilage
Disproved spontaneous generation of microorganisms
Developed pasteurization
Demonstrated what is now known as Germ Theory of Disease
Louis Pasteur
Established Koch’s postulates - a sequence of experimental steps that verified the germ theory
Identified cause of anthrax, TB, and cholera
Developed pure culture methods
Robert Koch
organizing, classifying, and naming living things
Formal system originated by Carl von Linné
Taxonomy
orderly arrangement of organisms into groups
Classification
assigning names
Nomenclature
determining and recording traits of organisms for placement into taxonomic schemes
Identification
capitalized
Genus
lowercase
species
natural relatedness between groups of organisms
Phylogeny
living things change gradually over long period of time
Evolution:
true bacteria
Bacteria
odd bacteria that live in extreme environments, high salt, heat, etc.
Archae
have a nucleus and organelles
Eukarya
