The Nature of Infection Flashcards
What 2 main domains can life be split into?
Eubacteria (bacteria) and archaea (eukaryotes are found here)
What are the 4 major groups of human pathogens?
Protozoa, fungi, bacteria and viruses
What are protozoa?
Single celled animals (eukaryotes)
What are fungi?
High plant like organism (eukaryotes)
What are bacteria?
Generally small, single celled prokaryotes
What are viruses?
Very small obligate parasites (non-living)
What are some features of eukaryotes?
5-50mms, compartments, frequently multi-cellular, linear chromosomes (with histones), introns/exons, 80S ribosomes, no/flexible cell wall and a cell cycle (mitosis/meiosis)
What are some features of prokaryotes?
0.5-10mms, simple, often single celled, single circular chromosome, gene structure (introns are rare), 70S ribosomes, co-transcription/translation, rigid cell walls and a rapid cell cycle
What is a nucleoid?
A prokaryotic structure containing DNA and proteins with no nuclear membrane, single circular chromosome, and primitive DNA segregation machinery
How is energy generated across the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane?
Electrons are released from high energy compounds in the cytoplasm to the membrane and pass through a series of electron acceptors. As a consequence protons passed outside the membrane produce a +ve charge and a proton gradient across the membrane
What is in the gram +ve cell wall?
Peptidoglycan - rigid layer, barrier, repeated polysaccharide structure, gram +ve (thick multi-layer peptidoglycan) - target of penicillin. Much better at surviving the environment
What is in the gram -ve cell wall?
Peptidoglycan - rigid layer, barrier, repeated polysaccharide structure, gram -ve (outer membrane, periplasm and thiner layer of peptidoglycan) - target of penicillin. It is much harder to penetrate a gram -ve with drugs to kill it
What is a lipopolysaccharide made of?
Glycolipid (lipid A, core polysaccharide and O-chain/antigen). Gram -ve (outer membrane is asymmetric and surface of nearly all LPS)
What is the role of lipopolysaccharide?
Structural role and antigen and bacterial toxin
What is the role of pili, flagella and fimbriae?
Used for adherence, sex, motility, invasion and pathology