Topic 1 Flashcards
Define microbiology
The study of microorganisms or microbes - living things that are generally too small to be seen with the unaided eye
What is microbiology?
Some microbes are pathogenic (disease causing), the vast majority are beneficial or harmless
Give an example of bacteria
Escherichia coli (E.Coli)
Give an example of a fungi
Candida Albicans (Yeast)
Give an example of protists
Giardia
Give an example of animal parasites
Tapeworm
Give an example of a Virus
Influenza virus H1N1
Give an example of a prion
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
What does a microbiologist do?
Food (Fermentation), Biotechnology (Pharmaceuticals), Energy (Bioremediation)
What is the importance of microbes?
Many are photosynthetic; they produce much of the oxygen we breathe (ex: Cyanobacteria)
They form the base of most food chains (ex: Diatoms)
What has a microbe ever done for me?
- Decomposers (return material to the environment)
- Nutrient Cycling (nitrogen, carbon & sulphur cycle)
What do we harness bacteria for?
- Food (Dairy and alcohol)
- Sewage treatment
- Bioremediation
- Cloning genes and fragments of DNA
- Making antibiotics and pharmaceuticals
- Industrial processes
How do microbes help form cheese?
- Bacterial cultures generate lactic acid which transforms milk into cheese
- Fungi may add to the flavour
How do microbes form yogurt?
Bacteria acidify and curdle milk
How do microbes form bread?
Fungi (yeast) make CO2 that causes the bread to rise
How do microbes make ethanol?
Yeast make CO2 and ethanol as a by-product of fermentation
Define symbiosis
It is “living together” - a biological relationship
Many microbes act as symbionts
What are the three types of symbiosis relationships?
Mutualism, Commensalism, Parasitism
Define mutualism
A symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefits
Ex: Clownfish living in a sea anemone
The anemone protects the clownfish and the fish eats parasites that can harm the anemone
Define Commensalism
A symbiotic relationship where one benefits, the other is unaffected
Ex: Remoras living on a shark
The remoras are benefitted while the shark is unaffected
Define parasitism
A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits, the other is harmed
Ex: Flea on a dog
The flea benefits while the dog is harmed
What is Microbial Flora (Microbiota)?
They are good microbes. Normal flora can prevent the growth of pathogens. Some normal microbiota produce vitamins (Ex: folic acid and vitamin K)
Do parasites kill the host?
Some do, but most of the time they do not kill the host
Define parasitism
Parasitism are bad microbes
What are the two strategies parasites may use?
- Cause minimal problems for the host (allows them to stay put for an extended period)
- Reproduce very rapidly and move on - may be fatal
What are bubos
Bubos are swellings that were caused by bubonic plague in the lymph nodes (armpits)
What was “The Black Death”
The black death were infected tissue of extremities that dies (goes necrotic) and turns black
What are the three forms of the plague
- Bubonic (Lymph)
- Septicemic (Blood)
- Pneumonic (Lungs)
What are the three ways you can catch the plague
- Handling dead bodies or rodents/animals that have died from the plague
- Being bit by a rodent
- Airborne?
Which type of plague is the most fatal?
Septicemic is 99% fatal
Describe the pattern of transmission of the plague
- A flea bites a mouse and draws some of their blood
- The microbes multiple in the stomach of the flea
- The flea bites a human
Define epidemiology
The study of how disease spreads
Where does yersinia pestis (bacterium) live
In the gut of a flee
What was the Black death?
It occurred over 5 years in Europe, it killed approx 25 million people (1/3 of Europes population), also known as the plague