Topic 1 Microbial World Flashcards
What is microbiology
The study of how microbes interact with humans and food amd how we can use them. They are the basis for molecular biology & biotechnology
What is the difference between microbes & microorganisms
Microbes include viruses, eukaryotes,bacteria & archaea while microorganisms dont include viruses
Why are viruses not considered microorganisms and what are there functions
Viruses are not considered micro organisms because they are considered not living ; there function included replication and evolving but this is only because they have nucleic acids but they do not function like typical cellular organisms ; they are not consider alive because they need a host cell without one they are just particles
What are prokaryotes and what consists of them?
Prokaryotes meaning before kernal ; they have no nucleus and consists of bacteria and archaea
What are eukaryotes and what consists of them ?
Eukaryotes meaning “true kernel” are cells with a nucleus and the consists of protozoa, algae and fungi
what is the difference between micro and marco organisms
Micro has both euk and pro : pro has bacteria and archaea , euk have protozoa,fungi and algae. Marco has no pro, only euk which consist of animals and plants
Who is Robert hooke and what were his contributions to microbio
Robert hook invented microscopes to be able to see microorganism, he allowed the first description for a microbe , which was molds “fungi” a eukaryote
Who is the father of microbiology and what were their contributions ?
The father of microbiology is antonie van leeh…. He improved the lenses significantly and allowed the first description for bacteria
Give 5 reasons why studying microbiology is important?
Microbes were the first life on earth (3.8 billion years)
Microbes established the biosphere conditions creating aerobic respiration (O2)
Allowed multicellular organisms to evolve
Multicellular Eukaryotic Organisms (metazoans) 1 billions years
Helps produce enzymes for industrial and medical use (insulin)
What are the 6 core feature of microbes ?
Metabolism
Growth
Reproduction
Genetic Variation/Evolution
Response/Adaptation
Homeostasis
What is metabolism in a microbe ?
The breathing and breaking down; controlled sets of chemical reactions which take energy and nutrients from the environment and create new biological material
What is growth in a microbe ?
A increase of mass in biological material
What is reproduction in a microbe ?
Production of new copies of an organism
What is genetic variation/evolution?
Genetic variation is changes in the DNA in a population through natural selections over generations
What is responding / adaptation
Responding to an external stimuli and adaption to local environment ( genetic and physiological constraints)
What is homeostasis ?
It is the active regulation of an internal environment to maintain constancy and balance
What are the 2 things that help microbes get organic molecules ?
Heterotroph
Autotroph
What are the difference between auto and heteo troph
Auto are self eating and produce organic molecules from inorganic carbon ; Heterotrophs are ‘eating others’ they eat other organic moleules
How do microbes get their energy ?
Organic Matter that is broken down
What is the simplest way to get energy and what are your products and reactants ?
The simplest way is glycolysis using glucose and producing pyruvate and 2 ATP
Breaking down pyruvate with no oxygen what is that method and what does it produce
Its called fermentation and its produces lactate or ethanol & CO2
Using Oxygen and breaking down pyruvate what is it called and what do you produce?
Its called aerobic respiration and you produce H2O & CO2 or Up to 36 ATP
How do microbes help with biogeochemical cycling
Microbes can come together as they are interacting with the environment to harvest atp and start a biogeochemical cycle which turns inorganic molecules to organic molecules and back to inorganic molecules and so on
What tends to be inside a microbe
Marcomolecules
How many types of marcomolecules are there and what are they ?
There are 4 macromolecules and they are lipids, polysaccharides, nucleic acids and polypeptides
What does polypeptide consist of and what is their functions
Polypeptides consists of amino acids ( proteins) and the proteins can fold into structures and some proteins can act as enzymes and catalyze chemical reactions within the cell. They can also help with movement of materials in and out of the cell.
What does nucleic acid consist of and what are there functions ?
Nucleic acids consist of deoxyribonuclitides and ribnucletides ; the DNA has function of information, it provides instructions to help assemble and also producing RNA . For RNA it mainly produces proteins and has catalytic and structural function.
What are lipids and what are their functions
Lipids are diverse structures and they have a key functions of forming the plasma membrane of a cell . The help with metabolism and cell growth as they capture and concentrate nutrients
What are poly saccharides and what are they made up of and what are their functions ?
Polysaccharides are sugars made up of carbon hydrogen and oxygen . They have structural and energy storing functions. The structural functions are chitin ( fungi walls) and cellulose ( plant walls). The energy storing functions is by glucose and starch.
What is the order of abundance for macromolecules in a cell
Polypeptides
Nucleic Acids (DNA is the smallest)
Lipids
Polysaccharides
What is the the phylogenetic tree made up out of and who created it and what is it based on?
The tree has 3 domains archaea, bacteria , eukarya its was made by Carl Woese and its based on RNA sequences