Lecture 1: Intro

Question 1

Define ecology.

Answer 1

The study of the interactions between organisms and their environment

Question 2

Define microbial ecology.

Answer 2

The study of the behavior and activities of microorganisms in their natural environments

Question 3

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 3

A community of interacting organisms and their physical environment

Question 4

What shapes an ecosystem?

Answer 4

• Biotic factors
• Abiotic factors

Question 5

Define biotic factors.

Answer 5

The living influences on organisms within an ecosystem

Question 6

Define abiotic factors.

Answer 6

The physical nonliving factors that shape ecosystems

Question 7

What does environmental microbiology focus on?

Answer 7

All-over microbial processes that occur in soil/water/food
- Broader-scale effects of microbial presence and activities

Question 8

Early microbiology was often _____.

Answer 8

Observational

Question 9

Who invented enrichment culture?

Answer 9

Sergei Winogradsky

Question 10

Explain the birth of virology.

Answer 10

Tobacco mosaic disease
- Passed leaf pulp through filters and painted the liquid on healthy leaves
- Repeated several times serially
1. If a chemical effect –> the effect would get weaker
2. Heating the liquid inactivated “it”
3. “It” was too small to see under a microscope (so “it” is not bacteria)

Question 11

When did microbial ecology emerge as a true field of study?

Answer 11

1960s - 1970s

Question 12

When did molecular microbial ecology emerge?

Answer 12

1980s - 1990s

Question 13

When did the ___omics era revolutionize our understanding of the complexity of microbial communities?

Answer 13

2000s