Chapter 1: Introduction to Microbes and Their Building Blocks

Question 1

microbiology

Answer 1

A specialized area of biology that deals with living things ordinarily too small to be seen without magnification, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses

Question 2

microorganism

Answer 2

A living thing ordinarily too small to be seen without magnification; an organism of microscopic size

Question 3

microbes

Answer 3

Microscopic organisms

Question 4

bacteria

Answer 4

(singular, bacterium) Category of prokaryotes with peptidoglycan in their cell walls and circular chromosome(s). This group of small cells is widely distributed in the earth’s habitats

Question 5

archaea

Answer 5

Prokaryotic single-celled organisms of primitive origin that have unusual anatomy, physiology, and genetics and live in harsh habitats; when capitalized (Archaea), the term refers to one of the three domains of living organisms as proposed by Woese

Question 6

fungi

Answer 6

(singular, fungus) Macroscopic and microscopic heterotrophic eukaryotic organisms that can be uni- or multicellular

Question 7

protozoa

Answer 7

A group of single-celled, eukaryotic organisms

Question 8

helminth

Answer 8

A term that designates all parasitic worms

Question 9

virus

Answer 9

Microscopic, acellular agent composed of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat

Question 10

prion

Answer 10

A concocted word to denote “proteinaceous infectious agent”; a cytopathic protein associated with the slow-virus spongiform encephalopathies of humans and animals

Question 11

eukaryotic cell

Answer 11

A cell that differs from a prokaryotic cell chiefly by having a nuclear membrane (a well-defined nucleus), membrane-bound subcellular organelles, and mitotic cell division
(including protozoa, fungi, and helminths)

Question 12

prokaryotic cell

Answer 12

A cell that differs from a prokaryotic cell chiefly by having a nuclear membrane (a well-defined nucleus), membrane-bound subcellular organelles, and mitotic cell division
(pre-nucleus)

Question 13

akaryote

Answer 13

A designation for bacteria and archaea.
(no-nucleus)

Question 14

evolution

Answer 14

Scientific principle that states that living things change gradually through hundreds of millions of years, and these changes are expressed in structural and functional adaptations in each organism. Evolution presumes that those traits that favor survival are preserved and passed on to following generations, and those traits that do not favor survival are lost

Question 15

biotechnology

Answer 15

The intentional use by humans of living organisms or their products to accomplish a goal related to health or the environment

Question 16

pathogen

Answer 16

Any agent (usually a virus, bacterium, fungus, protozoan, or helminth) that causes disease

Question 17

infectious disease

Answer 17

The state of damage or toxicity in the body caused by an infectious agent; disease caused by a microorganism

Question 18

organelle

Answer 18

A small component of eukaryotic cells that is bounded by a membrane and specialized in function

Question 19

spontaneous generation

Answer 19

Early belief that living things arose from vital forces present in nonliving, or decomposing, matter

Question 20

abiogenesis

Answer 20

The belief in spontaneous generation as a source of life

Question 21

biogenesis

Answer 21

Belief that living things can only arise from others of the same kind

Question 22

scientific method

Answer 22

Widely agreed-upon rules for conducting research that starts with a hypothesis and tries to minimize experimenter bias

Question 23

sterile

Answer 23

Completely free of all life forms, including spores and viruses