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MBIO1010 > Lecture Set 1 : Part 1 > Flashcards

Lecture Set 1 : Part 1 Flashcards

1
Q

what is the general definition of microbiology? what is the issue with this general definition?

A

-the study of organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye (general)
-many exceptions as some microbes CAN be seen
-cannot solely use single celled as a description because some microbes CAN be multicellular

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2
Q

what makes microbiology so important?

A

-the organisms studied are the dominant life form (oldest life form)
-largest mass of living material on Earth (biomass)
-birthed microscopy (foundational)
-other life forms require microbes to survive

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3
Q

what is significant about microbes sustaining other life forms?

A

-influence evolution
-create symbiotic relationships (beneficial to both organisms)
-supply O2

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4
Q

what are examples of organisms that cannot be seen with a naked eye?

A

-bacteria
-viruses
-single celled eukaryotes

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5
Q

what are examples of organisms that can be seen with the naked eye?

A

-fungi
-algae
-mold

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6
Q

what are examples of multicellular microbes?

A

-myxobacteria
-slime molds

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7
Q

what differs between the cells of the human body and the cells of microbes?

A

-limited differentiation in the cells of microbes

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8
Q

what makes defining microbiology difficult? how can we define it better?

A

-large amounts of diversity among microbes
-many exceptions to potential “rules”
-can use limited differentiation as a guiding principle for definition
-can define it by the techniques used
-essentially the study of who they are, what they do, and how they work (microbes)

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9
Q

what are some of the defining techniques of microbiology?

A

-culture media for isolation and growth of organisms in pure culture
-biochemistry to study cell components (structure + organization)
-molecular and genetic techniques

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10
Q

what is a pure culture?

A

-culture with ONE thing
-everything in the culture is genetically identical (arises from 1 thing)

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11
Q

what is a microbial culture?

A

-a collection of cells that have been grown on or in a nutrient medium

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12
Q

what is a nutrient medium?

A

-liquid or solid mixture containing all the nutrients required for growth

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13
Q

what is microbial growth?

A

-increase in cell numbers as a result of cell division
-forming of a colony (more visible)

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14
Q

what is the difference between microbe and microorganism?

A

-microbe includes viruses (living or not living)
-microorganism describes living things
-interchangeable for this course

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15
Q

what is the importance of culture media within microbiology?

A

-comprehension of microbial disease and diversity is reliant on culture media

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16
Q

what is important about microbes?

A

-carry out major processes for biogeochemical cycles
-their activities sustain life
-these activities are regulated by interactions with other microbes, the environment, and other organisms

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17
Q

besides differentiation, what else is special about microbes?

A

-ability to live in places unsuitable for other organisms
-live in complex communities

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18
Q

what are the common features of all cells?

A

-cytoplasmic membrane
-cytoplasm
-ribosomes
-genetic material

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19
Q

what is the cytoplasmic membrane?

A

-barrier separating the inside of a cell (cytoplasm) from the outside environment
-the permeability barrier
-defining feature

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20
Q

what is the cytoplasm?

A

-aqueous mixture of macromolecules, ions, and proteins

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21
Q

what is the function of a ribosome?

A

-site for protein synthesis

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22
Q

what is a cells genetic material?

A

-stored as DNA in all cells
-information is divided into functional units called genes (segments that encode a protein/RNA molecule)

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23
Q

what is a cells genome?

A

-a cells full complement of genes
-can be made up of chromosomes and plasmids
-organisms blueprint that includes characteristics, activities, and survival

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24
Q

what is a chromosome?

A

-genetic element carrying essential genes to cellular function

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25
what is a plasmid?
-piece of DNA that carries non-essential genes -ex: gene for antibiotic resistance -conditions can be changed to make the gene essential (situational)
26
what can cells contain or not contain in terms of chromosomes and plasmids?
-can have a cell with chromosomes and no plasmids -cannot have a cell with plasmids and no chromosomes -can have just chromosomes or both
27
what is metabolism?
-sum of all chemical reactions that occur in a cell to carry out life processes -catabolic + anabolic reactions
28
what is catabolism?
-reactions that break complex molecules into simpler ones -RELEASE ENERGY
29
what is anabolism?
-reactions that build complex molecules from simpler ones -REQUIRE ENERGY
30
what are enzymes?
-proteins that increase the rate at which chemical reactions occur -does so by lowering the activation energy required -3D structure is essential -shape matters (change in shape = change in function)
31
what is ATP?
-cells currency -major energy carrier in the cell -used to store energy released during catabolism -supplies energy needed for anabolism
32
what is the proton motive force?
-gradient of protons (H+) across a membrane -provides potential energy that can be used to drive cellular functions -some cells use the PMF to generate ATP -some cells use ATP to generate the PMF
33
where is energy stored within ATP?
-the anhydride bonds -breaking of these bonds releases energy (ATP > ADP)
34
what holds true for all eukaryotes?
-they all contain a membrane bound nucleus
35
what are the general characteristics of a eukaryote?
-membrane bound organelles -complex internal organization -division by mitosis and meiosis -these characteristics all come with exceptions
36
what are examples of membrane bound organelles?
-nucleus -endoplasmic reticulum -golgi apparatus -mitochondria -chloroplasts
37
what are the 2 major groups of eukaryotic microbes?
-protists -fungi
38
what are protists?
-unicellular or multicellular -no differentiation into tissues -subdivided into protozoa, algae, slime molds, and water molds -branch of eukaryotic microbes
39
what are protozoa?
-animal-like microorganisms
40
what are algae?
-photosynthetic plant-like microorganisms
41
what is a characteristics of slime molds and water molds?
-filamentous -thin and threadlike
42
what are examples of different fungi?
-unicellular (yeasts) -filamentous (molds) -multi-cellular (mushrooms)
43
what are the characteristics of prokaryotes?
-visually simple + simple internally -no membrane bound nucleus or organelles -generally smaller (1mm diameter) -divide by binary fission (exponential growth) -most are unicellular
44
since prokaryotes are visually simply, what must microbiologists rely on to classify them?
-metabolic, biochemical, and genetic properties
45
what are the 2 major groups of prokaryotes?
-bacteria (eubacteria) -archaea (archaebacteria)
46
what are the characteristics of bacteria?
-genetically diverse -extremely diverse metabolic styles -includes both pathogens and non-pathogens -more well known and studied (easy)
47
what is a pathogen?
-something that can cause disease
48
what are the characteristics of archaea?
-genetically and biochemically distinct from bacteria -extremely diverse metabolism -never a pathogen -known for living in extreme environments (harder to study)
49
what are the characteristics of viruses?
-acellular infectious particles -extremely small -obligate intracellular parasites (must be inside another cell) -lack independent metabolism (cannot carry out metabolic processes) -cannot replicate or survive on their own -no ribosomal RNA -cannot be classified with other microbes
50
why are bacteria easier to study?
-easier to culture them -their living conditions are similar to our own (easier to create)
51
what is a common misconception about similarity with bacteria?
-that shape means similarity -SHAPE DOES NOT EQUAL SIMILARITY
52
why can viruses not carry out metabolic processes?
-no ribosomes (cannot make proteins)
53
what becomes difficult with viruses lacking ribosomal RNA?
-hard to determine evolutionary relationships (lack of information) -no comparison method
54
why can viruses not be classified with other microbes?
-not a prokaryote or eukaryote -not a cell
55
what are viruses that infect bacteria called?
-bacteriophages
56
what is the general evolution and diversity of microbial cells?
-origin of Earth was 4.6 billion years ago (no oxygen on Earth (anoxic)) -first anaerobic (no oxygen) bacteria appeared 3.8-3.9 billion years ago photosynthetic bacteria oxygenated the Earth about 2 billion years ago -first plants and animals appeared 0.5 billion years ago
57
what did the evolution of photosynthetic bacteria allow for?
-the evolution of modern eukaryotic organisms (multicellular life)
58
what is the LUCA?
-last universal common ancestor -furthest most point of a phylogenetic tree
59
what can be said about the phylogenetic tree relating to the divergence of bacteria, archaea, and eukarya?
-bacteria and archaea diverged prior to the divergence of eukarya and archaea and prior to the origin of eukaryotic cells -archaea and eukarya are more closely related than archaea and bacteria (surprising because we are not seemingly similar to archaea by ways of life (environments)) -therefore, the prokaryotes are not as closely related
60
how do we determine evolutionary relationships?
-comparing the sequences of small subunit (SSU) rRNA genes (present in all cells) -examine genetic differences rather than morphological differences -genetic = more reliable
61
what is the rRNA of prokaryotes?
-70S ribosomes -16S SSU rRNA
62
what is the rRNA of eukaryotes?
-80S ribosomes -18S SSU rRNA
63
why do we use rRNA to classify organisms?
-rRNA genes change slowly over time -not susceptible to random spontaneous changes/mutations -some change must happen for evolution (otherwise everything would be the same, nothing to classify)
64
what are the steps for sequencing rRNA genes?
-DNA is collected from a pure culture -SSU rRNA gene is amplified using the PCR -the gene is then sequenced -sequence is then aligned with other sequences from other organisms (to show similarities and differences)
65
what can we not determine evolutionary relationships of? why is this?
-viruses -lack of rRNA
66
what from the rRNA gene sequences is used to calculate evolutionary distance between organisms?
-the number of differences
67
what is the PCR?
-polymerase chain reaction -a technique used to synthesize many identical copies of a short sequence of DNA -“photocopying”
68
what is a phylogenetic tree?
-a graphic representation of the evolutionary distance between organisms -nodes are spots where divergence occured -branches coming off terminal nodes can be rotated about -branch length is important (evolutionary distance)
69
what are the 3 distinct domains on a phylogenetic tree in which all organisms can be grouped?
-bacteria -archaea -eukarya
70
what can be said about the diversity of microorganisms in comparison to plants and animals?
-microorganisms are more genetically diverse than plants and animals
71
what are the characteristics of the more recent phylogenetic tree of life?
-most of the tree is made up of bacteria -dots represent species that have not yet been isolated in pure culture -entire eukarya domain is a branch of archaea -closest relatives of the eukarya are the Asgard archaea (Asgard superphylum)
72
what is a species?
-fundamental unit of biological diversity (how we talk about different groups) -a group of strains that share certain diagnostic traits, are genetically cohesive, and have a unique recent common ancestor
73
what should species of bacteria and archaea have?
-most (but not all) characteristics in common -greater than 97% sequence similarity in the 16S rRNA gene -high degree of genome similarity
74
what are techniques to determine genome similarity?
-DNA-DNA hybridization (overlapping DNA sequences) -whole genome sequencing (more common in recent years)
75
what is the classification and naming of organisms in microbiology?
-hierarchical classification and binomial naming -groups of organisms are placed in successively larger groups -species, genus, and phylum are commonly referenced (others are classified but not referenced) -domain is also used -NO kingdoms like in general biology
76
what is taxonomy?
-classification of organisms into groups of similar organisms -species, genus, phylum, domain
77
why is classification and nomenclature important within microbiology?
-key for communication -specificity is highly important
78
what are the rules for nomenclature within microbiology?
-names are latinized -names are italicized or underlined -genus is capitalized, species epithet is not -genus name can be abbreviated after it is used a second time -trivial names can be used, but they do not follow the rules
79
how are strains referred to in microbiology nomenclature?
-capitalized and not italicized
80
what do strains refer to?
-if a microbe is pathogenic or not
81
what is an example of a microbe and its strains?
-Escherichia coli -E. coli K12 (relatively safe) -E. coli O157:H7 (very pathogenic)

MBIO1010 (27 decks)

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