Midterm Material (8.23 - 10.6) Flashcards
(186 cards)
what are the most numerable microbes on earth?
viruses
what are the 4 categories of microbes?
bacteria, archaea, eukaryotes, viruses
what is the most effective means we have to study/identify most microbes?
DNA sequencing and analysis
how do we know that our mitochondria are ancient symbiotic microbes?
mitochondria have DNA and it’s codon usage is classically bacterial
what are the probable type of bacteria that chloroplasts are descendants of?
cyanobacteria
what gene do we use to identify bacteria?
the rrn gene
what is the rrn gene? why do we use it to identify bacteria?
it makes the 16s ribosomal RNA subunit, we use it bc it is an essential gene, highly conserved but also highly specific to all bacterial species
what is the general reason for performing a Gram stain?
a general way to distinguish cell types, able to see overview of morphological characteristics of bacteria
what 3 categories do Gram stains allow us to sort bacteria into?
Gram negative, Gram positive, Indeterminate
what are the characteristics of Gram negative bacteria?
- 2 membranes w cell wall in between
- maintains red coloration
what are the characteristics of Gram positive bacteria?
- 1 membrane with VERY thick cell wall
- stains purple
what are the characteristics of Gram indeterminate bacteria?
- typically do not stain or something else weird happens
what are the 3 major components of all bacteria?
- envelope, nucleoid, ribosomes
describe the inner membrane of Gram negative bacteria
- has an electrical charge and proton gradient, required for functional cell
- many proteins in here too, transport guys
what are some key component of the outer membrane in Gram negative bacteria?
- contains LPS molecules to help maintain water preventing dehydration and allowing for some general protection
- lipids cannot flip between leaflets, strict composition maintained
what type of linkages exist in bacterial vs archaeal phospholipids?
bacterial - ester linkages
archaeal - ether linkages
what are the roles of cis/trans bonds in phospholipids?
they aid in maintaining or changing fluidity of the membrane, trans bonds lead to more rigidity and cis bonds give some kinds which allow for some more fluidity
what are the benefits of ether linkages in archaeal phospholipids? how are archaeal phospholipids different?
- these ether linkages allow their phospholipids to be very stable
- branched terpenoids (more rigid/stable membrane)
- some extremophiles fuse their leaflets
- these guys live in extreme conditions so they need all the protection and optimization they are able to get their pili on
what are lipopolysaccharides (LPS)? what are their roles? where are they found?
they are lipids with huge head groups and 6 tails, they are used mainly for protection, they are found on the outer membrane
what are the 3 components of LPS molecules? which are essential? which are variable?
- core polysaccharide: essential and specific
- the O antigen: incredibly variable, literally some of the most antigenic stuff we have
- lipid A: essential
what are the 6 roles of membrane proteins?
structural support, detecting environmental signals, secretion of proteins and small molecules, transport in and out of cell, making energy probably ATM, making reducing power probably NAD+/NADH
how is the cell wall formed in Gram negative bacteria?
these are formed via somewhat complicated cross linking structures, made in strands and crosslinked
how does penicillin affect the cell wall of Gram negative bacteria?
targets cross links, targets actively growing bacteria and basically makes them explode as they rip themselves apart from unstable cell wall linkages
what is the S-layer that is formed by some bacteria? what is its function?
it is a protective protein-sugar layer, it is a bunch of teichoic acid stuff