The Microbial World and You Flashcards
(89 cards)
What are microorganisms? Explain the equivalence of micrometers to millimeters
Microorganisms- are organisms that INDIVIDUALLY are too small to be seen with the unaided eye (< 200 um)
1 um= 1/1000 mm (millimeter)
Define Microbiology and discuss an example of a microorganism that causes disease
Microbiology- is the study of Microorganisms
-GERMS are microorganisms that can cause disease
What is another term for microbes that cause disease?
PATHOGENS
discuss how microbes affect our lives in terms of human health and environment
Microbes in our lives
Human Health:
-A few are PATHOGENIC (disease-causing) (less than 1%)
-many are beneficial:
-prevent bacterial pathogen colonization (competing for space and nutrients, affect conditions like pH and O2) produce bacteriocins (small peptides by bacteria that kill other bacteria)
-Intestinal microbes ferment food you can’t digest and produce some of the B and K vitamins
Environment:
-Help maintain the balance between living organisms and chemicals
-Fix CO2 and N2, and form the basis of food chain (Bacteria converts CO2 to carbohydrates and convert N2 to ammonia)
-Break down organic waste
what percent of microbes are pathogens?
Less than 1% of microbes are pathogens (that cause disease)
Describe the kind of commercial products that are made using microbes
Commercial applications:
either natural or engineered microbes are used to synthesize
*Chemical products:
(vitamins, enzymes, organic acids and alcohols)
*Therapeutic products;
-Antibiotics
-Human Insulin
*Enzyme products :
-Cellulase - break down cellulose
-proteases- degrade proteins to peptides
Discuss the food products that can be made by microbes, including the specific microbe that makes it.
Food products:
-beer, wine (YEAST makes it)
-green olives, pickles, sauerkraut, cheese, yogurt (LACTIC ACID bacteria makes it)
Lactic acid bacteria- ferments sugar as byproduct and produces lactic acid
-Vinegar (LACTIC ACID bacteria- convert ethanol into lactic acid)
-Soy sauce (ASPERGILLUS species and bacteria)
-Bread (YEAST makes it)
Define the vocabulary words used to describe microbial communities such as Microbiota/microbiome/microflora, human microbiota, normal microbiota,, and normal human microbiota
*Microbiota/microbiome/Microflora: the full ARRAY of microscopic organisms of a particular environment
Human microbiota/microbiome/microflor- the full array of microbes that live on and within the human body.
Normal Microbiota/microbiome/microflor or Commensal bacterial- microbes that colonize a host WITHOUT normally causing disease
Normal Human microbiota/microbiome- or Human COMMENSAL BACTERIA: Microbes that colonize the human body without normally causing disease
Define transient microbiota/microbiome/microflora and transient Human microbiota
Transient microbiota/microbiome/microflora: The microorganisms present on host for a SHORT time WITHOUT causing disease
Transient Human microbiota/microbiome/microflora: the microorganisms present on or within the human body for a short time without causing disease
Why are some microbes transient?
why are some microbes transient:
1. Unable to compete with residents
2. Eliminated by body’s immune system
3. Physical or chemical properties that discourage their growth (ex temperature, pH, etc)
-however those who are immunocompromised, won’t have transient microbes as they will be ones that cause disease
Which outnumbers the other in the human body and by how much? Human cells or microbes?
what is unique about microbe images that are colored?
MICROBES outnumber Human cells in the body (up to 10 to 1)
-10x more microbes than human cells
Colored images of microbes are FALSE Colored. As normally bacterial do not have color
when can our normal microbiota cause disease ?
Our normal microbiota can cause disease:
1. when they ESCAPE their normal habitat
ex; E. coli normally found in intestines can cause urinary tract infections in the bladder
2. IMMUNOSUPPRESION can allow otherwise harmless bacteria to cause disease
3. OVERGROWTH
-taking antibiotics can kill bacteria in body, kill gut flora and candida will grow
Discuss the history of naming and classifying microorganism, includinfg the scientist who discovered it.
1735- Carolus (carl) Linnaeus (Swedish botanist and zoologist ) established the system of Scientific Nomenclature for Organisms
-provided each organism with two names: the GENUS and SPECIES
Discuss the rules made for giving microorganisms scientific names (nomenclature)
Scientific Names (Nomenclature)
-Italicized or underlined
-The first letter of the genus is Capitalized and the specific epithet is lowercase
-most are constructed from Latin or Greek roots (Appendix D)
-May be descriptive (of the organism or its habitat) or Honor a scientist
-Names are used worldwide
Discuss the nomenclature and meaning behind two examples of microorganisms like Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus
Escherichia coli (1st word: genus; 2nd word- species)
- Escherichia Honors the discoverer, Theodor Escherich
-coli describes the bacterium’s habitat- the large intestine, or colon
Staphylococcus aureus
-1st word describes the clustered (staphylo-) Spherical (cocci) cells
-2nd word describes the gold colored (aureus) colonies
what is the abbreviation for Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli ?
Staphylococcus aureus: S.a
Escherichia coli: E.c
List the different types of microorganisms
Types of microorganisms:
-Bacteria
-Archaea
-Fungi
-Protozoa
-Algae
-viruses
-multicellular animal parasites (NOT really microbes, but have microscopic stages in life cycled)
Describe the characteristics of bacteria and include an example of a species
Bacteria
-prokaryotes
-Unicellular
-Binary fission (generally)- process of cell getting larger and splitting in Half
-Reproduce ASEXUALLY
-Cell walls composed Peptidoglycan (polymer of sugars; N-acetyl glucose amine; N-acetyl-muramic acid (linked)
-Gain energy from ORGANIC chemicals (most), INORGANIC chemicals, or Photosynthesis
ex: Haemophilus influenza
-
What are the characteristics of Archaea?
Archaea
-Prokaryotes
-Unicellular
-Binary fission (generally)
-Reproduce Asexually
-Cell walls lack peptidoglycan
-Not known to cause disease
-Gain energy from organic and inorganic chemicals, but NOT photosynthesis
-Many are extremophiles
-extreme halophiles- (tolerate high salt)
-extreme thermophiles (tolerate heat)
-Methanogens- anaerobic bacteria that oxidize H and produce CO2 and methane (produce methane as a byproduct In hypoxic conditions (no O2)
ex: Halorcula species
Discuss the characteristics of Fungi and the different types of fungi.
Fungi
-EUKARYOTES
-can Reproduce sexually or asexually
-Limited to Organic chemicals for energy
-Cell walls contain CHITIN
chitin- long polymer of N-acetylglucoseamine; (also gives strength to exoskeleton of crustaceas and insects)
Fungi include:
1. Molds and mushrooms: MULTICELLULAR, consisting of branching and intertwining filaments (hyphae) that collectively form mycelia
2. Yeasts are UNICELLULAR
*most fungi are MOLDS. 1% are yeasts
Discuss the characteristics of Protozoa and include an example
Protozoa
-Diverse group of EUKARYOTES
-Unicellular
-Reproduce asexually or sexually
-Absorb or Surround and ingest Organic chemicals (some are photosynthetic)
-Many are MOTILE using pseudopods, cilia, or flagella
ex: Amoeba (a genus of protozoa)
What are the characteristics of Algae?
Algae
-EUKARYOTES
-CELLULOSE cell walls (cellulose- long polymer of glucose)
-Unicelluar and multicellular
-PHOTOSYNTHESIS for energy
-Sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction
ex: Volvox colony 350-500 um; (500-50,000 cells old periphery) Daughter cells within a mother cell
Discuss the characteristics of Viruses
Viruses
-ACELLULAR (No cells)
-consist of DNA or RNA core surrounded by a protein coat
-Coat may be enclosed in a lipid bilayer (envelope)
-Viruses are replicated only when they are living in a host cell
-inert when outside a living host
-most only seen with an electron microscope (small size; need increased resolution to see)
-ex: several HIV’s budding from a T cell
Discuss the brief history of microbiology that was observed through many scientists. Be sure to include who discovered compound microscope and other discoveries after.
The First Observations
1595: Zacharias Jansen and Hans Lipperhey (same town in Holland) are credited with inventing COMPOUND microscope (3x-9x magnification) . This microscope had 2 lenses (1st enlarged and second lens- appeal images)
1665- Robert Hooke used a stronger primitive compound microscope to see INDIVIDUAL cells (30 x magnification)