Ch1: Intro to Micro

A set of Q&A flashcards covering key concepts from the microbiology lecture notes.

What is microbiology?

The study of organisms too small to see with the naked eye.

What are the defining characteristics of viruses?

Acellular; obligate parasites that replicate only inside living host cells.

What are the two major groups of prokaryotes?

Eubacteria and Archaea.

Protists include which two major groups?

Protozoa and Algae.

What are the main features of fungi as described in the notes?

Complex uni- or multicellular organisms that absorb organic chemicals for energy; nonmotile; include sporangia.

Which fungus is a potent pathogen of witchweed (Striga)?

Fusarium oxysporum.

What is a Scolex?

The structure that anchors a tapeworm to the host’s intestinal wall.

What are the five topics listed in the Very Brief History of Microbiology?

The Unknown; The Cell; Refute Spontaneous Generation; Germ Theory; DNA Technology.

What early evidence hints at microbiology from ancient times?

Egyptians documented beer and wine making; Greeks described transmissible diseases that point to microbes.

Who proposed that organisms are composed of cells?

Robert Hooke (1665).

Who first observed microbes with a microscope?

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1670s–1720s).

What experiments disproved spontaneous generation?

Francesco Redi (1668) and Louis Pasteur (1861–1864).

Describe Redi’s experiment setup.

Three jars with meat: Jar 1 open to air and flies, Jar 2 covered with cloth, Jar 3 sealed; maggots appeared only in the open jar.

What did Pasteur’s swan-neck flask experiment demonstrate?

Microorganisms arise from dust in the air; sterilized medium remains free of microbes unless the neck is broken.

Name key milestones mentioned under Germ Theory.

Jenner’s vaccination (1796); Koch’s postulates (1876); Fleming’s penicillin discovery (1928).

What did Jenner propose about immunity?

Immunity to smallpox could come from cowpox exposure.

What do Koch’s postulates establish?

Specific microbes cause specific diseases.

Which mold produces penicillin?

Penicillium (e.g., P. chrysogenum).

Which Penicillium species are associated with Camembert and Roquefort flavors?

P. camembertii and P. roquefortii.

What is the significance of Penicillin discovery for medicine?

Led to antibiotics that revolutionized treatment of bacterial infections.

What are the key events in DNA technology noted in the notes?

1953: structure of DNA (Watson & Crick using Rosalind Franklin’s data); 1972: recombinant DNA technology using restriction enzymes and plasmids.

Who provided crucial data for the DNA double-helix model?

Rosalind Franklin.

Describe the basic arrangement of the DNA double helix.

Sugar–phosphate backbones on the outside with the bases paired in the center.

What is recombinant DNA technology?

The technique (Boyer & Cohen, 1972) of cutting and pasting DNA using restriction enzymes and plasmids to create new DNA sequences.

What is binomial nomenclature?

Naming species using a genus and species epithet (two-part name).

What is taxonomy?

Classification of organisms by physical traits, arranged hierarchically, providing universal names.

What are the five kingdoms in the Five Kingdom System?

Monera; Protista; Fungi; Plantae; Animalia.

What are the three domains in the Three Domain System?

Bacteria; Archaea; Eukarya.

Where do Archaea typically live and what is a notable trait?

Archaea live in extreme environments (e.g., high salt, high temperature); some are methane producers.

When did the first cells appear, when did multicellular life appear, and when did eukaryotes appear?

First cells ~3.5 billion years ago; first multicellular ~0.6 billion years ago; first eukaryotic cells >2 billion years ago.

What is sporangia?

A structure that bears spores, found in fungi and some other organisms.

What is the significance of the term “scolex” in parasitology?

The scolex anchors the tapeworm to the host’s intestinal wall.

What does the size of an antibiotic inhibition zone indicate?

The effectiveness of the antibiotic; larger zones mean more effective antibiotics.

What is the importance of Penicillium in cheese production besides penicillin?

Some Penicillium species contribute to cheese flavor (e.g., P. camembertii and P. roquefortii).

What is the historical significance of Penicillin with respect to pathogens like S. aureus?

Penicillin inhibited growth of S. aureus in Fleming’s observations, leading to mass production in the 1940s.