microbio chapter 1

what are microbes?

abundant and diverse realms of biodiversity that are incredibly abundant and diverse, requires a microscope to be seen

what is an example of a microbe and what it does?

photosynthetic bacteria (provhlorococcus): tiny cells that make up the oxygen gas we breathe

what are the structural characteristics of microbes?

range from 0.2mm-5mm, consist of a single cell but some are multicellular

what are the characteristics of a microbe?

contains genome used to reproduce its own kind

acquire food, gain energy to build themselves, and respond to environment change

evolve at rapid rates

what are the groups of microorganisms and their descriptions?

prokaryotes(lacking a nucleus): bacteria & archaea

eukaryotes(with a nucleus): algae, fungi, protists

viruses(noncellular particle):exception

what are the three domains of microorganisms and whether prokaryote or eukaryote?

bacteria(pro), archaea(pro) and eukaryotes(euk)

what is an example of microbes?

Achea:halophiles(can live in extreme environments)

what is a genome?

the total genetic information contained in an organism’s chromosomal DNA

what did fred sanger do?

developed the first method of DNA sequencing

what are metagenomes?

a collection of sequences taken directly from the environment (today’s current form of genome sequencing)

DNA of all microbes in a community

The first genome sequencing was done with what bacterium in 1995?

Haemophilus influenzae

what are some examples of microbes?

yeast, bacteria, lithotrophs (rock-eating bacteria that contain special enzymes that give the ability to eat rock and aid in metal mining)