Bios242 Flashcards Week 3

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on the Bios242 Week 3 transcript covering microbial energy sources, temperature classifications, pH preferences, and oxygen requirements.

Chemoheterotroph

An organism that uses organic compounds for both energy and carbon sources.

Saprobe

An organism that obtains energy from dead organic material.

Parasite

An organism that obtains energy from living organisms.

Psychrophile

Organisms with an optimal growth temperature below $15\,^{\circ}C$.

Psychrotolerant

Organisms with an optimal growth temperature between $15\,^{\circ}C$ to $30\,^{\circ}C$ (room temperature).

Mesophile

Medically significant organisms, including pathogens, that grow at an optimum temperature ranging from $30\,^{\circ}C$ to $40\,^{\circ}C$.

Thermophile

An organism that grows optimally at temperatures greater than $45\,^{\circ}C$.

Extreme thermophile

Organisms that grow between $80\,^{\circ}C$ to $121\,^{\circ}C$.

Acidophile

A microorganism that prefers an acidic (low pH) growth environment.

Alkalinophile

A microorganism that grows in a basic (higher pH) environment.

Neutrophile

A microorganism that grows at neutral pH.

Halophile

An organism that thrives in a high salt environment.

Barophile

Organisms that grow under high water pressure such as at the bottom of the ocean.

Obligate aerobe

Organisms that use oxygen as a final electron acceptor in energy metabolism; oxygen is an absolute necessity for their survival and growth.

Facultative anaerobe

Organisms that are capable of survival in the presence or absence of oxygen and can switch between aerobic metabolism and fermentation.

Microaerophile

Organisms that do not grow at atmospheric oxygen concentrations but require small amounts of oxygen and have limited ability to destroy toxic oxygen forms.