mbio

organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye

bacteria, viruses, single celled eukaryotes

microorganisms that are visible to the naked eye

fungi and algae

microbes that are multicellular

myxobacteria, slime molds

cytoplasmic membrane

barrier that sperates the inside of the cell from the outside environment

cytoplasm

mixture of macromolecules, ions and proteins

ribosomes

site of protien synthesis

genetic material

• all cells store their genetic material as DNA

• the information is divided into functional units called genes

genome

a cell’s full complement of genes

chromosome

a genetic element carrying genes essential to cellular function

plasmid

a piece of DNA that carries non-essential genes

eukaryotes

• membrane bound organelles

• membrane bound nucleus

• complex internal organization

• division by mitosis and meiosis

protists

unicellular or multicellular without differentiation into tissues

protozoa

animal-like microorganisms

algae

photosynthetic plant like microorganisms

slime molds and water molds

filamentous

fungi

unicellular (yeasts), filamentous (molds), multicellular (mushrooms)

prokaryotes

• no membrane bound nucleus or organelles

• simple internal structure

• divide by binary fiasson

• most are unicellular

bacteria (eubacteria)

• generally diverse

• extremely diverse metabolic styles

• includes pathogens and non-pathogens

archaea (archaebacteria)

• genetically and biochemically distinct from bacteria

• never pathogenic

• diverse metabolism

• lives in extreme environments

viruses

• acellular infectious particles

• extremely small

• obligate intracellular particles

• lack independent metabolism, no ribosomes and no ribosomal RNA

• cannot be classified with other microbes

prokaryotes have

70S ribosomes

* 16s SSU rRNA

eukaryotes have

80S ribosomes

* 18s SSU rRNA