Microbiology Exam Review: Classification, Prokaryotes, and Eukaryotes

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering microbiological taxonomy, bacterial domain characteristics, identification methodologies, fungal morphology and spores, helminth life cycles, and protists based on Exam 4 review notes.

Domain Bacteria

A domain of life characterized by prokaryotic cells with ester linkages in their membrane phospholipids and cell walls typically containing peptidoglycan.

Archaea

A domain of prokaryotic organisms lacking peptidoglycan in their cell walls, possessing ether-linked membrane lipids, and including extremophiles such as thermoacidophiles, extreme halophiles, and methanogens.

Kingdom Fungi

A eukaryotic taxonomic kingdom of chemoheterotrophs that absorb dissolved organic matter and typically possess chitinous cell walls.

Kingdom Plantae

A taxonomic kingdom of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms that synthesize organic molecules via photosynthesis and use inorganic carbon sources.

Kingdom Animalia

A taxonomic kingdom of multicellular, eukaryotic heterotrophs that ingest nutrients through a mouth and lack photosynthetic capabilities.

Genus

A taxonomic rank categorized below a family that consists of one or more closely related species.

Bacterial species

A population of prokaryotic cells with similar physiological and morphological characteristics.

Biochemical tests

Laboratory identification procedures used to determine the presence of enzymatic activities and metabolic pathways in microorganisms.

Nucleic acid hybridization

A technique based on the pairing of complementary base sequences of single-stranded DNA or RNA to evaluate genetic relatedness between organisms.

Cladogram

A branching phylogenetic diagram based on sequence similarities (such as rRNA) that illustrates evolutionary relationships and common ancestry.

Strain

A pure microbial culture that is not totally identical to other cultures of the same species.

Serological testing

Diagnostic identification techniques based on the specific binding reaction between known antibodies and corresponding microbial antigens.

Phage typing

An identification method that utilizes the specificity of bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) to infect only certain species or strains of bacteria.

DNA fingerprinting

The analysis of restriction fragment patterns separated by gel electrophoresis to determine nucleotide sequence similarities among organisms.

Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH)

A molecular method using fluorescent nucleic acid probes to detect, identify, and observe uncultured microbes within their natural environmental communities.

Clone

A population of genetically identical cells derived from a single parent cell.

Spirochetes

Gram-negative, helical, chemoheterotrophic bacteria that possess axial filaments (endoflagella) for motility.

Enterics

Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic rods that inhabit the intestinal tracts of animals and humans.

Mycoplasma

A genus of small bacteria naturally lacking a peptidoglycan cell wall.

Chemoautotroph

An organism that oxidizes inorganic substances (such as ammonia or sulfur compounds) for metabolic energy and uses $CO_2$ as its carbon source.

Anaerobic respiration

A respiratory process in which an inorganic molecule other than $O_2$ (such as nitrate reduced to nitrogen gas) acts as the terminal electron acceptor.

Elementary body

The infectious, metabolically inactive extracellular form found in the biphasic life cycle of chlamydias.

Wolbachia

An endosymbiotic intracellular bacterium of arthropods and nematodes that alters host reproductive mechanisms and can influence sex ratios.

Caulobacter

A genus of Gram-negative prosthecate bacteria characterized by cellular stalks that aid in nutrient absorption and surface adhesion.

Arthroconidium

A type of asexual fungal spore formed by the fragmentation of a septate hypha into individual single cells.

Chlamydoconidium

A thick-walled asexual fungal spore formed as an enlarged segment directly within or at the end of a vegetative hypha.

Blastoconidium

An asexual fungal spore produced by budding from a parent yeast or mold cell.

Sporangiospore

An asexual fungal spore that develops within an enclosed sac-like structure called a sporangium.

Conidiospore

An asexual fungal spore produced in a chain or cluster at the apex of a specialized aerial hypha without an enclosing sac.

Teleomorph

A fungal taxon or life stage that produces both sexual and asexual spores.

Anamorph

The asexual reproductive stage of a fungus characterized exclusively by the production of asexual spores.

Coenocytic hyphae

Continuous fungal hyphae that lack septa (cross-walls), containing multiple nuclei suspended within a shared cytoplasm.

Definitive host

The host organism in which a parasite undergoes sexual reproduction and reaches the sexually mature adult stage.

Intermediate host

The host organism that harbors the asexual or developmental larval stages of a parasite.

Cysticercus

The encysted, fluid-filled larval bladder form of a tapeworm residing within host tissues.

Plasmodial slime mold

A slime mold consisting of a multinucleated acellular amoeboid mass that distributes nutrients by cytoplasmic streaming.

Cellular slime mold

A slime mold that exists as individual amoeboid cells that aggregate into a moving slug and fruiting stalk when nutrients are depleted.

Oomycote

A group of filamentous heterotrophs (water molds) with cellulose cell walls, coenocytic hyphae, and motile flagellated zoospores produced in a sporangium.

Lichen

A mutualistic symbiotic partnership between a fungal partner (which provides attachment and prevents desiccation) and a photosynthetic alga or cyanobacterium (which produces carbohydrates).

Candida albicans

An opportunistic dimorphic fungal yeast that is the causative agent of human yeast infections.

Cryptosporidium

A diarrheal protozoan parasite whose presence is identified through acid-fast staining of oocysts in fecal specimens.