VKC S25 Lecture 1: Intro to Microbiology

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the Introduction to Microbiology lecture.

Microbes

Bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists, viruses, and prions.

Life on this planet

Bacteria, archaea, eukaryotic microbes, fungi, protista, viruses/prions, and microbial mergers like lichens.

Domains of microbial cells

Descended from the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA).

Three distinct lineages of microbial cells

Bacteria (prokaryotic), Archaea (prokaryotic), Eukarya (eukaryotic)

Metabolism

Cells take up nutrients, transform them, and expel wastes.

Growth

Nutrients from the environment are converted into new cell materials to form new cells.

Differentiation

Some cells can form new cell structures such as a spore.

Communication

Cells interact with each other by chemical messengers.

Evolution

Cells evolve to display new properties; phylogenetic trees capture evolutionary relationships.

Genetic exchange

Cells can exchange genes by several mechanisms.

Motility

Some cells are capable of self-propulsion.

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

The first one to view bacteria in 1674.

Lister

Introduced antiseptic technique in 1865.

Louis Pasteur

Disproved spontaneous generation in 1859.

Koch

Koch's postulates state that a specific microorganism causes disease, established in 1876.

Germ theory of disease

Many diseases are caused by microbes.

Robert Koch (1843-1910)

Founder of the scientific method of microbiology.

Cholera

Enteric pathogen that causes severe diarrhea and vomiting leading to dehydration.

Cholera toxin (CT)

Active A subunit and five surrounding B subunits.