Microbiology: Chapter 1 – The Microbial World and You (Vocabulary Flashcards)

A vocabulary-style deck covering key terms and concepts from the Microbiology Chapter 1 notes.

Microbiology

The science that studies microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, algae, viruses, and prions.

Microorganism

An organism too small to be seen with the naked eye; includes bacteria, fungi, protozoa, microscopic algae, viruses, and prions.

Endosymbiotic theory

The idea that eukaryotic cells arose when a larger cell engulfed smaller cells, which became organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts.

Domains

The three basic taxonomic groups: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Prokaryote

A primitive, single-celled organism without a nucleus; includes Bacteria and Archaea.

Eukaryote

An organism whose cells contain a true nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.

Bacteria

Prokaryotic organisms with cells that often have peptidoglycan in their walls and reproduce by binary fission.

Archaea

Prokaryotes lacking peptidoglycan; often inhabit extreme environments (e.g., methanogens, halophiles, thermophiles).

Fungi

Eukaryotic organisms with chitin in cell walls; absorb organic chemicals for energy; includes yeasts and molds.

Protozoa

Eukaryotic, animal-like microorganisms that absorb or ingest organic chemicals; move via pseudopods, cilia, or flagella.

Algae

Plant-like protists that perform photosynthesis and produce oxygen and carbohydrates.

Viruses

Acellular entities composed of DNA or RNA with a protein coat; may have a lipid envelope and require a living host to replicate.

Prions

Infectious misfolded proteins that cause disease by inducing misfolding in normal proteins without nucleic acids.

Bioremediation

Using microorganisms to detoxify or remove pollutants from the environment.

Biotechnology

Use of microbes or their enzymes to produce foods, chemicals, vaccines, and other products; includes recombinant DNA technology.

Pasteurization

Heating a liquid to a high temperature for a short time to kill harmful microorganisms while preserving most of the product.

Germ theory of disease

The concept that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases.

Koch's postulates

A set of criteria linking a microbe to a specific disease through experimental steps.

Jenner vaccination

Development of vaccination against smallpox using cowpox; foundation for immunization practices.

Chemotherapy

Treatment of disease with chemical substances; in microbiology, includes antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs.

Antibiotics

Chemicals produced by microorganisms that inhibit or kill other microbes.

Penicillin

First widely used antibiotic, discovered by Alexander Fleming from a Penicillium mold.

MRSA

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; a strain of S. aureus resistant to many beta-lactam antibiotics.

Normal microbiota

Microorganisms routinely found on or in the human body; help prevent pathogens and can synthesize vitamins B and K.

Transient microbes

Microbes that temporarily inhabit the body and may include pathogens.

Opportunistic pathogens

Normal flora or transient microbes that cause disease when host defenses are compromised.

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs)

Diseases that are new or increasing in incidence, often zoonotic and vector-borne (e.g., Candida auris, SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, Zika).

Spontaneous generation

The obsolete idea that life arises from nonliving matter; Biogenesis states life comes from preexisting life.

Biogenesis

The concept that living cells arise only from preexisting living cells.

Hooke

17th-century scientist who described cells as 'little boxes' and helped establish cell theory.

van Leeuwenhoek

Pioneer who observed microorganisms ('animalcules') with early microscopes.

Variolation

Early smallpox immunization by deliberate exposure to variola; precursor to vaccination.

Immunity

The body's resistance to infection, either innate or acquired through exposure or vaccination.

Vaccines

Preparations that stimulate an immune response to provide protection against specific diseases.

Gram stain

Differential staining technique that distinguishes bacteria by cell wall characteristics (Gram-positive purple; Gram-negative pink).

Peptidoglycan

A polymer forming bacterial cell walls, characteristic of many bacteria (thick in Gram-positive, thin in Gram-negative).

Endosymbiont organelles

Mitochondria and chloroplasts in eukaryotes, derived from engulfed prokaryotes.

Agar

A gelatinous medium derived from red algae used to culture microbes in labs.

Mitochondrion

Energy-producing organelle in eukaryotic cells; powerhouse of the cell.

Chloroplast

Organelles in plants and algae where photosynthesis occurs; contain chlorophyll.