Microbiology Scope, History, and Taxonomy

Vocabulary flashcards covering the scope, key historical contributors, microbial types, human and environmental roles, and classification systems from Microbiology Lecture 1.

Microbiology

The study of microorganisms that are too small to be seen with the unaided eye.

Bacteria

Single-celled prokaryotic organisms that contain peptidoglycan in their cell walls and divide by binary fission.

Archaea

Single-celled prokaryotes that lack peptidoglycan in their cell walls, often live in extreme environments, and are not known to cause disease in humans.

Fungi

Eukaryotic organisms with chitin cell walls that absorb organic chemicals for energy, including unicellular yeasts and multicellular molds.

Yeasts

Unicellular eukaryotic fungi that reproduce by processes such as budding.

Hyphae

Filaments that compose the mycelia masses of multicellular molds.

Protozoa

Unicellular eukaryotes that lack cell walls and move using pseudopods, cilia, or flagella.

Algae

Unicellular or multicellular photosynthetic eukaryotes possessing cellulose cell walls.

Viruses

Acellular obligate intracellular parasites that contain a DNA or RNA core enclosed in a protein coat.

Helminths

Parasitic flatworms and roundworms that are multicellular animals with microscopic stages in their life cycles.

Cell Theory

The principle that all living things are composed of cells, first observed by Robert Hooke in 1665.

Spontaneous Generation

The hypothesis that life can arise spontaneously from nonliving matter via a vital force.

Theory of Biogenesis

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

Pasteurization

The process developed by Louis Pasteur of applying gentle heat to kill spoilage microbes in beverages.

Germ Theory of Disease

The principle that microorganisms cause infectious diseases.

Koch's Postulates

A series of experimental steps formulated by Robert Koch to demonstrate that a specific microbe causes a specific disease.

Chemotherapy

The treatment of disease using chemical substances, including synthetic drugs and antibiotics.

Synthetic Drugs

Antimicrobial chemical agents synthesized entirely in a laboratory through chemical processes.

Antibiotics

Chemicals produced naturally by bacteria and fungi that inhibit or kill other microorganisms.

Microbial Ecology

The study of the relationship between microorganisms and their environment.

Microbiome

The community of microbes, their collective genes, and the environment they inhabit.

Microbiota

The collection of actual bacteria, fungi, and viruses living in or on a host organism.

Normal Microbiota

The collection of microorganisms normally present on or inside a healthy human body.

Bioremediation

The use of microorganisms to degrade or clean up environmental pollutants, such as oil spills.

Biotechnology

The practical application of microbes to produce foods and chemical products.

Recombinant DNA Technology

A technique in molecular genetics that modifies organisms to produce non-native proteins, enzymes, or genes for medical and agricultural applications.

Binomial Nomenclature

The system developed by Carolus Linnaeus in 1735 that assigns every organism a two-part scientific name consisting of a genus and a specific epithet.

Taxonomy

The science of classifying organisms into categories (taxa) reflecting evolutionary relationships and similarities.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

The successive levels of biological classification arranged from broadest to most specific: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.

Bacterial Species

A population of bacterial cells with a high degree of genomic similarity.

Clone

A population of cells derived from a single parent cell.

Strain

A sub-type or genetic variant within a single bacterial species.

Prokaryotes

Unicellular organisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.

Eukaryotes

Organisms whose cells possess a membrane-bound nucleus housing genetic material and membrane-bound organelles.

Three-Domain System

The classification scheme developed by Carl Woese in 1990 that categorizes all cellular life into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya based on rRNA gene sequences.

Five-Kingdom System

The system formalized by Robert Whittaker in 1969 that classifies living organisms into Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia based on observable traits.

Viral Species

A population of viruses with similar characteristics that can be distinguished by morphology, genomes, enzymes, and ecological niche.

Robert Hooke

Scientist who observed cork slices in 1665, coined the term "cells," and marked the beginning of Cell Theory.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Known as the Father of Microscopy, who first observed live microorganisms ("animalcules") from 1623 to 1673.

Louis Pasteur

French scientist who disproved spontaneous generation using S-shaped flasks in 1861, introduced pasteurization and fermentation, and developed rabies and anthrax vaccines.

Joseph Lister

British surgeon who developed the first aseptic surgical technique in the 1860s by treating surgical instruments and wounds with phenol (carbolic acid).

Robert Koch

Scientist who proved in 1876 that Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax and developed Koch's postulates to link specific microbes to specific diseases.

Edward Jenner

Physician who created the first smallpox vaccine in 1796 by inoculating individuals with cowpox virus collected from milkmaids.

Paul Ehrlich

Scientist who introduced the synthetic drug salvarsan ("magic bullet") in 1910 to treat syphilis.

Alexander Fleming

Physician who accidentally discovered the antibiotic penicillin produced by Penicillium fungus in 1928.

Wendell Stanley

Scientist who purified and crystallized the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in 1935, demonstrating it contained protein and RNA.

Selman Waksman

Researcher who discovered streptomycin, the first effective antibiotic against tuberculosis.