Lecture Module 1: Introduction to Microbes, History, and Nomenclature

A microorganism is a _____ thing that is too _____ to be seen without _____.

Living; small; magnification

Microorganisms include _____, _____, _____, _____, _____, _____, and _____.

Bacteria; archaea; protozoa; fungi; helminths; algae; viruses

The first organisms were believed to be _____, meaning that they have no _____; these include _____ and _____.

Prokaryotic; nucleus; bacteria; archaea

Cyanobacteria allowed for _____, which then allowed for the development of more complex organisms.

Oxygen

Identify these characteristics in bacteria: prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic, presence vs. absence of a nucleus, cell wall, heterotroph vs. autotroph (photosynthesis), unicellular vs. multicellular, asexual (binary fission) vs. sexual reproduction, and any special notes (1).

Prokaryotic; absence of a nucleus; peptidoglycan cell wall; some heterotroph, some autotroph; unicellular; asexual reproduction (binary fission); circular DNA

Identify these characteristics in archaea: prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic, presence vs. absence of a nucleus, cell wall, heterotroph vs. autotroph (photosynthesis), unicellular vs. multicellular, asexual (binary fission) vs. sexual reproduction, and any special notes (2).

Prokaryotic; absence of a nucleus; pseudomirin (no peptidoglycan) cell wall; heterotroph (usually); unicellular; asexual reproduction (reproduction); circular DNA, extremophiles

Archaea are extremophiles, meaning that they _____. Thermophiles can _____, halophiles can _____, and methanogens can _____.

Grow in extreme conditions that most other organisms cannot tolerate; grow in heat; grow in salt; produce methane as a waste product of respiration

Identify these characteristics in fungi: prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic, presence vs. absence of a nucleus, cell wall, heterotroph vs. autotroph (photosynthesis), unicellular vs. multicellular, asexual (binary fission) vs. sexual reproduction, and any special notes (1).

Eukaryotic; presence of a nucleus; chitin cell wall (type of sugar/polysaccharide); heterotroph (saprobes); unicellular (e.g. yeast) or multicellular (e.g. molds or mushrooms); asexual or sexual reproduction; linear DNA

Many fungi are saprobes, meaning that they _____.

Feed on dead, decaying matter

Unicellular fungi include _____, while multicellular fungi include _____ and _____.

Yeast; molds; mushrooms

Identify these characteristics in protozoa: prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic, presence vs. absence of a nucleus, cell wall, heterotroph vs. autotroph (photosynthesis), unicellular vs. multicellular, asexual (binary fission) vs. sexual reproduction, and any special notes (2).

Eukaryotic; presence of a nucleus; no cell wall (usually); heterotroph (usually); unicellular; asexual or sexual reproduction; linear DNA, movement via pseudopods, flagella, cilia, or not at all (non-motile)

Identify these characteristics in algae: prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic, presence vs. absence of a nucleus, cell wall, heterotroph vs. autotroph (photosynthesis), unicellular vs. multicellular, asexual (binary fission) vs. sexual reproduction, and any special notes (1).

Eukaryotic; presence of a nucleus; cellulose cell wall; autotroph (photosynthesis); unicellular; asexual or sexual reproduction; often contain pigments, leading to a green, red, or brown color

Identify these characteristics in helminths: prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic, presence vs. absence of a nucleus, cell wall, heterotroph vs. autotroph (photosynthesis), unicellular vs. multicellular, asexual (binary fission) vs. sexual reproduction, and any special notes (2).

Eukaryotic; presence of a nucleus; no cell wall (type of animal cell); heterotroph; multicellular; asexual or sexual reproduction; consist of flat worms (e.g. tapeworms) and round worms (e.g. heart worms), have microscopic stages

Unlike other microorganisms, viruses are _____. They reproduce via _____, acting as intracellular _____. They may be _____ (in animal cells) or _____, but a _____ is required for all viruses. They can use _____ or _____ as their genetic material.

Acellular; cellular hosts; parasites; enveloped; naked; capsid (protein coat); DNA; RNA

Inside the body, a virus envelope can _____. Outside the body, a virus envelope can _____. This means that the virus envelope is most beneficial _____.

Prevent the immune system from recognizing the virus as foreign; dissolve and prevent virus from replicating; inside the body

Helminths are multicellular animal _____, typically found as _____ or _____.

Parasites; flat worms; round worms

Order the following microorganisms from smallest to largest: prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and viruses.

Viruses; prokaryotes; eukaryotes

Prokaryotes are generally _____ than eukaryotes due to their _____.

Ten times smaller; lack of organelles

Saying that a microbe is ubiquitous means that it is found _____, including the earth’s crust, in polar ice caps and oceans, inside the bodies of plants and animals, in the earth’s landscape, and life itself.

Everywhere

Microbes can be easy to study in the sense that they _____ and can be _____ in the laboratory, but are also difficult to study in the sense they cannot _____ and must be analyzed through _____ means (i.e. _____).

Reproduce quickly; grown in large populations; be seen directly; indirect; microscopes

Photosynthesis refers to the _____ fueled conversion of _____ to _____, converting _____ energy to _____ energy. This process is accompanied by the formation of _____.

Light; carbon dioxide; organic material; solar; chemical; oxygen

Anoxygenic photosynthesis occurred in _____ before _____ evolved. It did not _____ and are more efficient in _____.

Bacteria; plants; produce oxygen; extracting energy from sunlight

Oxygenic photosynthesis evolved from _____.

Anoxygenic photosynthesis

T/F: Plants are responsible for most of the Earth’s photosynthesis.

False; photosynthetic microorganisms are responsible for about 70% of the Earth’s photosynthesis

Microorganisms are the main forces that drive the structure and content of the soil, water, and atmosphere. They produce CO2, NO, and CH3 that _____ the Earth’s atmosphere, are the most abundant cellular organisms in the _____ (with _____ specifically being the most abundant), and bacteria and fungi live in close association with _____, assisting them in obtaining nutrients and water and possibly protecting them against disease.

Insulate; oceans; viruses; plants

Historically, microbes have been used by humans to make _____, _____, and _____; treat _____/_____; mine _____; and clean up _____.

Bread; alcohol; cheese; wounds/lesions; precious metals; human-made contamination

Genetic engineering refers to the manipulation of microbes, plants, and animals for the purpose of _____ and _____.

Creating new products; genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

Recombinant DNA technology refers to technology that makes it possible to _____ and _____. An example of this technology being used is when the _____ is put into _____, creating an _____ that can be _____.

Transfer genetic material from one organism to another; deliberately alter DNA; insulin gene; bacteria; insulin protein; injected into diabetic patients

Bioremediation refers to the process of using _____ (either _____ or _____) to _____ or _____.

Microbes; already present; introduced intentionally; restore stability; clean up toxic pollutants

The term used to describe a disease-causing microorganism is a _____.

Pathogen

T/F: Most other microorganisms that associate with humans are harmless or even beneficial.

True

The leading cause of infectious death in the United States is _____ and _____.

Influenza; pneumonia

T/F: Most other leading causes of death in the United States are not infectious.

True

The leading cause of infectious death in the world is _____.

Lower respiratory infection

T/F: Globally, infectious diseases make up a larger proportion of leading causes of death.

True

Although they may not cause them directly, microbes can still be associated with non-infectious diseases. For example, gastric ulcers are caused by _____. Additionally, _____, _____, _____, and _____ have been linked to chronic infections with microbes.

Helicobacter pylori; multiple sclerosis; OCD: coronary artery disease; obesity

Infectious disease trends include an increasing number of patients with _____, making them subject to _____, as well as an increase in microbes that are _____.

Weakened defenses; infection by common microbes that are not pathogenic to healthy people; resistant to drugs

The theory of evolution is the process by which life on Earth has changed and diversified over generations. Key aspects include _____, _____, and _____. This is called a theory because it is _____, based on _____, and has high _____.

Descent with modification; natural selection; genetics; well-tested; extensive evidence; predictive power

Taxonomy refers to the _____.

Science of classifying living things

Nomenclature refers to the _____.

Assignment of scientific names to the various taxonomic categories and to individual organisms

Classification refers to the _____.

Orderly arrangement of organisms into a hierarchy

Identification refers to the process of _____, leading to _____.

Discovering and recording traits; placement in an overall taxonomic scheme

_____ was responsible for developing the formal system for classifying and naming organisms.

Carolus Linnaeus

Each organism has two names, making it _____; the first name is the _____, and the second name is the _____. The first name is _____ (formatting), while the second name is _____ (formatting). If written, both names are _____, while if typed, both names are _____. After the first use, scientific names may be abbreviated with the _____.

Binomial; genus; specific epithet (species); capitalized; lower case; underlined separately; italicized; first letter of the genus and the specific epithet

Escherichia coli describes the bacteria’s _____ and _____ (_____).

Discoverer; environment; colon

Staphylococcus aureus describes the _____ (_____) and _____ (_____) of the cells, as well as the _____ of the colonies (_____). S. aureus is found in the _____.

Distribution; clustered; shape; spherical; color; gold; skin

Carl Woese proposed that organisms may be classified into one of three different domains by analysis of their _____.

rRNA

rRNA is used by _____. This gene is present in _____ cells.

Ribosomes; all

The three domains proposed by Carl Woese are _____, _____, and _____. This classification scheme determines how closely related organisms are based on the similarity of their _____.

Bacteria; archaea; eukarya; genetic sequences

The domain Eukarya includes _____ (e.g. slime molds, algae, protozoa), _____ (e.g. yeast, mold, and mushrooms), _____ (e.g. those that are flowering, cone-bearing, moss, and ferns), and _____ (e.g. humans, dogs, and cats). 

Protists; fungi; plants; animals

Within the domain Eukarya, animals do not have _____ but have a _____, and they are considered _____.

Cell walls; cell membrane; heterotrophs

How are organisms classified and organized into several descending ranks, beginning with the most general and ending with the smallest and most specific? This can be remembered with the mnemonic “do keep pots clean or family gets sick.”

Domain, kingdom, phylum/division, class, order, family, genus, species

A species is a group of organisms that have the ability to _____ and _____.

Breed; produce fertile offspring

Who was the first person to report that living things were composed of little boxes or “cells” by looking at cork?

Robert Hooke

Robert Hooke contributed to cell theory, the theory that _____ and _____.

All living things are composed of cells; come from pre-existing cells

Who was the first person to look at living microorganisms with a microscope?

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Anton van Leeuwenhoek described live microorganisms as _____.

Animalcules

Spontaneous generation refers to the hypothesis that _____ and that a _____ forms life.

Living organisms arise from non-living matter; vital force

Biogenesis refers to the hypothesis that _____.

Living organisms arise from pre-existing life

The experiment performed by Redi found that _____, supporting the theory of _____.

Maggots do not arise from decaying/dead meat; biogenesis

In the Redi experiment, the sealed jar with decaying meat had _____. The open jar with decaying meat had _____. Antagonists proposed that _____ was required, so a netting jar with decaying meat had _____.

No maggots; maggots; no maggots

In the Needham experiment, a broth was _____, then _____. This broth produced _____, supporting the theory of _____.

Boiled; covered; microbes; spontaneous generation

The Needham experiment supported the theory of spontaneous generation because boiling the broth _____ the broth, but then _____.

Sterilized; microbes fell into the broth from the air before it was covered

In the Spallanzani experiment, a broth was _____, then _____. This broth produced _____, supporting the theory of _____.

Covered; boiled; no microbes; biogenesis

The Spallanzani experiment supported the theory of biogenesis because _____.

Microbes could not fall into the browth

In the Pasteur experiment, a nutrient broth was placed in a _____ (allowing _____ but not _____ to enter), then _____, then _____. This broth produced _____, supporting the theory of _____.

S-shaped flask; air; microbes; boiled; sealed; no microbes; biogenesis

In the Pasteur experiment, the microbes were _____. If you broke the S-shaped flask, then _____. If you tilted the flask so that liquid fell into the neck before falling back into the main compartment, then _____. _____ did not destroy the vital force, as proposed by some of Spallanzani’s antagonists. Pasteur determined that microbes in the air can _____, but that the air cannot _____. This experiment was created with _____, preventing contamination.

Trapped in the neck of the flask; microbes could grow if they fell into the container; microbes could grow if picked up from the neck; heat; contaminate the flask; create microbes; aseptic technique

The golden age of microbiology refers to the rapid advances by _____ and _____, as well as when _____.

Pasteur; Koch; microbiology was established as a science

Pasteur was responsible for disproving _____. He also discovered pasteurization, which refers to the process of _____ (for the purpose of _____). He also discovered why _____ work, as cholera bacteria lost their ability to cause disease after grown in the lab for long periods, but were still able to _____.

Spontaneous generation; using gentle heat to kill bacteria; maintaining the alcohol in wine; vaccinations; induce immunity

Jenner was responsible for _____. Immunity refers to _____.

Developing a vaccine against smallpox; protection from disease provided by vaccination

Koch proved that _____, leading to the _____. He did this by _____.

Microorganisms can cause disease; germ theory of disease; discovering Bacillus anthracis from a cow that died of anthrax

Lister was the first person to _____. This is considered _____, as he _____ between surgeries, using phenol (carbolic acid) as a chemical control to _____.

Use disinfectants in surgical procedure; germ theory in medical practice; cleaned instruments; kill bacteria

Fleming was responsible for discovering _____, the first _____ against _____ that was later clinically tested and mass produced.

Penicillin; antibiotic; Staphylococcus aureus

Semmelweis advocated for _____. Childbirth fever from septicemia (bacteria in the blood) was higher for physicians than midwives because _____.

Handwashing between patients; physicians would work with cadavers before delivering babies

Place the following scientists in the order in which they made contributions to microbiology: Fleming, Pasteur, Koch, Semmelweis, Jenner, Spallanzani, Needham, Redi, van Leeuwenhoek, Hooke.

Hooke, van Leeuwenhoek, Redi, Needham, Spallanzani, Jenner, Semmelweis, Pasteur, Koch, Fleming

Pasteurization is the _____.

Application of gentle heat for a short period of time to kill bacteria

Koch’s postulates are used to establish _____ and _____.

Whether or not an organism is pathogenic; which disease it causes

Koch’s postulates are as follows: the same pathogen must be present in _____, the pathogen must be _____ and grown in pure culture, the pathogen from the pure culture must _____ when inoculated into a healthy and susceptible lab animal, and the pathogen must be isolated from the inoculated animal and shown to be _____.

Every case of the disease; isolated; cause disease; the original organism

Jenner produced the first vaccine by noticing that milkmaids who had cowpox would not develop _____. An individual who was _____, then _____ was ultimately not infected.

Smallpox; exposed to cowpox; exposed to smallpox

Key features of the scientific method include _____ evidence, a _____ process of observation, forming _____ that can be _____, performing _____ that are _____, and remaining _____.

Empirical; systematic; hypotheses; disproven; experiments; replicable; objective