Microbiology Fundamentals: A Clinical Approach, Chapter 6

Vocabulary flashcards created from the notes of Microbial Nutrition and Growth, highlighting key terms and definitions.

Essential nutrient

Any substance that must be provided to an organism.

Macronutrients

Nutrients required in relatively large quantities.

Micronutrients

Also known as trace elements, required in much smaller amounts for enzyme function and protein structure.

Cardinal temperatures

The range of temperatures for the growth of a given microbial species, including minimum, maximum, and optimum temperatures.

Psychrophiles

Microbes with optimal growth temperatures up to 20°C, typically archaea.

Thermophiles

Microbes with optimal growth temperatures greater than 45°C, important in soil ecology.

Obligate Aerobes

Organisms that cannot grow without oxygen.

Facultative Anaerobes

Organisms that do not require oxygen but will use it when present.

Halophiles

Organisms that prefer high concentrations of salt.

Symbiosis

A close relationship between two or more different species that live together.

Mutualism

A type of symbiosis where both organisms benefit and live in an obligatory relationship.

Commensalism

A type of symbiosis where one partner benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Antagonism

An association between free-living species that arises when members of a community compete.

Quorum sensing

A process used by bacteria to interact with other members of the same or different species nearby.

Binary fission

The method of asexual reproduction in bacteria where a cell divides into two identical daughter cells.