Microbiology Chapter 1 Flashcards

This set of 60 vocabulary flashcards covers introductory microbiology history, key figures, scientific naming, and the chemical building blocks of life based on the Chapter 1 lecture notes.

Microbiology

The study of organisms too small to be seen by the naked eye.

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

A lens grinder (1632-1723) credited as the first person to use a microscope to observe living organisms, which he called ‘wee animalcules’.

Microorganism

A term used to describe the ‘animalcules’ observed by Leeuwenhoek, including bacteria, algae, protozoans, fungi, and small animals.

Taxonomy

A systematic method of naming and categorizing organisms developed by Carolus Linnaeus.

Genus

The first part of an organism's scientific name in Linnaean taxonomy; it is always capitalized and italicized when typed.

Specific Epithet

The second part of an organism's scientific name in Linnaean taxonomy (species); it is not capitalized and is italicized when typed.

Carolus Linnaeus

A Swedish botanist (1707-1778) who developed the system of nomenclature and taxonomy for plants, animals, and humans.

Spontaneous Generation

The belief that invisible vital forces present in matter lead to the creation of life from non-life.

Abiogenesis

The idea that life arises from non-life.

Biogenesis

The idea that life only arises from existing life.

Louis Pasteur

A scientist who settled the spontaneous generation debate in the 1860s using swan-necked flasks and coined the term vaccine.

Fermentation

The biological conversion of sugar to waste products like alcohol, lactic acid, or acetic acid as part of anaerobic metabolism.

Etiology

The study of the cause of disease.

Germ Theory

The idea, proposed by Pasteur, that microorganisms are responsible for disease.

Pathogen

A particular microorganism that causes a particular disease with specific symptoms.

Robert Koch

A German biologist who discovered the pathogens for Anthrax ($Bacillus\,anthracis$) and Tuberculosis ($Mycobacterium\,tuberculosis$).

Koch’s Postulates

A series of steps for identifying a pathogen, including isolating the organism from a diseased host and using it to cause disease in a healthy host.

CFU/ml

A technique for estimating the number of bacteria in a solution based on the number of colonies that form after inoculation onto a solid surface.

Ignaz Semmelweis

An Austrian scientist who suggested that doctors should wash their hands between rooms to prevent infection spread.

Joseph Lister

A scientist who used phenol as an antiseptic chemical method for cleaning surgical wounds.

John Snow

Considered the first Epidemiologist; he linked an 1854 cholera outbreak to a contaminated water pump in London.

Epidemiology

The branch of medicine that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of diseases, pioneered by John Snow.

Edward Jenner

An English scientist who developed the first smallpox immunization by injecting a boy with cowpox virus.

Vaccine

A term coined by Pasteur, named for $Vaccinia$ (the cowpox virus), to describe the use of killed or weakened pathogens to create immunity.

Variolation

An ancient practice where scabs from mild smallpox cases were dried, crushed, and puffed into the nostrils of uninfected people to induce immunity.

Bioremediation

The use of microbes to fix or clean up the environment.

Monomer

The individual building blocks that are linked together to form larger molecules called polymers.

Polymer

A large molecule made up of repeated smaller units known as monomers.

Dehydration Synthesis

A chemical reaction that links monomers to form polymers by releasing a water molecule.

Hydrolysis

A chemical reaction that breaks polymers into monomers by incorporating a water molecule.

Covalent Bond

Interactions where a pair of electrons is shared between two atoms.

Non-Polar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond where electrons are shared evenly between atoms with similar electronegativity.

Polar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond where electrons are shared unevenly between atoms with different electronegativities, leading to partial charges.

Electronegativity

A measure of how strongly an element attracts electrons; oxygen and nitrogen have high values while carbon and hydrogen have low values.

Hydrogen Bond

A weak attraction between a partially positive ($\delta^+$) hydrogen atom and a partially negative ($\delta^-$) atom on another molecule.

Partial Charges

Charges represented by $\delta^+$ (partial positive) and $\delta^-$ (partial negative) resulting from uneven electron sharing in polar covalent bonds.

Hydrophilic

A term for polar structures that can form hydrogen bonds and interact with water; ‘water-loving.’

Hydrophobic

A term for non-polar structures that cannot form hydrogen bonds and do not interact with water; ‘water-fearing.’

Carbohydrates

Biological molecules composed of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen in a general formula of $CH_2O$; used for structure and energy storage.

Monosaccharide

A simple sugar that serves as the carbohydrate building block, such as Glucose, Fructose, or Ribose.

Polysaccharide

A carbohydrate composed of many sugars linked together, such as Starch or Cellulose.

Glycosidic Bond

The covalent bond that connects sugar monomers together in carbohydrates.

Lipids

Macromolecules composed almost entirely of Carbon and Hydrogen (hydrocarbons) that are generally non-polar and hydrophobic.

Hydrocarbon

A molecule or part of a molecule composed purely of carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Steroids

Complex ringed lipid compounds composed of four hydrocarbon rings; they are not technically polymers.

Fatty Acids

Lipid molecules consisting of a hydrocarbon chain capped with a polar Carboxylic Acid ($COOH$) group.

Saturated Fatty Acid

A fatty acid hydrocarbon chain containing no double bonds.

Unsaturated Fatty Acid

A fatty acid hydrocarbon chain that contains one or more double bonds.

Triglyceride

A molecule composed of three fatty acids connected to a single glycerol anchoring point.

Phospholipid

A molecule consisting of glycerol connected to two fatty acids and one phosphate ion; major component of cell membranes.

Amphipathic

A molecule that contains both a hydrophilic (polar) region and a hydrophobic (non-polar) region.

Protein

Complex linear polymers of amino acids composed of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Sulfur.

Amino Acid

The building block of proteins, consisting of a central carbon, a hydrogen, an amino group ($NH_2$), a carboxyl group ($COOH$), and an R group.

Peptide Bond

The covalent bond that links amino acids together in a polypeptide chain.

Primary Structure

The specific sequence of amino acids covalently linked in a polypeptide chain.

Secondary Structure

The folding of a polypeptide (Alpha helix or Beta pleated sheet) caused by hydrogen bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of the backbone.

Tertiary Structure

The three-dimensional shape of a single polypeptide resulting from interactions (hydrogen, ionic, covalent, etc.) between R-groups.

Quaternary Structure

The structure formed by interactions between multiple polypeptide subunits to create a functioning protein.

Phosphodiester Bond

The covalent bond that links nucleotide monomers together to form nucleic acid polymers.

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

A specialized RNA nucleotide with three phosphate groups used as the primary ‘energy currency’ of the cell.