Micro Ch 1

Microorganisms

Microscopic living entities, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, too small to see without a microscope.

Pathogen

Any microorganism (e.g., bacterium, virus, fungus) that can cause disease in a host.

Microbiome

The community of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses) living in a particular environment, especially the human body, vital for immunity and digestion.

Normal microbiota

Microorganisms that naturally colonize the body without causing disease, often providing beneficial functions to the host.

Prokaryote

A single-celled organism (Bacteria or Archaea) lacking a membrane-bound nucleus and organelles; its genetic material is in the cytoplasm.

Eukaryote

An organism whose cells have a membrane-bound nucleus and other organelles. This group includes fungi, protozoa, algae, plants, and animals.

Bacteria

Ubiquitous single-celled prokaryotic microorganisms with peptidoglycan cell walls, reproducing mainly by binary fission.

Archaea

Single-celled prokaryotic microorganisms distinct from bacteria, often found in extreme environments and lacking peptidoglycan cell walls.

Fungi

Eukaryotic organisms with chitin cell walls, including yeasts (unicellular) and molds/mushrooms (multicellular). They absorb nutrients from their environment.

Protozoa

Motile, single-celled eukaryotic microorganisms that ingest food. Some are pathogenic parasites, moving with flagella, cilia, or pseudopods.

Algae

Mostly aquatic, photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms (single-celled to multicellular) with cellulose cell walls.

Viruses

Acellular, obligate intracellular parasites made of genetic material (DNA/RNA) in a protein coat. They must use a host cell's machinery to replicate.

Prions

Infectious agents made solely of misfolded proteins that cause normal proteins to misfold, leading to neurodegenerative diseases.

Helminths

Multicellular parasitic worms (e.g., flatworms, roundworms) that cause diseases in host organisms.

Spontaneous generation

The disproven hypothesis that living organisms could spontaneously arise from nonliving matter.

Biogenesis

The principle that all living organisms and cells originate from pre-existing living organisms or cells.

Fermentation

A metabolic process where microorganisms convert sugars into alcohols, gases, or acids without oxygen, often used in food production.

Pasteurization

A heat treatment for food/beverages that kills pathogens and reduces spoilage microbes without altering flavor or nutrition significantly.

Germ theory of disease

The theory that many diseases are caused by specific pathogenic microorganisms growing and reproducing in the body.

Koch’s postulates

Four criteria established by Robert Koch to prove a specific microorganism causes a particular disease.

Vaccination

Administering a vaccine to stimulate the immune system, providing protection against future infection by a pathogen.

Chemotherapy

Treatment of disease using chemical substances, often antimicrobial drugs that selectively kill or inhibit pathogenic microorganisms without harming the host.

Genomics

The field of biology studying the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes (an organism's complete set of DNA).

Recombinant DNA

Artificially combined DNA from two or more different sources, used in genetic engineering to introduce new traits into an organism.

Bioremediation

Using microorganisms or their enzymes to naturally degrade or detoxify environmental pollutants and contaminants, restoring contaminated sites.

Cell theory

The theory that all living organisms are made of cells, and all cells come from pre-existing cells.

Animalcules

Historical term by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek for the tiny, motile microscopic organisms he observed, later identified as bacteria and other microbes.

Swan-neck flask

A flask with an S-shaped neck used by Louis Pasteur to disprove spontaneous generation. It allowed air entry but trapped airborne microbes.

Gram staining

A staining method by Hans Christian Gram classifying bacteria into Gram-positive and Gram-negative groups based on their cell wall differences and crystal violet retention.

Tobacco mosaic virus

The first virus identified (1892 by Ivanovsky), later crystallized (1935 by Stanley). It causes a mosaic pattern disease in tobacco plants.

Salvarsan

The first effective synthetic drug, an arsenic-based compound, developed by Paul Ehrlich (1910) to treat syphilis.

Penicillin

The first widely effective antibiotic, discovered by Alexander Fleming (1928) from the mold Penicillium notatum.

One gene–one enzyme

Hypothesis by Beadle and Tatum (1941) suggesting each gene controls one enzyme's synthesis. Later refined to "one gene–one polypeptide" or "one gene–one functional product".

DNA double helix

The iconic double helix structure of DNA, proposed by Watson and Crick (1953) based on Franklin's data. It describes DNA as two coiled polynucleotide strands, forming the basis of genetic inheritance.

___________ uses microbes to make and preserve food, while ___________ controls or kills microbes to prevent spoilage. _______ was developed from studying problems in _______.

Fermententation, pasteurization, pasteurization, fermentation

what is recycled in bioremediation?

Chemicals such as Nitrogen, Carbon, and Sulfur