Topic 12: Microbial Metabolism

• Van Leeuwenhoek saw microorganisms in wine

• Pasteur demonstrated that the microbes were living organisms

  • “It is impossible that the organic matter of the newly formed ferments [microorganisms] contain a single carbon atom which has not been derived from the fermented substance.”

• Metabolism: chemical reactions that occur within all living organisms

• Metabolic processes involve enzymes.

  • enzymes: proteins that catalyze biological reactions

• Majority of enzymes function inside a cell - endoenzymes

  • exoenzymes: enzymes that are released from the cell to catalyze reactions outside of the cell

• Aerobic: use of metabolic pathways in presence of oxygen

• Anaerobic: use of metabolic pathways in the absence of oxygen

• Bacteria share the same colony and cell morphology, additional factors, such as metabolism, are used to identify them.

• Studying the metabolic activities of microbes helps understand their role in ecology.

  

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