Microbiology Study Guide Cheat Sheet by melyzarevalo

study of life too small to be seen by unaided eye (microbial world)

Develo­pment of the micros­cope.

The highest level in biological classi­fic­ation. There are 3 domains: Bacteria, Archaea, & Eukarya.

Organism composed of 1 or more eukaryotic cells; members of the domain Eukarya & eukary­otes.

Cell type charac­terized by a membra­ne-­bound nucleus

An acellular infectious agent consisting only of protein.

single­-celled organism consisting of a prokar­yotic cell; members of the domains Bacteria & Archaea are prokar­yotes.

Cell type charac­terized by the lack of membra­ne-­bound nucleus.

An acellular infectious agent consisting only of RNA

An acellular infectious agent consisting of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat.

Life arose from non-living matter

support; could still give rise to microo­rga­nisms.

remained free of microo­rga­nisms.

worms only appear on decaying meat has been exposed to flies.

endospore

many diseas­e-c­ausing microo­rga­nisms were discov­ered.

Germ

heat resistance

all animals would die

smallpox

Prokaryota

Archaea & Bacteria

contain both protein and nucleic acid

viruses

Scientific Method includes (1) observing occurrence & asking a question about that situation; (2) developing a hypothesis that explains the occurrence & devising an experiment that tests the hypoth­esis; (3) doing the experi­ment, collecting the data, & drawing conclu­sions; & (4) commun­icating the results, methods, & conclu­sions.

An explan­ation supported by a vast body of experi­mental evidence.

The production of living things, as opposed to sponta­neous genera­tion.

The experi­ments of John Needham supported the idea of sponta­neous genera­tion, while those of Lazzaro Spalla­nzani did not.

Pasteur disproved sponta­neous generation & supported what is now known as the theory of biogenesis.

John Tyndall showed that some microbial forms are not killed by boiling. He & Ferdinand Cohn discovered endospores, the heat-r­esi­stant forms of some bacteria.

Microo­rga­nisms are used in the production of bread, wine, beer, & cheeses. They are also used to degrade toxic pollutants and to synthesize a variety of different useful products. Biotec­hnology depends on members of the microbial world.

The use of microb­iol­ogical & bioche­mical techniques to solve practical problems & produce valuable products.

Microo­rga­nisms are wonderful model organisms to study because they have the same fundam­ental metabolic & genetic properties as higher life-f­orms, & they grow rapidly on simple, inexpe­nsive growth media.

Bacteria are single­-celled prokar­yotes that have peptid­oglycan in their cell walls.

sphere­-shaped bacterial cell.

Cylind­er-­shaped bacterium; also called a bacillus

short, curved, rod-shaped bacterial cell

curved rod-shaped bacterial cell that is long enough to form spirals

Long, helical bacteria that have flexible cell wall & endofl­agella

single­-celled prokar­yotes

single­-celled yeasts & multic­ellular molds & mushrooms; they use organic compounds as food

single­-celled or multic­ell­ular, & use sunlight as an energy source

typically motile single­-celled organisms that use organic compounds as food.

a distinct, thick gelatinous material that surrounds some microo­rga­nisms

movement of a cell toward or away from a certain chemical in the enviro­nment

A phosph­olipid bilayer embedded with proteins that surrounds the cytoplasm & defines the boundary of the cell

An extrao­rdinary resistant dormant cell produced by some types of bacteria

A type of structure used for cell movement

Bacteria that have a cell wall charac­terized by a thin layer of peptid­oglycan surrounded by an outer membrane; when Gram stained, these cells are pink

Bacteria that have a cell wall charac­terized by a thick layer of peptid­ogl­ycan; when Gram stained, these cells are purple

Molecule that makes up the outer layer of the outer membrane of Gram-n­egative bacteria

a macrom­olecule that provides strength to the cell wall; it is found only in bacteria

the gel-like material that fills the region between the cytopl­asmic membrane & the outer membrane of Gram-n­egative bacteria & the cytopl­asmic membrane & peptid­oglycan layer of at least some Gram-p­ositive bacteria

cell surface structures that allow cells to adhere to certain material; some types are involved in a mechanism of DNA transfer

Extrac­hro­mosomal DNA molecule that replicates indepe­ndently of the chromosome

structure involved in protein synthesis

Mechanisms cells use to transport nutrients and other small molecules across the cytopl­asmic membrane

Cytopl­asmic membrane

Gram-n­egative bacteria

Is Gram-n­egative

Cytopl­asmic membrane

able to withstand boiling water

be take up by the cell

2, 4

actin

Bright­-field microscope

Acid-fast stain

Polyme­r-e­ncased community of microo­rga­nisms

A culture medium of exact chemical compos­ition; generally used only for specific experi­ments when nutrients must be precisely controlled

A culture medium that contains protein digests, extracts, or other ingred­ients that vary in their chemical compos­ition

A culture medium with an ingredient that certain microo­rga­nisms change in a recogn­izable way; used to differ­entiate microbes based on their metabolic traits

Stage in the growth curve during which cells divide at a constant rate; generation time is measured during this period of active.