Microbiology ch. 1

What led to the outbreak of measles, mumps, and whooping cough within the last few years?

An irrational fear of vaccines, leading to lax views on vaccination.

Why were some scientist not successful in duplicating Pasteur's work?

Because their broth contained endospores. Pasteur made broths from yeast and sugar extract, which contained no endospores. They also did not recreate everything as closely as possible.

Why are micro-organisms wonderful model organisms to study?

Because they display the same fundamental metabolic and genetic properties as higher-life forms

During John Needham's time, what type of boiling was thought to kill all organisms?

Brief boiling

Discovered the heat-resistant form of bacteria.

Cohn

Which structures were present in hay infusions used in experiments on Spontaneous Generation that made infusions difficult to sterilize?

Endospores

Cell types which have membrane bound organelles are characteristics of?

Eukaryotes

Bacteria and Eucarya both contian membrane-bound organelles. True or False

False

The human body only contains bacteria during illness. True or False

False

Viroid's are naked pieces of DNA that infect plants. True or False

False

Viruses simultaneously contain DNA, RNA, and protein.

False

Recent finding show that ulcers and cardiovascular disease are caused by what microbe?

Helicobacter pylori

Why was Pasteur's work important in ending the controversy over Spontaneous Generation?

His experiments with the swan-necked flask showed concept of air-borne micro-organism contamination. This disproved the thought that un-heated air or broths contained a "vital force".

What percent of microbial species can be grown in the laboratory?

Less than 1%

What were the contributions of: Louis Pasteur in ending the idea of spontaneous generation of microbes?

Louis disproved the "vital force" claim by conducting experiments to analyze air-borne micro-organisms by filtering air through cotton and exposing it to broth, and experiments involving bacteria growing in a swan-necked flask.

What is Rubeola? What is Epidemic parotitis? What is Pertussis?

Measles, Mumps, and Whooping cough. These are re-emerging diseases.

How have microorganisms made the lives of humans comfortable?

Microorganisms have helped in food production (using yeast to ferment beer, yogurt, cheese, adding probiotics to food.), biodegradation (through bioremediation), and biotechnology (using bacteria to synthesize insulin, ethanol, antibiotics.)

Describe the unique characteristics of Bacteria?

prokaryotic, have a nucleoid region with no membrane-bound organelles, cell walls contain peptidoglycan

Describe the unique characteristics of Archaea?

prokaryotic, have no peptidoglycan, and have no membrane-bound organelles. Ususally found in extreme conditions.

What are viroids? Their composition and what diseases does it cause?

short, single pieced of RNA with no protein coating. They are responsible for plant diseases.

What is important about the Golden Age of Microbiology?

1875-1918; when most pathogenic organisms were identified. This identification prompted the development of antibacterials and vaccines.

What are emerging, re-emerging diseases; give examples and the cause for this phenomenon?

New or unidentified diseases, accounted for by lifestyle changes or first-time exposure (moving to the country) (ex. multi-drug resistant malaria, lyme disease, Hep C). Re-emerging diseases are diseases that were under control but have come back because of relaxed view on vaccination, multi-drug resistant diseases, and changes in the characteristics of a population (ex. measles, mumps).

What is the difference between Nomenclature and binomial?

Nomenclature is the naming of an object. Binomial nomenclature is a two-part naming system that consists of a genus and species name.

Bacteria that are present on our skin, in our mouth, digestive tract, urinary tract are called?

Normal microbiota or normal flora

Cell types which Lack membrane bound organelles are characteristics of?

Prokaryotes, bacteria and archae.

Disproved spontaneous generation for "large" organisms

Redi

What were the contributions of: Francesco Redi in ending the idea of spontaneous generation of microbes?

Redi disproved spontaneous generation with his experiment with meat and flies.

What is the Germ Theory of disease and who formulated it?

Robert Koch developed the Germ Theory of disease, which states that specific diseases are caused by specific micro-organisms.

Worldwide vaccination has almost eliminated which disease?

Smallpox, no reported cases since 1977.

What were the contributions of: Father Spallanzani in ending the idea of spontaneous generation of microbes?

Spallanzani concluded that broths could be contaminated by air-borne microorganisms.

Describe the history of the Bubonic plague and smallpox and the cause of this disease

The bubonic plague(from rats) and smallpox( brought to the indians from the spaniards) killed people because they had never been exposed to them before.

What was the idea of Spontaneous Generation?

The idea that life forms can arise from non-living material (ex. worms from meat)

What vital role do microorganisms play in maintaining all life forms on earth?

They convert N2 to forms other organisms can use. Plants produce o2 during photosynthesis, digesting cellulose to prevent organic "pile-up", and digesting cellulose in ruminant animals, and degrading sewage and wastewater.

Viruses, viroids, and prions are obligate intracellular agents. True or False

True

Different broth require different boiling time.

Tyndall

Explain the work of Tyndall and Ferdinand Cohn and why it was significant?

Tyndall and Cohen discovered that different broths need different boiling times to be sterilized. Tyndall discovered that bacteria exists in two forms, ones that are killed by heat, and heat-resistant bacteria. Cohn discovered endospores, and Koch discovered anthrax. This is important because it taught scientists that reproducing experiments must be as close as possible to the original, "trivial" differences are important.

What were the contributions of: John Tyndall in ending the idea of spontaneous generation of microbes?

Tyndall discovered that different broths require specific boiling times, and that their are heat-resisitant and regular bacteria.

Was the first to see microscopic organisms?

Van Leeuwenhoek

Which are the non-living members of the microbial world?

Viruses, viroids, and prions.

Which are the microbial members of the domain Eucarya?

algae, fungi, protozoa, unicellular and multicellular

Describe the unique characteristics of Eucarya?

eukaryotic, have membrane-bound organelles, contain no peptidoglycan, and have nuclear membranes and a nucleus.

How are the names if organisms written in the Binomial System?

genus and species

What are prions? Their composition and what diseases does it cause?

infectious protein, misfolded versions of normal cellular proteins found in the brain which are responsible for chains of misfolded proteins called fibrils, which inhibit normal brain function

What is genetic engineering?

is manipulating organisms for medical, industrial, and research uses.

What is bioremediation?

is using microorganisms to degrade harmful chemicals.

What are viruses? Their composition and what diseases does it cause?

nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) packaged in a protein coating, they kill the cells they multiply in (ex. Flu)