microbiology

• What system is used for classifying organisms?

  Taxonomic rank system
• What are the four growth stages in microbial growth?

  Lag, log, stationary, death phases
• What is microbiology concerned with?

  Study of microscopic living organisms
• Which organisms are primarily focused on in microbiology?

  Bacteria and viruses
• Are viruses considered living organisms?

  No, they are not living
• What essential roles do microbes play?

  Nutrient cycling, biodegradation, climate change
• How can microbes be exploited in medicine?

  Development of medication and vaccines
• What does the acronym KPCOFGS stand for?

  Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
• What is the binomial system of classification?

  Two names: genus and species
• How should genus and species names be formatted?

  Genus capitalized, species lowercase, italicized
• What is the process of microbial growth?

  Increase in size or number of organisms
• What does metabolism refer to in microbial growth?

  Chemical reactions within an organism
• How do bacteria and fungi reproduce?

  Asexually through budding and fission
• What is budding in microbial reproduction?

  Formation of an outward growth that detaches
• What is fission in microbial reproduction?

  Parent cell divides to produce daughter cells
• How is bacterial growth visible on solids?

  As colonies on a Petri dish
• How is bacterial growth observed in liquid cultures?

  By increasing turbidity of the growth media
• How do fungi typically grow?

  As filaments called hyphae
• What are the four stages of microbial growth in a closed system liquid culture?

  1. Lag phase: No growth, cells adapt
  2. Log phase: Exponential growth, population doubles
  3. Stationary phase: Growth levels off due to limiting factors
  4. Death phase: Cells die off, population decreases
• What is colony counting in measuring growth?

  Counting viable bacteria on Petri dish
• What is microscopy used for in measuring growth?

  Using light microscope and haemocytometer
• What does spectrophotometric absorbance measure?

  Light absorption by a sample
• What defines microbial death?

  Inability to metabolize and reproduce
• What is viability in microbial terms?

  Ability to develop and reproduce
• How do dead cells appear on culture media?

  Fail to produce visible colonies
• What is the dormancy phase in microbes?

  Waiting for suitable environmental conditions
• What is a pathogenic microorganism?

  One that can cause infection
• What are spores in fungi?

  Single-celled units of reproduction
• What is germination in fungi?

  Growth from a spore or seed
• What type of cells are bacteria?

  Prokaryotic cells
• What genetic material do bacteria have?

  Single, circular bacterial chromosome
• How are bacteria classified by shape?

  Spherical, rod-shaped, spiral
• What happens to Gram-positive bacteria during staining?

  Retain purple color after staining
• What happens to Gram-negative bacteria during staining?

  Lose purple color, turn red
• What do Gram-positive bacteria produce?

  Exotoxins
• What do Gram-negative bacteria produce?

  Endotoxins
• What are bacterial spores also known as?

  Endospores
• What is the function of bacterial spores?

  Survival mechanism for unfavorable conditions
• What are viruses classified as?

  Infectious particles
• Why are viruses not considered living?

  They have no cells and need hosts