MICROPARA MIDTERM

• Microbial Diversity


  Describes the number of different species of microbes presents and their distribution
• Eukaryotic


  A unicellular or one-celled cell
• Eukaryotic Microbes


  • Algae
  • Fungi
  • Protozoa
  • Lichens
  • Slime moulds
• Algae


  • Photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms
  • Predominantly aquatic, photosynthetic, and nucleus-bearing organisms that lacks the root, stems, leaves and specialized multicellular reproductive structures of plants
• Algae and Protozoa are referred to as protists
• Algae and Protozoa belong to the kingdom Protista
• Phycology/Alcology


  The study of Algae
• Phycologist/ Alcologist


  A person who studies Algae
• Components of Algal cells

  • Cytoplasm
  • Cell Wall
  • Cell Membrane
  • Nucleus
  • Plastids
  • Ribosomes
  • Mitochondria
  • Golgi bodies
• Additional components some Algal cells have

  • Pellicle
  • Stigma
  • Flagella
• Algae


  • Range in size from tiny, unicellular, microscopic organisms to large, multicellular, plantlike seaweeds
  • Not all algae are microorganisms
  • May be arranged in colonies or strands, and are found in fresh water and salt water, in wet soil and on wet rocks
• Protozoa


  • Classified in the second kingdom (Protista)
  • Protozoology - study of protozoa
  • Protozoologist - a person who studies protozoa
  • Most protozoa are single-celled free-living microorganisms
  • Unicellular
  • Ranging in length from 3 to 2,000 um
  • Do not have cell walls, but some including some flagellates and some ciliates, possess a pellicle which serve the same purpose as a cell wall protection
• Protozoa


  • Paramecium
  • Vorticella spp
• Protozoan life cycle


  Consists of two stages
• Trophozoite stage


  • Motile, feeding, dividing stage in a protozoan's life cycle
• Cyst stage


  • Nonmotile, dormant, survival stage
  • Presence of a thick outerwall, like bacterial spores
• Some protozoa are parasites
• Parasitic Protozoa can cause

  • Malaria
  • Giardiasis
  • African Sleeping Sickness
  • Amebic / Ameobic dysentery
• Protozoa classification


  Taxonomically classified by their Mode of Locomotion
• Protozoan movement types


  • Pseudopodia
  • Flagella
  • Cilia
  • Nonmotile
• Pseudopodia


  False feet
• Flagellated protozoa


  • Move by means of whiplike flagella (e.g. trypanosoma, trichomonas, Giardia spp)
• Ciliates


  • Move about by means of large numbers of hairlike cilia on their surfaces
• Nonmotile protozoa


  • Protozoa lacking pseudopodia, flagella, or cilia, classified as sporozoa
• Mycology


  The study of fungi
• Mycologist


  A person who studies fungi
• Fungi


  • Found almost everywhere on earth
  • Saprophytic fungi - living on organic matter in water and soil
  • Parasitic Fungi - living on and within animals and plants
  • Some are harmful and some are beneficial
  • Live on many unlikely materials, causing deterioration of leather and plastics and spoilage of jams, pickles and many other foods
• Beneficial fungi


  • Important in the production of cheeses, beer, wine and other foods
  • Produce certain drugs like the immunosuppressant drugs cyclosporine and antibiotics (penicillin)
• Diverse group of eukaryotic organisms that include

  • Yeasts
  • Moulds
  • Mushrooms
• Saprophytes


  Their main source of food is dead and decaying matter
• Fungi are known as Garbage Disposers of nature and the Vultures of the microbial world and the original Recyclers
• A variety of yeasts and moulds cause human infections known as Mycoses
• Some moulds and fleshy fungi produce mycotoxins, which can cause human diseases called Microbial Intoxications
• Dermatophytes


  The moulds that cause tinea (ringworm) infections
• Lichens


  • Combination of an alga (or cyanobacterium) and a fungus
  • Appear as colored, often circular patches on tree trunks and rocks
• Slime Moulds


  • Found in soils and rotting logs, have both fungal and protozoal characteristics
  • When they run out of food, they fuse together to form a motile, multicellular form known as a slug, 0.5 mm long
• Slime Moulds are classified as protists and fungi
• Microbial Physiology


  The study of the life process of microorganisms
• Physiology


  The study of the vital life process of organisms especially how these processes normally function in living organism
• Nutrients


  The various chemical compounds that organisms - including microorganisms - use to sustain life