MICRO PARA

• Phototroph


  Organism that uses light as an energy source
• Chemotroph


  Organism that uses organic chemical energy as an energy source
• Autotroph


  Organism that uses carbon dioxide as its sole carbon source
• Heterotroph


  Organism that uses organic compounds other than carbon dioxide as its carbon source
• Photoautotroph


  Organism that uses light as an energy source and carbon dioxide as a carbon source
• Chemoheterotroph


  Organism that uses chemical energy as an energy source and organic compounds other than carbon dioxide as a carbon source
• Endoenzyme


  Enzyme produced within a cell that remains within the cell to catalyze reactions
• Exoenzyme


  Enzyme produced within a cell that is then released from the cell to catalyze extracellular reactions
• Plasmid


  Small circular DNA molecule found in bacteria
• 1. factor


  Plasmid that confers resistance to antibiotics
• Superbug


  Bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics
• Mutation


  Permanent change in the DNA sequence
• Mutant


  Organism with a mutation
• Mutagen


  Agent that causes mutations
• Apoenzyme


  Protein that cannot catalyze a chemical reaction on its own
• Coenzyme


  Small organic, vitamin-type molecule that assists an apoenzyme
• Holoenzyme


  Complete enzyme consisting of an apoenzyme and a coenzyme
• Catabolism


  Breakdown of larger molecules into smaller molecules, releasing energy
• Anabolism


  Assembly of smaller molecules into larger molecules, requiring energy
• Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)


  Major energy-storing or energy-carrying molecule within a cell
• Adenosine diphosphate (ADP)


  More stable molecule formed when ATP is hydrolyzed
• Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)


  Emergency energy source formed by removing a phosphate group from ADP
• Biochemical pathway


  Series of linked biochemical reactions that occur in a stepwise manner, leading from a starting material to an end product
• Aerobic respiration


  Complete catabolism of glucose in three phases: glycolysis, Krebs cycle, electron transport chain
• Glycolysis


  Nine-step biochemical pathway that breaks down glucose into two molecules of pyruvic acid
• Microbial physiology is the study of the life processes of microorganisms
• Physiology is the study of the vital life processes of organisms, especially how these processes normally function in living organisms
• All living protoplasm contains six major chemical elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur
• Other elements, usually required in lesser amounts, include sodium, potassium, chlorine, magnesium, calcium, iron, iodine, and some trace elements
• Combinations of all these elements make up the vital macromolecules of life, including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
• Essential nutrients are materials that organisms are unable to synthesize, but are required for the building of macromolecules and sustaining life
• Nutrients refers to the various chemical compounds that organisms—including microorganisms—use to sustain life
• Phototrophs use light as an energy source
• Photosynthesis is the process by which organisms convert light energy into chemical energy
• Chemolithotrophs are organisms that use inorganic chemicals as an energy source
• Chemoorganotrophs are organisms that use organic chemicals as an energy source
• Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and the world around them
• Ecosystem refers to the interactions between living organisms and their nonliving environment
• Interrelationships among the different nutritional types are of prime importance in the functioning of the ecosystem
• Phototrophs (like algae and plants) are the producers of food and oxygen for chemoheterotrophs (such as animals)