Study Guide for Unit 1
Chapter 1
1. List and describe the various types of microorganisms.
- Bacteria (80% of the time, prokaryotic, unicellular, diverse energy and carbon
sources)
- Archaea (prokaryotic, unicellular, lack peptidoglycan, located in extreme
environments ex. Methanogens, halophiles, thermophiles, and acidophils)
- Fungi (Eukaryotic, molds and mushrooms = multicellular, yeast = unicellular)
- Protozoa (Eukaryotic, unicellular)
- Algae (Eukaryotic, unicellular OR multicellular)
- Viruses and Prions (not alive no DNA and RNA one or the other and they have 0
metabolism) (NO CELLS)
2. Compare these microorganisms on the basis of whether they are prokaryotic or
eukaryotic, unicellular or multicellular, cell wall structure, and energy acquisition.
- Prokaryotic cells (no true nucleus, DNA is NOT bound by a membrane, binary cell
division, 70s ribosome, NO membranous organelles)
- Eukaryotic (TRUE nucleus, enclosed by nuclear membrane, membranous organelles,
mitosis or meiosis for cell division , 80s ribosome, larger than prokaryotic cells)
- Unicellular - Unicellular organisms are made up of only one cell that carries out all of
the functions needed by the organism
- Multicellular (multicellular organisms use many different cells to function)
- Cell wall structure (provides tensile strength and protection against mechanical and
osmotic stress)
- Energy acquisition (important for all living organisms to grow, reproduce, and move)
,3. Describe the roles and impacts of microbes on the earth.
- The most significant effect of the microbes on earth is their ability to recycle the
primary elements that make up all living systems, especially carbon, oxygen, and
nitrogen (N). Primary production involves photosynthetic organisms which take up
CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it to organic (cellular) material
4. Explain the ways that humans manipulate organisms for their own uses.
- selective breeding, hybridization, genetic engineering, cloning, tissue culture, and
artificial selection
5. Summarize the relative burden of human disease caused by microbes.
- Estimated 10 billion new infections each year
6. Differentiate among prokaryotic microorganisms (bacteria, archaea) and eukaryotic
microorganisms.
- In question 1
7. Identify two acellular infectious agents that are studied in microbiology.
- Viruses and prions
8. Compare the relative sizes of the different microbes.
- Prions = nm
- Viruses = nm
- Bacteria/archae = um
- Protozoa/fungi = um-mm
- Helminths = mm
9. Recall four features common to all cells.
- Plasma membrane
- Cytoplasm
- DNA
- Ribosomes
, 10.Create a mnemonic device for remembering the taxonomic categories.(domain,
kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species)
- Dear King Phillip Came Over For Good Soup
11.Correctly write the binomial name for a microorganism.
- Scientific name is a combination of the genus and species names
- Scientific names are italicized when they are written in print and underlined when
they are written by hand
- When the name is abbreviated, the genus name is abbreviated to the first initial
followed by a period and the full species name is written E. coli
12.Differentiate the three major domains.
- Bacteria = single circular chromosomes, 70S ribosomes, has RNA sequences, no
protein synthesis, peptidoglycan cell wall, cytoplasm membrane contains fatty acids,
no nucleus bound membrane organelles
- Archaea = single circular chromosomes, contains RNA sequences, 70s ribosomes,
positive in protein synthesis, no peptidoglycan cell wall, long chained branched
hydrocarbons with ether linkages, no nucleus bound membrane organelles
- Eukarya = multiple linear chromosomes, 80s ribosome, contains RNA sequences,
Protein synthesis, no peptidoglycan, fatty acids with ester linkages, positive in sterols
in membrane, has nucleus membrane bound organelles
13.Explain the difference between traditional and molecular approaches to taxonomy.
- Traditional Taxonomy - began with Carl von Linn who used Morphology (shape and
structures) to classify and name organisms.
- Molecular approaches include using rRNA sequences to put organisms into domains
and using Genome sequences to classify organisms that are more alike in their
genome compared to their morphology.
Chapter 1
1. List and describe the various types of microorganisms.
- Bacteria (80% of the time, prokaryotic, unicellular, diverse energy and carbon
sources)
- Archaea (prokaryotic, unicellular, lack peptidoglycan, located in extreme
environments ex. Methanogens, halophiles, thermophiles, and acidophils)
- Fungi (Eukaryotic, molds and mushrooms = multicellular, yeast = unicellular)
- Protozoa (Eukaryotic, unicellular)
- Algae (Eukaryotic, unicellular OR multicellular)
- Viruses and Prions (not alive no DNA and RNA one or the other and they have 0
metabolism) (NO CELLS)
2. Compare these microorganisms on the basis of whether they are prokaryotic or
eukaryotic, unicellular or multicellular, cell wall structure, and energy acquisition.
- Prokaryotic cells (no true nucleus, DNA is NOT bound by a membrane, binary cell
division, 70s ribosome, NO membranous organelles)
- Eukaryotic (TRUE nucleus, enclosed by nuclear membrane, membranous organelles,
mitosis or meiosis for cell division , 80s ribosome, larger than prokaryotic cells)
- Unicellular - Unicellular organisms are made up of only one cell that carries out all of
the functions needed by the organism
- Multicellular (multicellular organisms use many different cells to function)
- Cell wall structure (provides tensile strength and protection against mechanical and
osmotic stress)
- Energy acquisition (important for all living organisms to grow, reproduce, and move)
,3. Describe the roles and impacts of microbes on the earth.
- The most significant effect of the microbes on earth is their ability to recycle the
primary elements that make up all living systems, especially carbon, oxygen, and
nitrogen (N). Primary production involves photosynthetic organisms which take up
CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it to organic (cellular) material
4. Explain the ways that humans manipulate organisms for their own uses.
- selective breeding, hybridization, genetic engineering, cloning, tissue culture, and
artificial selection
5. Summarize the relative burden of human disease caused by microbes.
- Estimated 10 billion new infections each year
6. Differentiate among prokaryotic microorganisms (bacteria, archaea) and eukaryotic
microorganisms.
- In question 1
7. Identify two acellular infectious agents that are studied in microbiology.
- Viruses and prions
8. Compare the relative sizes of the different microbes.
- Prions = nm
- Viruses = nm
- Bacteria/archae = um
- Protozoa/fungi = um-mm
- Helminths = mm
9. Recall four features common to all cells.
- Plasma membrane
- Cytoplasm
- DNA
- Ribosomes
, 10.Create a mnemonic device for remembering the taxonomic categories.(domain,
kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species)
- Dear King Phillip Came Over For Good Soup
11.Correctly write the binomial name for a microorganism.
- Scientific name is a combination of the genus and species names
- Scientific names are italicized when they are written in print and underlined when
they are written by hand
- When the name is abbreviated, the genus name is abbreviated to the first initial
followed by a period and the full species name is written E. coli
12.Differentiate the three major domains.
- Bacteria = single circular chromosomes, 70S ribosomes, has RNA sequences, no
protein synthesis, peptidoglycan cell wall, cytoplasm membrane contains fatty acids,
no nucleus bound membrane organelles
- Archaea = single circular chromosomes, contains RNA sequences, 70s ribosomes,
positive in protein synthesis, no peptidoglycan cell wall, long chained branched
hydrocarbons with ether linkages, no nucleus bound membrane organelles
- Eukarya = multiple linear chromosomes, 80s ribosome, contains RNA sequences,
Protein synthesis, no peptidoglycan, fatty acids with ester linkages, positive in sterols
in membrane, has nucleus membrane bound organelles
13.Explain the difference between traditional and molecular approaches to taxonomy.
- Traditional Taxonomy - began with Carl von Linn who used Morphology (shape and
structures) to classify and name organisms.
- Molecular approaches include using rRNA sequences to put organisms into domains
and using Genome sequences to classify organisms that are more alike in their
genome compared to their morphology.
