Microbiology Basics
Specialized area of biology dealing with organisms too small to see with the naked eye.
What is microbiology?
These microbes do not have cellular structure.
What are viruses and prions
Microbes break down dead matter and waste.
What is decomposition?
This subfield monitors and controls disease spread in communities.
What is public health microbiology and epidemiology?
This term refers to organisms or particles that cause disease.
What are pathogens?
These organisms are too small to be seen without a microscope.
What are microorganisms (microbes)?
Major group of cellular microorganisms that includes bacteria, archaea, and protozoa.
What are Bacteria, Archaea, Fungi, Protozoa, and Helminths?
Microbes have been used for thousands of years to make bread, beer, and wine.
What are traditional uses of microorganisms?
This area uses microbes to produce food, drugs, and other products.
What is industrial microbiology?
Only a minority of microbes are harmful; many are helpful, such as those in the human microbiome.
What are beneficial microbes?
Only a small minority of these microbes cause disease.
What are pathogens?
Microbes like bacteria and algae contribute most of the Earth’s oxygen through this process.
What is photosynthesis?
his method alters the genetics of microbes to create new products.
What is recombinant DNA technology?
This subfield studies microbes in relation to farm animals and crops.
What is agricultural microbiology?
This group lacks cellular structure but can still cause disease by invading cells.
What are viruses?
This term refers to the scientific naming system that uses genus and species.
What is binomial nomenclature?
These prokaryotic microorganisms lack a nucleus and include bacteria and archaea.
What are prokaryotes
Microorganisms help recycle nutrients by breaking down dead plants and animals.
What is decomposition
This subfield focuses on microorganisms that cause disease.
What is medical microbiology?
These pathogens cause disease primarily when the immune system is weakened.
What are opportunistic pathogens?
This tool is essential for observing most microorganisms.
What is a microscope?
These multicellular parasitic organisms are studied in microbiology even though they are visible to the naked eye.
What are helminths?
Some microbes live in or on the human body and help with digestion and immune function.
What are beneficial (normal) microbiota?
This area of microbiology studies microorganisms in natural environments such as soil and water.
What is environmental microbiology?
This term describes the ability of a pathogen to cause disease.
What is virulence?