BIOL 2051 Chapter : Chapter 1 Lecture Outline
Document Summary
The study of organisms too small to see with the naked eye. Microorganisms are everywhere: our body, foods, environment industry. Importance: medicine, making antibiotics, controlling disease, agriculture, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, genetically engineered crops, food industry, yeast, beer, bread, yogurt, pickles, chocolate, genetic engineering. Insulin, growth hormone, vitamins: crops resistant to pest, heat, pesticides, herbicides, keep us alive, recycle nutrients, produce vitamins, degrade organic matter, cause diseases (most microbes are not pathogenic, hiv, colds, std"s, food poisoning, flu. Microbiologists study: bacteria, viruses, protozoans, fungi, algae, diatoms, etc. What is a microbe: organism that requires microscope to be seen, microbial cells size- 0. 2um to mm, viruses much smaller, contradictions: Super-size cells - thiomargarita namibiensis is size of fuit fly head. Microbial communities in biofilms microbes have specialized functions & act as multicellular organism. Viruses are non-cellular- considered to be microbes but are not fully functional cells: 6 major groups studied by microbiologists. Microbes shape human history: microbes affect food availability.
