BIOL 2051 Chapter : Chapter 1 Outline
Document Summary
The study of organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye. Some are pathogens but most are harmless or beneficial. Importance: medicine, making antibiotics, controlling disease, agriculture, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, genetically engineered crops, food industry, beer, wine, bread, yogurt, pickles, chocolate, genetic engineering. Insulin, growth hormone, vitamins: crops resistant to pests, heat, pesticides, herbicides, etc, keep us alive, recycle nutrients, produce vitamins, degrade organic matter, cause diseases (most microbes are not pathogenic, hiv, colds, stds, food poisoning, flu. What is a microbe: organism that requires a microscope to be seen, microbial cells size- 0. 2 micrometers to mm; viruses much smaller, contradictions: Super-size cells - thiomargarita namibiensis is size of fruit 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.
