BIOL 2051 Chapter : Chapter1 Lecture Outline Fall10
Document Summary
What is a microbe: organism that requires microscopes to be seen, microbial cells size- 0. 2 um 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. Prokaryotes: bacteria, e. coli, archaea, extreme environments. Eukaryotes: algae, photosynthetic, protists, watery environment, fungi. Microbes shape human history: microbes affect food availability. Some destroy crops (corn rust, late blight- irish potato famine) Some make foods (beer, bread, cheese: microbial diseases change history. Black plague in europe killed 1/3 population in 14th century. More soldiers have died from infections, than from battle wounds. Florence nightingale convinced british govt to improve army living conditions & upgrade army hospital standards. Light microscope invented in 1600"s: mid-1600s: robert hooke observes small eukaryotes with compound microscope.
