BIOL 2051 Chapter : MICRO Ch1
Document Summary
Study of organisms too small to see with the naked eye. Some are pathogens but most are harmless or beneficial. Importance: medicine, making antibiotics, controlling diseases, penicillium, streptomyces, agriculture, nitrogen-fixing bacteria: e. g. rhizobium, genetically engineered crops, food industry, yeast in 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 disease (most microbes are not pathogenic, hiv, colds, std"s, food poisoning, flu. Bacteria, viruses, protozoans, fungi, algae, diatoms (algae with a silica glass shell), etc. What is a microbe: organism that requires a microscope to be seen, microbial cells size- . 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.
