Microbiology Chapter 1
Microorganisms ✔✔Organisms that are too small to be seen with the unaided eye
Germ ✔✔Rapidly growing cell
Pathogenic ✔✔Disease-causing
What are some good things that microbes do? ✔✔
1. Decompose organic waste (Without them we'd have too much waste)
2. They are producers in the ecosystem by photosynthesis
3. They produce industrial chemicals such as ethanol and acetone
4. Produce fermented foods such as vinegar, cheese, and bread.
5. Produce products used in manufacturing and treatment (insulin)
6. Create Designer Jeans
What does the knowledge of microorganisms allow humans to do? ✔✔1. Prevent food spoilage
2. Prevent disease occurrence (prevention by understanding them)
3. Led to aseptic techniques to prevent contamination in meds and in labs
What are aseptic techniques? ✔✔Techniques that keeps thing sterile and avoids cross contamination to
prevent spread
Who established the system of scientific nomenclature? ✔✔Linnaeus
Each organism has two names, what are these two names called? ✔✔The Genus and the Species (aka
specific epithet)
How do scientific names differ from other names? ✔✔Scientific names are italicized or underlined.
Also, the genus is capitalized which the species is lower case. (Ex. E.coli) Scientific names are latinized
and used worldwide and can be very descriptive or they can honor a scientist.
What is Escherichia coli and how did it get that name? ✔✔Escherichia coli is also known as E.coli.
E.coli honors the discoverer, Theodor Escherich, and describes the habitat of the E.coli which is in the
large intestine or colon (coli).
What is Staphylococcus aureus and how did it get that name? ✔✔Staphylococcus aureus describes the
arrangement of the bacterium which is: clustered (staphylo) spperical (cocci) cells, Along with the gold
color of the bacterium's colonies (aureus).
How are scientific names used when writing a paper or a lab report? ✔✔After the first use, scientific
names may be abbreviated with the first letter of the genus and the specific epithet.
