Ubiquity of prokaryotes on Earth.
Please answer the questions.
Chapter 1:
Discuss the ubiquity of prokaryotes on Earth.
Identify the three domains of life (Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya) and understand structural and genetic differences between their members; place common microbes correctly in their appropriate domain and on a phylogenetic tree of life.
Identify viruses, viroids, and prions and discuss whether they are indeed non-living members of the microbial world, or if they might perhaps meet the definitions of life.
Discuss the theory of spontaneous generation, including Past******’s experiments that helped refute this theory, and how the existence of endospores yielded conflicting results in experiments conducted to reproduce Past******’s work.
Explain the importance of prokaryotes in the context of both causing diseases and the greater roles they play in benefitting life on the planet, including global nutrient cycling, bases of food chains in ecosystems, bioremediation, etc. as well as human uses in food production, synthesizing com********s, etc.
Compare and contrast the benefits provided by microbes with the devastating impacts of certain disease-causing microbes.
Define and provide examples of emerging diseases, and understand their causes.
Chapter 3:
Understand the two basic cell designs (prokaryotic, eukaryotic) and the structural similarities and differences of each, including presence or absence of organelles and other components.
Understand the principles of light microscopy, including magnification, resolution, and contrast, as well as the principles underlying oil immersion.
Realize that an electron microscope operates on principles similar to that of a light microscope.
Understand that other types of microscopes exist.
Discuss the use of staining to enhance contrast of bacterial etc. structures, and the use of simple and differential staining techniques, especially the Gram stain.
Explain what the Gram stain reveals in terms of fundamental cell structure.
Explain how single celled bacteria can act in concert via quorum sensing as well as biofilm formation.
Explain the importance of capsules and slime layers in disease and biofilm formation.
Explain the importance of chemotaxis and how it works in bacteria.
Discuss the structure and function of the plasma membrane, including tran************pass************tive) as well concepts involving diffusion, osmosis, and tonicity of solutions.
Chapter 4:
Explain how bacteria grow by binary fission, and discuss the ramifications of this in terms of potential to cause disease.
Explain different forms of growth (e.g., biofilms, mixed communities, biofilms) and how conditions may differ for bacteria depending on location and other factors.
Discuss how scientists study prokaryotes, including enrichment cultures, direct sequencing, and how the vast majority of prokaryotes have not been identified.
Compare and contrast closed and open (continuous cultures) growth, colony growth, and the growth curve.
Identify environmental factors that influence microbial growth including temperature requirements, oxygen requirements, pH, and water availability.
Identify nutritional factors that influence microbial growth including required elements, growth factors, and energy sources.
Identify organisms in terms of their energy and carbon needs.
Discuss types of culture media, including chemically defined and complex, and their appropriate uses.
Compare and contrast selective and differential media and their uses.
Identify methods to detect bacteria including direct cell counts (microscopic count, flow cytometer), viable cell counts (dilution series followed by plate counts), and turbidity (spectrophotometer) and their appropriate uses and limitations.
Chapter 5:
Discuss considerations involved in deciding appropriate strategies for control, including the variety of situations and locations encountered, the type and numbers of microbes, environmental conditions, potential risk of infection, and composition of the item.
Explain the use of past******ization, autoclaves, dry heat, and ultraviolet and other radiation, and recognize there are numerous possible chemical control approaches that can impact proteins, nucleic acids, and membranes.
Explain how sugar and salt preserve by reducing water availability, and how lyophilization, refrigerators, and freezing are used to preserve food.
Chapter 6:
Define metabolism and its two components: catabolism and anabolism.
Compare and contrast the actions of photosynthesis and aerobic respiration.
Define organisms based on their energy source and carbon source.
Define exergonic and endergonic reactions, and explain how these relate to catabolic and anabolic reactions.
Summarize the three primary benefits of central metabolic pathways: ATP, reducing power, and precursor metabolites (carbon intermediates).
Summarize an overview of glycolysis, the TCA cycle, and respiration, and understand the rel******** amount********energy (ATP, reducing power) generated by each.
Explain the purpose of fermentation in terms of regenerating finite supplies of NAD+ and why an organism might use fermentation to continue glycolysis for ATP production.
Explain the electron transport chain and how chemiosmosis generates ATP via ATP synthase, relying on the return of protons via the proton motive force.
Define and describe enzymes, including competitive and non-competitive inhibition.
Explain how metabolic pathways involve enzymes and how allosteric regulation can control the output of a pathway.
Explain the importance of carbon intermediates in terms of cells building up macromolecules (e.g., E. coli growing on glucose plus minimal salts media) and how cells can similarly (but in reverse) break down a variety of macromolecules in order to introduce their components into the central metabolic pathways.
Discuss the importance and extent of the metabolic diversity of bacteria and archaea (alternate sources of energy and carbon etc.) as compared with the third domain of life.
Explain how prokaryotes are involved in critical functions such as nitrogen fixation, photosynthesis (including alternatives to the Calvin cycle), and related processes.
Predict the impact on the domain Eukarya if both Bacteria and Archaea did not exist.
Place Bacteria and Archaea in a historical context as represented on a phylogenetic tree, and understand the important role they played as life evolved on the planet and how they relate to other organisms studied.
