Test 2 – Microbiology Test Questions – Flashcards
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Microbial Growth |
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Increase in number of cells, not cell size |
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Physical Growth Requirements |
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temperature, pH, osmotic pressure |
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Psychrophiles |
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Like to grow in the cold (-10 to -20 C) |
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Psychotrophs |
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Not used in general microbiology, used for food spoilage |
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Mesophiles |
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Moderate temperature loving (10 to 50 C) |
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Thermophiles |
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Like it hot (40 to 70 C) |
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Hyperthermophiles |
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LOOOOVVEEE heat (70 to 110 C) Usually archea, not bactera. Above boiling point. |
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Optimum temperature for most bacteria |
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37 C |
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Optimum pH level |
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6.5-7.5 |
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acidophiles |
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pH tolerant, grow at low pH |
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alkalinity |
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inhibits microbial growth , but is rarely used |
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phosophate salts |
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used as buffers for most bacteria. non-toxic and provide phosphorus which we need. |
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osmotic pressure |
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physical growth requirement use to lyse or shrink cells |
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plasmolysis |
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when the plasma membrane in cytoplasm shrinks up due to the high salt concentration in solution causing water to rush out of cell |
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bacteria and lysis |
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most bacteria resist due to rigid cell wall |
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obligate |
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require a certain item (salt, oxygen, etc.) to grow |
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facultative |
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do NOT require item (oxygen, water, etc.) to grow, but can tolerate it |
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halophiles |
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love salt and are obligate. mostly archea. red or pink color. |
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Chemical Requirements |
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Carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, trace elements, organic growth factor, and oxygen |
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Carbon |
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source of energy. "structural backbone of all living matter". help to grow other organic materials. |
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Nitrogen |
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Used for enzymes, amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids |
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Sulfur |
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Used to make cystine (amino acids) to form di-sulfide bonds for structure of proteins |
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phophorus |
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used for ATP, backbone of RNA/DNA, NEED IN LARGE QUANTITIES |
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trace elements |
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cofactors, inorganic, need in small amounts. includes iron, copper, molybedenum, and zinc |
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Organic growth factor |
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vitamins, cofactors, need in small amounts |
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oxygen |
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only to some microbes is oxygen important |
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obligate aerobes |
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oxygen is required for growth |
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facultative aerobes |
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growth in the presence of oxygen is best, but do not need it to grow |
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obligate anaerobes |
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must live without oxygen |
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aerotolerant anaerobes |
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tolerate some oxygen, but not much. growth occurs evenly. |
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microaerophiles |
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oxygen require in low concentration |
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biofilms |
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communities of microbial organisms that live on hard sufaces |
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biofilm community |
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produce slime like capsule, share nutrients, and are sheltered from harm. communicate through quorum sensing. |
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biofilms found in/on |
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teeth, contact lenses, catheters, mechanical heart valves, etc. |
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culture medium |
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nutrient material used to grow microorganisms on in a lab |
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inoculum |
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microbes introduced into culture medium to initiate growth |
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culture |
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microbes that grow or multiply on the culture medium |
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agar |
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complex polysaccharide that is used because baceria cannot metabolize. comes in a power form, but liquefies at 100C and solidifies at 40C |
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chemically defined media |
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exact chemical composition is known |
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complex media |
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varies from batch to batch. extracts and digests of yeasts, meat, or plants. Nutrient agar or nutrient broth. |
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selective media |
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done by chemicals, salts, dyes. Encourage growth of desired microbes and suppresses growth of unwanted microbes. |
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differential media |
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distinguishes between colones of different microbes |
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anaerobic culture methods |
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reducing media: contains chemicals (thioglycolate or oxyrase) that combine oxygen. Anaerobic chamber, anaerobic jar, or oxyplate. |
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living animal culture |
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can only grow about 1% of bacteria that we know of in lab so must grow some on living animals. ex: armadillos to study lepresy. |
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capnophiles |
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microbes that require high co2 conditions such as in the lungs or GI tract. CO2 packet or jar, or special incubator with CO2 tank |
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Biosafety Level 1 |
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Trained microbiologist there at all times, low risk |
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Biosafety Level 2 |
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Ex: hepatitis, influenza. Moderate-high risk. Anything genetically modified. |
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Biosafety Level 3 |
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Serious or potentially lethal diseases, but treatments available. Ex: SARS, TB, anthrax. Cabinets to prevent airborne transmission. |
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Biosafety Level 4 |
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dangerous, exotic, fatal diseases with no cure. Ex: hemmarhogic fever, small pox. Sealed, negative pressure. |
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Biosafety Level Labs |
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15 in US most government or military run labs. Kstate has one, 2-3 texas, mainly east cost, few in canada. |
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pure cultures |
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no contaminants |
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dilute culture |
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do until one isolated colony that has grown from one bacteria |
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deep freezing |
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preserve bacterial cultures by putting in cold storage that is -50 to -95 |
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lyophilization (freeze-drying) |
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frozen -54 to -72 and dehydrated in a vacuum. (mix with media and put on plate) 2 years max. |
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ultra low freezer |
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preserving bacterial cultures for an indefinite time. |
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binary fission |
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no phases. primary method of division for prokaryotes. elongates, constricts, cross-wall forms, cells separate. |
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generation time |
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time it requires for an individual cell or group of cells to undergo binary fission. usually very fast in bacteria. |
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growth curve |
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can plot as number or logrhythmic scale. |
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lag phase |
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little or no cell division |
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log phase |
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exponential growth |
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stationary phase |
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nutrients are being depleted, some cells are dying |
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death phase |
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more cells dying than being produced |
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measure microbial growth |
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plate count, most probable number, direct microscopic count, turbidity |
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serial dilutions (for plate count methods) |
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dilute each tube of broth by a factor of 10. pull out 1ml from each tube and place in next one. |
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plate count |
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not used that often. pour diluted solution on plate and count colonies |
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most probable number |
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use statistical table. used for environmental samples ex: tap water |
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direct microscopic count |
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quickest way, but not the easiest. microscope slide with measure grid on it and count cells in squares times by volume in that area. differs for each slide |
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turbidity |
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easiest method. using spectrophotometers, shine light through control which gives absorbance number then go to table. must know the species. |
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sterilization |
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removing of all contaminants |
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sepsis |
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any sort of microbial contamination |
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asepsis |
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careful, remaining sterility. a disinfectant treated at living tissue. |
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disinfection |
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for non-living surfaces |
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antisepsis |
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destroy things on living tissues |
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degerming |
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mechanical removal of microbes ex: washing hands |
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sterilant |
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a sterilizing agent |
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commercial sterilization |
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limited heat treatment |
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biocide/germicide |
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designed to kill germs. -cide meangs kill |
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bacteriostasis |
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inhibiting microbial growth and multiplication |
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factors influencing effectiveness of antimicrobial treatments |
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number of microbes, environmental influences, time of exposure, and microbial characteristics |
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alteration of membrane permeability |
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cellular contents leak into surrounding medium and interferes with growth |
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damage to proteins and nucleic acids |
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denature proteins. DNA and RNA destroyed and can't replicate or metabolize. |
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heat |
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boiling, autoclavin, can have wet and dry |
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thermal death point (TDP) |
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lowest temperature at which all the microorganisms in a particular liquid suspension will be killed in 10 minutes |
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filter sterilize |
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filtration, physically removing, not killing |
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autoclave |
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steam under pressure to sterilize culture media, instruments, dressings, etc. |
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low temperatures |
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inhibit growth |
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high pressure |
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denature proteins |
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direct flaming |
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dry heat sterilization |
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hot-air sterilization |
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dry heat.. oven |
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dessication |
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inhibits growth, viruses can be destroyed, drying out process |
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osmotic pressure |
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plasmolysis. cell shrinks inside cell wall to inhibit growth. |
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radiation |
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wavelength, intensity, duration are all factors. ex: blue light, UV lamps |
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radiant energy spectrum |
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gamma rays, x rays, uv, visible light, infrared, microwaves, radio waves |
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ionizing radiation |
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gamma rays, x rays, or high-energy electron beams have shorter wavelengths but carries much more energy |
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nonionizing radiation |
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wavelength longer |
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phenol |
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local anesthesia ex: throat sprays. irritation properties that injure plasma membrane. active ingredient is lysol. good at killing mycobacterium. |
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bisphenol |
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2 phenols together, lessens irritation effects, used in lotions for NICU. tryclosan in cutting boards and kitchen utencils. |
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halogens |
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iodine and chlorine. denatures proteins. used in wound treatments. 2-4 drops of bleach to h20 per gallon to treat it |
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alcohols |
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dissolve lipids and denature proteins. evaporate quickly and leave no residue. need water to work properly. |
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heavy metals |
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silver, mercury, copper, zing. denature proteins. starting to put silver in athletic wear and military uniforms. copper in interior paint. |
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surface-active agents |
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soap. mechanical removal. emulsifying oils wash away germs. quats disrupts cytoplasmic membrane. |
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chemical food preservatives |
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inhibit growth of fungal microbes. nitrates preserved red color in meat and prevents germination of botulism. |
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nitrates |
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thought to be carcinogens |
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antibiotics |
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added to preserve food-Nisin and Natmycin. Most often used in cheeses. |
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aldehydes |
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formaldehyde-usually used to preserve animals to prevent decay. most effective disinfectants and they are carcinogenic and can become allergic. |
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chemical sterilization |
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ethylene oxide gas to sterilize equipment, can be done at low temperatures. Takes a long time, but used for big things and can penetrate deeply unlike steam in autoclave. |
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quats |
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most widely used surface-active agents in cationic detergents. clean cation portion of molecule. |
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plasmas |
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gas (4th state of matter) ionized gases. sterilizing plastics, catheters, endoscopy instruments. |
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supercritical fluids |
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compress CO2 so has a liquid and gas properties at the same time and at low temps |
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forms of oxygen |
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hydrogen peroxide, ozone, oxidized messes with metabolism and form free radicals. |
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genetics |
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the study of what genes are, how they carry information, how information is expressed, and how genes are replicated |
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gene |
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a segment of DNA that encodes a functional product, usually a protein |
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chromosome |
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structure containing DNA that physically carries hereditary information; the chromosomes contain the genes. aka chromatin/chromatids |
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genome |
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all the genetic information in a cell |
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genomics |
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the molecular study of genomes |
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genotype |
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the genes of an organism (italicized) |
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phenotype |
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expression of the genes (not italicized) |
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model organism |
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e. coli. most of what we know comes from studying e. coli. |
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supercoiling |
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coil DNA up until it starts to coil on top of each and twisting together called a coiled coil. way to organized and pack DNA into cell |
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central dogma of molecular biology |
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DNA transcribed into RNA translated to protein |
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polymer of nucleotides |
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adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine |
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"backbone" of DNA |
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deoxyribose-phosphate |
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strands of DNA |
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held together by hydrogen bonds between A-T and C-G |
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nucleotides bonded |
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covalently links to one another by phosphate-5-carbon bond |
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A-T hydrogen bonds |
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2 |
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C-G hydrogen bonds |
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3 |
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anitparallel |
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mirror images, run in opposite directions. important in dna replication because machinery runs in one directions |
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DNA replication runs from |
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5 prime to 3 prime |
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semiconservative replication |
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each strand of parent DNA as a template to make daughter cells |
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DNA is copied by |
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DNA polymerase |
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initiate DNA copying |
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RNA primer |
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leading DNA strand synthesized |
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continuously |
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lagging strand synthesized |
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discontinuously |
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okazaki fragments |
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from lagging strand. short fragments of discontinuously synthesized strands |
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proofreading |
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done by DNA polymerase to make sure everything is right. only 1 in 10 to the tenth is wrong |
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all 40 million bases can be copies in |
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40 minutes |
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replication bubble |
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two replication forks. where polymerase does its job. runs in different directions to replicate. |
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at replication fork |
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unzipping of DNA molecule. DNA polymerase sits on leading strand and replicates new DNA strand |
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transcription |
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using DNA as a template to make RNA |
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no thymine, just urosil |
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transcription |
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promoter |
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recognition codon telling DNA polymerase where to dock and unwind to access sequence |
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terminator |
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recognition codon telling DNA polymerase "you are done" |
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codons and amino acids number |
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64 codons and 20 amino acids. Gives a level of protection |
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start codon |
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AUG |
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stop codons |
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UAA, UAG, UGA |
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"wobble" position |
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third position of codon because sometimes almost anything can go there and can get the right code still |
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eukaryotes transcription separated by |
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space and time |
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simultaneous transcription |
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happens at the same time, no separation. unique about prokaryotes. makes bacteria effecient and can respond to environmental conditions quickly. |
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translation |
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initiation, elongation, termination |
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a site |
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docking point where the tRNA is attached with an amino acid |
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p site |
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where codon shifts down after a site |
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e site |
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exit site |
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constitutive genes |
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expressed at a fixed rate ex: genes for glucose catabolism. ALWAYS TURNED ON |
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genes expressed only as needed |
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respressible, inducible, and catabolite respression genes |
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operon |
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a group of coordinately regulated structural genes with related metabolic functions plus promoter and operator site that controls their transcription |
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external signal |
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inducer; enters cell and binds with repressor at secondary bind site causing it to change shape and leave operator so structural genes can be made |
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induction |
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deals with lacoperon and site using glucose or lactose |
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lacoperon |
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usually turned off. want to use glucose, not lactose if glucose is present |
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normal state |
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when lactose is not present |
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lactose |
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inducer (allolactose) when present |
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respression |
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repressor operon is always turned on unless something is present ot urn it off. helps cell regulate production of something to conserve energy. |
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catabolite respression |
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need lactose and no glucose for this to work. control expression of the genes. |
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CAP (catabolic activator protein) |
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always present in cell, but inactive. needs cAMP to become active |
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cAMP |
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acts as an alarm when something is wrong, only produced when glucose runs out. actives CAP |
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glucose vs. lactose |
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glucose always expressed and what e. coli wants to use first. lactose will not turn on repressor until all of the glucose is used. |
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mutation |
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a change in the genetic material. may be neutral, beneficial, or harmful. two basic types: point and insertion/deletion |
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mutagen |
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agent that causes mutations |
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spontaneous mutations |
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occur in the absence of a mutagen ex: transcription errors |
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base substitution |
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change in a single nucleotide |
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result of base substitution |
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1. mess up composition of amino acids, nothing messed up down or up stream. 2. change codon to a nonsense/stop codon. messes everything up down stream and can be detrimental/harmful |
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deletions and insertions |
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inserting or deleting genetic material. results in framshifts problems |
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result of deletions and insertions |
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changes entire sequence by shifting reading frame up or down. VERY DETRIMENTAL. changes the entire protein. |
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causes of mutations |
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uv light, radiation, cigarette smoke, chemical, chemicals in fried foods, oil spills |
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unintentional exposure to mutagens |
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most exposure is unintentional in everyday life. pie chart. |
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frequency of mutation |
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spontaneous mutation is 1 in a billion replicated base pairs or 1 in a million replicated genes |
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low rate of spontaneous mutation |
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beneficial because provides genetic variability |
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photoreactivation repair |
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uses enzyme-phoyolyase-uses energy of sun to be activated to repair. like self-checking system. only in prokaryotes. |
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nucleotide excision repair |
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"dark repair" don't need sun (uv light) dimers are out and replaced by DNA polymerase |
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mismatch repair |
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DNA polymerase proofreads hydrogen bonds and fixes ones that are wrong |
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xeroderma pigmentosum |
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system that is used to repair mutations gets a mutation itself causing mutations to increases. can't be exposed to uv light. |
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identifying mutants |
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detection by phenotype |
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positive selection |
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detecting mutants by physiology. find mutant this is resistant to antibiotic from mutation you introduced. |
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negative selection |
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replication plating, look for nutritional deficiency, comparitive, time consuming |
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Ames Test for Chemical Carcinogens |
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quality control assurances, find out if carcinogen or not, used to use animals, but ow use bacteria that already contain mutation, used by rx companies |
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genetic transfer and recombination |
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ways bacteria can introduce a level of genetic diversity to community to become resistant to antibiotics and develop unusual metabolism |
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vertical gene transfer |
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growth and reproduction. parent cell to daughter cells, normal cell growth process |
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horizontal gene transfer |
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transfer of genetic material between cells in same generation with no dividing. transformation, conjugation, transduction |
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transformation |
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ability to take up naked DNA from environment and see if it is helpful and will keep if it is. use to make every lab strain component and use to our benefit when making rx |
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conjugation |
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"bacterial sex" use sex pillus and transfer genes through the hollow tube (gram negative) use mating bridge, must make physical contact, no sex pillus (gram positive) |
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transduction |
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similar to transformation. use virus to transfer genetic information. man-made process. |
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plasmids |
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short, circular pieces of DNA, not part of chromosome. can self replicate. way to play with genetics so don't ruin chromosome. keep genes there "just in case" |
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transposons |
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"transposable elements" way for bacteria to play with genomes. how we learn to manipulate genetic material of bacteria. method of movement |
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transposons are found in |
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chromosomes, plasmids, and in the genetic material of viruses. |