lOMoAR cPSD| 6861666
Biol 2116 Microbiology - Chapter 1 & 6
Summary for MICRO Exam with Complete
Solution | New 2026/27 Update
Chapter 1: Living in a Microbial World
- Vast majority of living things are microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi &
protozoa—too small to see with human eye)
- Microorganisms are frequently called microbes
- Some microbes are pathogenic- causing infection and disease and food spoilage
- Fundamental principle in biology is cell theory
→ that all living things are composed of cells
→ cells are the basic unit of life
→ all living things are composed of one or more cells
- Microorganisms are most commonly unicellular (consist of 1 cell)
- Microbes are multicellular - Cells fall into two types:
1. Prokaryotic
▪ simpler and small cells
▪ not surrounded by a nuclear membrane
▪ most commonly bacteria and archea
2. Eukaryotic
▪ larger and more complex cells
▪ membrane surrounding the genetic material forms the nucleus ▪
eukaryotic cells have a variety of other small structures called
organelles (little organs that carry out specific functions of the
cell)
▪ protozoa, fungi and algae
▪ internal parasites called ‘helminths’ are flukes, tapeworms, round
worms
- All living cells have an internal environment that is different than their
surroundings
→ cells have mechanisms to maintain these differences through homeostasis
, lOMoAR cPSD| 6861666
- All living things have the ability to reproduce, which requires a blueprint, usually
encoded in a molecule called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
- Living things can respond to their environment, can alter behaviour as
environmental conditions change
- Metabolism: ability to assimilate and use energy
- Evolution: characteristics of living things may change over many generations
(all
life changes over time)
Microbiology: Study of several distinct groups of living things
- Bacteria are small, most commonly single celled, prokaryotic organisms
- Other major groups of prokaryotes are archea
- Eukaryotic microorganisms include fungi and protozoa
- Viruses are the ultimate parasite- unable to reproduce unless they gain access to
the interior of an appropriate cell
→ once inside they hijack cell
→ cell forced to divert energy and other resources to viral replication
→ virus will continue to replicate until cell dies
- Viruses consist of little more than genetic material surrounded by a protein coat
- Examples of viruses include: influenza and HIV
- Pronions are infectious proteins that cause neurological disorders
→ example: mad cow disease
Microbiology is a science
- The bacteria pseudomonas stutzeri
→ restore artwork
→ digest common pollutants in artwork
- Hypothesis: a tentative explanation for a specific question that must be testable
- to test a hypothesis- must use a valid experiment
▪ an experimental group
→ the crucial factor will be manipulated
▪ a control group
, lOMoAR cPSD| 6861666
→ the crucial factor will be left unchanged
- the larger the number of treatments/experiments, the more meaningful the
results
- if a hypothesis cannot be disproved, it may become a theory
- a theory is an important principle supported by a large body of experimental
evidence
Chapter 6: The Microbiology of History and the History of Microbiology
- Scarlet fever is caused by gram + bacterium: Streptococcus pyogenes
- The fall of Rome
▪ part of the cause was a decrease in population
▪ population decline partially caused by disease
▪ problem especially bad in agriculture area where mosquitos thrived
- Mosquitos are other arthropods that transmit pathogens between humans are
known as vectors
- Diseases that vectors transmit are called vector-borne diseases. Examples
include malaria, plague
- 540- the Bubonic Plague broke out in North Africa
▪ quickly spread to the rest of the world
▪ now known as ‘Plague of Justinian’ may have been worst epidemic in human
history
- Bubonic plague descriptions
▪ high fever
▪ swollen glands (buboes) in armpit and groins
▪ buboes rupture, resulting in gangrenous lesions and causing excruciating pain ▪
death often within a week
- Plague is another example of vector-borne disease
▪ fleas are the vectors (host)
- Pandemic is a worldwide epidemic
, lOMoAR cPSD| 6861666
- An acute disease: pathogen replicates rapidly and symptoms disappear quickly.
Examples: smallpox, measles
▪ two outcomes: host recovers or dies
▪ if host recovers, will become immune to the same pathogen
▪ often called “crowd diseases”
- Chronic disease can last indefinitely, sometimes for years or decades.
Examples: tuberculosis
▪ host is able to control but not eliminate the disease- causing microorganism
- When the immune system is confronted with a particular pathogen- proteins
called antibodies are produced that react with and neutralize the microorganism
- Antibodies are very specific—each type of antibody binds to only one type of
microbe
- Occasionally antibodies will bind to a second microbe- this antibody is then said
to be cross-reactive
- Some infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms
- Humans are vulnerable to infection with a variety of much larger parasitic worms
known as helminths
- A parasite is any organism, microscopic or not, that lives in or on another
organism.
▪ getting a place to live, reproduce and obtain nutrients
- 1647: Anton vanLeeuwenhoek was the first to describe microoganisms:
discovered bacteria and protozoa
- 1859: Louis Pasteur: discredited the notion of spontaneous generation
▪ was also making important contributions to the science of winemaking
▪ discovered fermentation
▪ realized he could eliminate these bacteria by temporarily heating the wine
▪ process known now as pasteurization
Biol 2116 Microbiology - Chapter 1 & 6
Summary for MICRO Exam with Complete
Solution | New 2026/27 Update
Chapter 1: Living in a Microbial World
- Vast majority of living things are microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi &
protozoa—too small to see with human eye)
- Microorganisms are frequently called microbes
- Some microbes are pathogenic- causing infection and disease and food spoilage
- Fundamental principle in biology is cell theory
→ that all living things are composed of cells
→ cells are the basic unit of life
→ all living things are composed of one or more cells
- Microorganisms are most commonly unicellular (consist of 1 cell)
- Microbes are multicellular - Cells fall into two types:
1. Prokaryotic
▪ simpler and small cells
▪ not surrounded by a nuclear membrane
▪ most commonly bacteria and archea
2. Eukaryotic
▪ larger and more complex cells
▪ membrane surrounding the genetic material forms the nucleus ▪
eukaryotic cells have a variety of other small structures called
organelles (little organs that carry out specific functions of the
cell)
▪ protozoa, fungi and algae
▪ internal parasites called ‘helminths’ are flukes, tapeworms, round
worms
- All living cells have an internal environment that is different than their
surroundings
→ cells have mechanisms to maintain these differences through homeostasis
, lOMoAR cPSD| 6861666
- All living things have the ability to reproduce, which requires a blueprint, usually
encoded in a molecule called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
- Living things can respond to their environment, can alter behaviour as
environmental conditions change
- Metabolism: ability to assimilate and use energy
- Evolution: characteristics of living things may change over many generations
(all
life changes over time)
Microbiology: Study of several distinct groups of living things
- Bacteria are small, most commonly single celled, prokaryotic organisms
- Other major groups of prokaryotes are archea
- Eukaryotic microorganisms include fungi and protozoa
- Viruses are the ultimate parasite- unable to reproduce unless they gain access to
the interior of an appropriate cell
→ once inside they hijack cell
→ cell forced to divert energy and other resources to viral replication
→ virus will continue to replicate until cell dies
- Viruses consist of little more than genetic material surrounded by a protein coat
- Examples of viruses include: influenza and HIV
- Pronions are infectious proteins that cause neurological disorders
→ example: mad cow disease
Microbiology is a science
- The bacteria pseudomonas stutzeri
→ restore artwork
→ digest common pollutants in artwork
- Hypothesis: a tentative explanation for a specific question that must be testable
- to test a hypothesis- must use a valid experiment
▪ an experimental group
→ the crucial factor will be manipulated
▪ a control group
, lOMoAR cPSD| 6861666
→ the crucial factor will be left unchanged
- the larger the number of treatments/experiments, the more meaningful the
results
- if a hypothesis cannot be disproved, it may become a theory
- a theory is an important principle supported by a large body of experimental
evidence
Chapter 6: The Microbiology of History and the History of Microbiology
- Scarlet fever is caused by gram + bacterium: Streptococcus pyogenes
- The fall of Rome
▪ part of the cause was a decrease in population
▪ population decline partially caused by disease
▪ problem especially bad in agriculture area where mosquitos thrived
- Mosquitos are other arthropods that transmit pathogens between humans are
known as vectors
- Diseases that vectors transmit are called vector-borne diseases. Examples
include malaria, plague
- 540- the Bubonic Plague broke out in North Africa
▪ quickly spread to the rest of the world
▪ now known as ‘Plague of Justinian’ may have been worst epidemic in human
history
- Bubonic plague descriptions
▪ high fever
▪ swollen glands (buboes) in armpit and groins
▪ buboes rupture, resulting in gangrenous lesions and causing excruciating pain ▪
death often within a week
- Plague is another example of vector-borne disease
▪ fleas are the vectors (host)
- Pandemic is a worldwide epidemic
, lOMoAR cPSD| 6861666
- An acute disease: pathogen replicates rapidly and symptoms disappear quickly.
Examples: smallpox, measles
▪ two outcomes: host recovers or dies
▪ if host recovers, will become immune to the same pathogen
▪ often called “crowd diseases”
- Chronic disease can last indefinitely, sometimes for years or decades.
Examples: tuberculosis
▪ host is able to control but not eliminate the disease- causing microorganism
- When the immune system is confronted with a particular pathogen- proteins
called antibodies are produced that react with and neutralize the microorganism
- Antibodies are very specific—each type of antibody binds to only one type of
microbe
- Occasionally antibodies will bind to a second microbe- this antibody is then said
to be cross-reactive
- Some infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms
- Humans are vulnerable to infection with a variety of much larger parasitic worms
known as helminths
- A parasite is any organism, microscopic or not, that lives in or on another
organism.
▪ getting a place to live, reproduce and obtain nutrients
- 1647: Anton vanLeeuwenhoek was the first to describe microoganisms:
discovered bacteria and protozoa
- 1859: Louis Pasteur: discredited the notion of spontaneous generation
▪ was also making important contributions to the science of winemaking
▪ discovered fermentation
▪ realized he could eliminate these bacteria by temporarily heating the wine
▪ process known now as pasteurization
