Term
| What is the importance of aquatic microbiology? |
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Definition
Water is necessary for life
70% of the earth's surface is water
Life began, diversified, and is abundant in water (viruses too) |
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Term
| How is life in water stratified? |
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Definition
By light availability
By nutrient distribution
By oxygen availability
By temperature |
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Term
| Why is the top layer of a body of water medically significant? |
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Definition
| Humans are more likely to come in contact with it |
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Term
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Definition
Oxygen is NOT very water-soluble
-More abundant in upper layers
-More abundant in moving water
-More abundant in cold water |
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Term
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Definition
| In temperate regions, the movement of organisms, nutrients, and the water itself between the top and bottom of the lake as seasonal changes make the water temperature gradient change. |
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Term
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Definition
| Younger, more active bodies of water that have fewer nutrients and less dissolved organic material |
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Term
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Definition
| Older, less active bodies of water that have more nutrients and dissolved organic matter. They also contain less oxygen, since more life = more things to use up oxygen. |
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Term
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Definition
| The process of becoming eutrophic |
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Term
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Definition
| In estuaries, when nutrients suddenly become more abundant, light is plentiful, oxygen is low, and the water is warm, microbes can grow and multiply at high rates. |
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Term
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Definition
| Microbes associated with red tides. |
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Term
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Definition
| A species of dinoflagellate that uses nerve toxin to kill and feed off fish. These toxins may also be dangerous to humans. |
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Term
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Definition
| Normal intestinal flora or birds and mammals, used for water monitoring. They must be able to persist but not replicate in water. Includes coliforms and enteric streptococci. |
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Term
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Definition
| Gram-negative, lactose-fermenting, gas-producing bacteria, used for freshwater monitoring |
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Term
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Definition
| Gram-positive bacteria that are related to (but not members of) Streptococcus spp. Used for marine monitoring. |
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Term
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Definition
| A water quality assay in which a water sample is plated on medium to see how much growth there is. Does not tell us types of growth, merely amounts. |
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Term
| Dissolved oxygen measurement |
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Definition
| The more growth there is in the water, the less dissolved oxygen there will be. |
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Term
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Definition
| Pass a water sample through a membrane, then apply the membrane to a selective medium. Coliforms will adapt a metallic sheen, and it is possible to tell types of coliforms apart. |
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Term
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Definition
| Multiple tube fermentation - different broths are used to culture samples, and the presence of gas in a culture indicates a coliform - although we can't tell what type. |
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Term
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Definition
| Colorimetric test which can detect E.coli with UV exposure |
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Term
| Acceptable level of microbes for drinking water |
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Definition
| 4 native coliforms per 100 mL |
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Term
| Acceptable level of microbes for swimming or fishing |
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Definition
| 70-200 native coliforms per 100 mL |
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Term
| Unacceptable water conditions |
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Definition
| >1000 coliforms per 100mL |
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Term
| How do we treat drinking water? |
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Definition
| Collect, and allow to sediment. Treat with copper sulfate if being stored, and filter through sand and charcoal. Disinfect with chlorine gas, and store. |
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Term
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Definition
Sedimentation
Biodegradation (let microbes eat waste)
Purification
Release into the environment |
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Term
| How do we use microorganisms as food? |
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Definition
| Some microorganisms are consumed directly (like kelp or mushrooms). Other microorganisms are being cultured as a source of protein to keep up with today's growing population. |
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Term
| What is responsible for the rise of foodborne illness in the US? |
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Definition
| Most likely, it's mass production - the larger amount that it produced, the bigger the potential for mistakes. |
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Term
| Why aren't many cases of food poisoning reported? |
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Definition
| Most are so mild that people either don't notice or don't bother to go to a doctor. |
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Term
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Definition
| Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point - food safety procedures that focus on controlling every step of the food production and storage process. |
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Term
| How can we prevent the introduction of microbes into food? |
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Definition
| Washing and aseptic technique (i.e. safely collecting animal products, avoiding cross-contamination, maintaining clean working areas) |
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Term
| What does salt or sugar do to a microbe? |
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Definition
| The microbe is plasmolyzed, because the environment is hypertonic. Enzyme activity is interfered with, and DNA structure is weakened. |
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Term
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Definition
| Removal of moisture. Ancient, but inefficacious. |
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Term
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Definition
| Produces compounds to be used for food, medicine, etc. Operations are large-scale, and produce a specific product through multiple, complex steps. |
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Term
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Definition
Products of major metabolic pathways
Example: amino acids, organic acids |
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Term
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Definition
Byproducts of metabolism
Examples: antibiotics, steroids, vitamins |
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Term
| How to get the most out of microbes? |
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Definition
Make and keep an ideal growing environment
Allow natural selection to create bacteria better suited for the process
Genetically engineer hardier or more efficient microbes |
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Term
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Definition
| Special vat used for mass culture in industrial microbiology. Fermentors must be able to introduce substrates and bacteria, harvest, stir, cool or heat, aerate, and monitor conditions within. |
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Term
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Definition
| All media and microbes are added together, and the batch is run to an end point, at which time the product is removed and the batch is replaced. |
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Term
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Definition
| Media and microbes in a batch are monitored and added as needed, and the product is harvested at thresholds. The batch runs indefinitely. |
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