Intro to Microbiology: Germ Theory & Classification

• These notes cover Unit 1: Introduction to Microbiology

Early Contributors to Microbiology

• Understand the questions early microbiology contributors were trying to answer.
• Know how they designed and conducted experiments.
• Familiarize yourself with the Germ Theory of Disease.
• Study Koch's Postulates (Chapter 13).

Whittaker's Five-Kingdom Classification System

• Know the five kingdoms which include: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.
• Know the types of organisms in each kingdom.
• Understand that the five-kingdom system is evolving into a domain-based system, which includes: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
• The Kingdom Monera is now divided into Bacteria and Archaea which are domains.
• The remaining four kingdoms (Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia) are within the domain Eukarya.

Scientific Names

• Always write scientific names correctly in both lecture and lab settings.

Microscopes

• Understand the basics of how light and electron microscopes work.
• Understand the differences between: light, dark-field, phase-contrast, fluorescence, and electron microscopes.
• Know the best situations to use each type of microscope.
• Consider if a specimen needs to be dead to be viewed under a specific microscope.

Prokaryotic Cell Structures

• Be able to identify cell structures without a word bank.
• Understand the functions of each structure.
• Learn detailed information about structures such as flagella, chemotaxis related to structures.
• Know the differences and similarities between Gram-negative and Gram-positive envelopes.

Bacterial Shapes and Arrangements

• Recognize shapes and arrangements outside the lab setting.

Classifying Bacteria Using Bergey's Manual

• Focus on the information regarding Bergey's manual in the slides for the Unit 1 exam.
• Knowing the details of the different Bergey's Manual classifications or volumes is not required.

Bacteria Classification Based on Temperature

• Psychrophiles thrive in cold temperatures.
• Mesophiles thrive in moderate temperatures.
• Thermophiles thrive in high temperatures.
• Know about bacteria that prefer temperatures hotter than thermophiles.

Nutritional Patterns

• Heterotrophs acquire nutrients from organic sources.
• Autotrophs, including chemoautotrophs and photoautotrophs, produce their own nutrients.
• Understand the types of nutrients bacteria need and where they obtain them.

Bacteria Classification Based on Oxygen Requirements

• There are four categories for this one
• Know the four principal groups of bacteria based on oxygen requirements.
• Discern the difference between aerotolerants and facultatives.
• Understand how oxygen requirements are determined using thioglycolate broth.

Binary Fission and Bacterial Growth Curve

• Be familiar with the four phases in bacterial growth curves and the events in each phase.
• Understand the processes or stages that occur during binary fission.

Bioterrorism

• Review the slides on bioterrorism for the exam, focusing on agents, delivery systems, and health responses.

Explore early microbiology contributors, the Germ Theory of Disease, and Koch's Postulates. Learn Whittaker's Five-Kingdom Classification System and the domain-based system (Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya). Understand scientific names and the basics of light and electron microscopes.