Microbes exist in every known natural habitat on earth.

Microbes show enormous capacity to adapt to environmental factors.

Factors that have the greatest impact on microbes are nutrients, temperature, pH,
amount of available water, atmospheric gases, light, pressure, and other organisms.

Nutrition involves absorbing required chemicals from the environment for use in
metabolism.

Autotrophs can exist solely on inorganic nutrients, while heterotrophs require both
inorganic and organic nutrients.

Energy sources for microbes may come from light or chemicals.

Temperature adaptations may be at cold, moderate, and hot temperatures.

Oxygen and carbon dioxide are primary gases used in metabolism.

Transport of materials by cells involves movement by passive or active mechanisms

across the cell membrane.

The water content of the cell versus its environment dictates the osmotic adaptations
of cells.

Microbes interact in a variety of ways with one another and with other organisms that
share their habitats.

The pattern of population growth in simple microbes is to double the number of cells
in each generation.

Growth rate is limited by lack of nutrients and buildup of waste products.

Chapter 7 Overview

Cells are constantly involved in an orderly activity called metabolism that

encompasses all of their chemical and energy transactions.

Enzymes are essential metabolic participants that drive cell reactions.

Enzymes are protein catalysts that speed up chemical processes by lowering the
required energy.

Enzymes have a specific shape tailored to perform their actions on a single type of
molecule called a substrate.

Enzymes derive some of their special characteristics from cofactors such as vitamins,
and they show sensitivity to environmental factors.

Enzymes are involved in activities that synthesize, digest, oxidize, and reduce
compounds, and convert one substance to another.

Enzymes are regulated by several mechanisms that alter the structure or synthesis of
the enzyme.

The energy of living systems resides in the atomic structure of chemicals that can be
acted upon and changed.

Cell energetics involves the release of energy that powers the formation of bonds.

The energy of electrons is transferred from one molecule to another in coupled redox
reactions.

Electrons are transferred from substrates such as glucose to coenzyme carriers and
ultimately captured in high-energy adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

Cell pathways involved in extracting energy from fuels are glycolysis, the tricarboxylic
acid cycle, and electron transport.

The molecules used in aerobic respiration are glucose and oxygen, and the products
are CO2, H2O, and ATP.

Microbes participate in alternate pathways such as fermentation and anaerobic

respiration.

Cells manage their metabolites through linked pathways that have numerous
functions and can proceed in more than one direction.

Chapter Overview

Chapter 9 Overview

Genetics is the study of the structure and function of the genomes of biological
entities.

The primary levels of heredity lie in the chromosomes, genes, and the DNA molecule.

DNA is a very elongate molecule composed of deoxyribose, phosphate, and

nitrogenous bases arranged in a double helix.

The two DNA strands are held together by pair bonding between matched sets of
purine and pyrimidine bases: adenine pairs with thymine; cytosine pairs with guanine.

The arrangement of the base pairs along the length of DNA provides detailed
instructions for the formation of proteins, key components of cell structure and
metabolism.

The DNA molecule must be replicated for the distribution of genetic material to
offspring.

Interpretation of the DNA is accomplished by transcription of its code into helper

molecules of RNA that cooperate to translate the code into proteins.

During protein synthesis on the ribosomes, codons of mRNA are sequentially matched
by a complementary anticodon on tRNA, which ensures the correct amino acid is
added to the protein.

Viruses contain various forms of DNA and RNA that are translated by the genetic
machinery of their host cells to form functioning viral particles.

The genetic activities of cells are highly regulated by operons, groups of genes that
interact as a unit to control the use or synthesis of metabolic substances.

DNA undergoes mutations, permanent changes in its language, that alter the
expression of genes and serve as a force in evolution of organisms.

Bacteria undergo genetic recombination through transfer of genes in the form of small
pieces of DNA, transposons, or circular plasmids.

Forms of recombination in bacteria include conjugation, transformation, and

transduction.

Chapter 10 Overview

The study of DNA has developed into a large-scale industry for manipulating and
modifying the genetic material of organisms.

This science, called biotechnology, aims to develop products, microbes, plants, and
animals for use in commercial, agricultural, research, and medical applications.

DNA is the focus of bioengineering, or genetic engineering technology, which is based

on the ease with which DNA can be isolated, handled, and modified.

The DNA double helix readily parts into its two strands; it can be cut with
endonucleases, and inserted at exacting sites on other DNA.

Segments of DNA can be separated by electrical currents, synthesized by machine,

and visualized by means of probes, which are some of the bases of identification.

Technology has developed methods for sequencing DNA that reveal the order of
nucleotides it contains; DNA can also be amplified by the polymerase chain reaction
DNA.

Recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology is a branch of genetic engineering that inserts

foreign genes into cells, thereby creating modified organisms that can express these
donated genes.

This process of inserting and propagating DNA is called cloning, and it requires special
vectors to transport the genes into cloning hosts for maintenance and expression.

Cloning creates microbes that carry isolated genes from other organisms, giving rise
to living gene libraries that can provide a source of known DNA for study and
commercial uses.

Recombinant cloning hosts can be induced to synthesize the products coded for by
the gene, thereby providing a source of hormones, drugs, enzymes, immune factors,
and other commercial substances.

Techniques similar to rDNA are used to create genetically modified organisms such as
microbes, plants, and animals that are transfected with selected genes to create new
strains for medical, agricultural, genetic research, and pharmaceutical purposes.

Genetic treatments are a method for correcting inherited defects by inserting the
natural, normal gene back into the genome through viruses and other techniques.

Genomes of organisms can be ordered in a map that shows the order of large genetic
elements, genes, and even nucleotides that are essential for analyzing the structure
and functions of the genes it contains.

Genetic fingerprinting is a method of arraying an entire genome in a way to show its

unique qualities so it can be used in comparisons and identification. It is an essential
tool of forensics, pedigree analysis, and microbe identification.

Bioethics is the field that analyzes the effects of the new DNA technology on society.
It will be critically involved in helping develop guidelines for managing the many
issues that it creates.