CHAPTER

The Evolution of Microbial Life

15
Chapter Objectives
Biology and Society: Our Invisible Inhabitants
15.1. List ways in which our microbial communities are altered and describe how these
alterations effect our health.
Major Episodes in the History of Life
15.2. Identify the major difference in young Earths history that contributed to the origin
and evolution of life.
Lack of atmospheric O2. O2 has begun to increase as a result of photosynthesis
by autotrophic prokaryotes.
The Origin of Life
15.3. List and describe the four stages of the hypothesis for the origin of life on Earth
SYNTHESIS OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS- In 1953, Stanley Miller devised an
apparatus to simulate conditions of early Earth. (sea, lightning, rain, atmosphere)
After the apparatus ran for a while, organic compounds essential to life, including
amino acids started to appear in the sea. Other laboratories have repeated Millers
experiment and produced more organic compounds.

ABIOTIC SYNTHESIS OF POLYMERS- Researchers discovered polymerization

by dripping solutions of organic monomers onto hot sand, clay, or rock. Heat
vaporizes the water in the solutions and concentrated the monomers on the
underlying material. Some monomers then spontaneously bond together and form
polymers

FORMATION OF PRE-CELLS- Researchers have demonstrated that pre-cells

could have formed spontaneously from fatty acids. Pre-cells made in laboratory
experiments can divide to produce new pre-cells.

ORIGIN OF SELF-REPLICATING MOLECULES

Prokaryotes
15.4 List and describe the 3 domains of microbes.
Bacteria- prokaryote

15.5. Describe the abundance of prokaryotes on Earth and how they can affect humans and
ecosystems.
15.6. Describe the structure (shapes) and reproduction (binary fission) of prokaryotes.
State the importance of biofilm formation
Copyright 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. CHAPTER 15 The Evolution of Microbial Life 225
 15.7. List the two ways in which prokaryotes obtain energy and carbon.
15.8. Explain the process of bioremediation.
15.9. Describe the ways bacteria cause disease. Explain the roles of the endotoxins and
exotoxins.
Protists
15. 10. List the common characteristics of protozoans. Additionally, compare the four main
categories of protists (Flagellates, Amoebas, Apicomplexans, and Ciliates).
Evolution Connection: The Sweet Life of Streptococcus mutans
15.11. Explain how Streptococcus mutans contributes to tooth decay and the adaptations
that gave S. mutans an advantage over other species.

Terms to Define
algae bioremediation Eukarya phytoplankton
amoebas ciliates eukaryotes prokaryotes
apicomplexans cocci exotoxins protist
Archaea diatoms flagellates protozoans
bacilli dinoflagellate green algae pseudopodia
Bacteria endospore microbiota seaweeds
binary fission endosymbiosis parasite slime molds
biofilm endotoxins pathogens symbiosis

Word Roots
api = the tip (apicomplexans: all parasitic protists named for an apparatus at their apex that is
specialized for penetrating host cells)
archae = ancient (archaea: prokaryotic group most closely related to eukaryotes)
bacill = a little stick (bacilli: rod-shaped prokaryotes)
bi = two (binary fission: a form of asexual reproduction in which a single cell divides into two
cells of about equal size)
dinos = whirling (dinoflagellates: protists with two flagella that cause them to spin)
endo = inner (endospores: bacterial resting cells)
exo = outside (exotoxins: toxic proteins secreted by bacterial cells)
flagell = a whip (flagellates: protozoa that move by means of one or more flagella)
patho = disease (pathogens: organisms that cause disease)
planktos = wandering (plankton: communities of mostly microscopic organisms that drift or swim
near the water surface)
protos = first; zoan = animal (protozoan: early protists that ingested food)
pseudo = false; pod = foot (pseudopodia: temporary extensions of a cell used for locomotion
and/or feeding)
sym = together (endosymbiosis: the process whereby mitochondria and chloroplasts exist as
associations between prokaryotic cells living within larger prokaryotic cells)

226 CHAPTER 15 The Evolution of Microbial Life Copyright 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.