Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Microbes are important in human culture and health in many ways, serving to ferment foods and treat sewage, and to produce fuel, enzymes, and other bioactive compounds. Microbes are essential tools in biology as model organisms and have been put to use in biological warfare and bioterrorism. Microbes are a vital component of fertile soil.
Plant microbiology and Plant pathology: The study of the interactions between microorganisms and plants and plant pathogens. Soil microbiology: the study of those microorganisms that are found in soil. Veterinary microbiology: the study of the role of microbes in veterinary medicine or animal taxonomy.
Bacteria (/ b æ k ˈ t ɪər i ə / ⓘ; sg.: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats.
The reason for this is the differences in species concepts between the bacteria and macro-organisms, the difficulties in growing/characterising in pure culture (a prerequisite to naming new species, vide supra) and extensive horizontal gene transfer blurring the distinction of species. [89]
Scientists have also exploited their knowledge of microbes to produce biotechnologically important enzymes such as Taq polymerase, [27] reporter genes for use in other genetic systems and novel molecular biology techniques such as the yeast two-hybrid system. [28] Bacteria can be used for the industrial production of amino acids.
Photomicrograph of the microflora Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria, 900x mag. In microbiology, collective bacteria and other microorganisms in a host are historically known as flora. Although microflora is commonly used, the term microbiota is becoming more common as microflora is a misnomer. Flora pertains to the Kingdom Plantae.
Scanning electron micrograph of Escherichia coli, a common human pathogen and research organism.. Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them.
Microorganisms, or microbes, span all three domains of life – bacteria, archaea, and many unicellular eukaryotes including some fungi and protists.Typically defined as unicellular life forms that can only be observed with a microscope, microorganisms were the first cellular life forms, and were critical for creating the conditions for the evolution of more complex multicellular forms.