Lichens

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: No one has to worry about getting sick from a lichen infection, but lichens are interesting from a microbiological perspective and they are an important component of…

Algae

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: The algae are autotrophic protists that can be unicellular or multicellular. These organisms are found in the supergroups Chromalveolata (dinoflagellates, diatoms, golden algae, and brown algae) and Archaeplastida (red algae and green algae).…

Fungi

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: The fungi comprise a diverse group of organisms that are heterotrophic and typically saprozoic. In addition to the well-known macroscopic fungi (such as mushrooms and molds), many unicellular yeasts…

Parasitic Helminths

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Parasitic helminths are animals that are often included within the study of microbiology because many species of these worms are identified by their microscopic eggs and larvae.…

Introduction

Figure 5.1 Malaria is a disease caused by a eukaryotic parasite transmitted to humans by mosquitos. Micrographs (left and center) show a sporozoite life stage, trophozoites, and a schizont in a blood smear. On the right is depicted a primary defense against…

Summary

4.1 Prokaryote Habitats, Relationships, and Microbiomes 4.2 Proteobacteria 4.3 Nonproteobacteria Gram-Negative Bacteria and Phototrophic Bacteria 4.4 Gram-Positive Bacteria 4.5 Deeply Branching Bacteria 4.6 Archaea

Archaea

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Like organisms in the domain Bacteria, organisms of the domain Archaea are all unicellular organisms. However, archaea differ structurally from bacteria in several significant ways, as discussed in Unique Characteristics…

Deeply Branching Bacteria

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: On a phylogenetic tree (see A Systematic Approach), the trunk or root of the tree represents a common ancient evolutionary ancestor, often called the last universal common ancestor (LUCA), and the…

Gram-Positive Bacteria

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Prokaryotes are identified as gram-positive if they have a multiple layer matrix of peptidoglycan forming the cell wall. Crystal violet, the primary stain of the Gram stain…