Microbiology 250-Fall, 2017

Chapter 3 Outline and Study Guide

Textbook Readings

Brock Biology of Microorganisms Chapter 3 Textbook Pages: 73-106

You will be better off if you read all sections of the Chapter. Sections 3.1 and 3.2 will be covered in your lab. Much of the rest of the chapter presents material from your BIOL 202 course in a microbiology context so it may help as a review for you. If it is new material for you and not a review then so much the better.

You do need to understand the energy classes of microorganisms presented in Section 3.3 and the concept of free energy that is discussed in 3.4.

Catalysis and Enzymes in Section 3.5 are a “fact of life” that you will remember from your introductory courses.

Oxidations and reductions in 3.6 are very important to an understanding of microbial metabolism. The Redox Tower described in 3.6 is an important concept because many microbes do NOT use oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor.

Section 3.7 is a review section that highlights energy-rich compounds but it is important to go over these as groundwork for following material.

At this point we are going to take a detour from the main body of Chapter 3 to do a quick survey of different strategies of metabolism. This material will come primarily from Chapter 13 and 14 of your textbook (e.g. parts of Sections 13.3 and 13.4 on photosynthesis) and specific textbook references are noted in the Power Point slides. As part of our detour we will go over the basics of respiration in Section 3.10 but will also include some information on anaerobic respiration from Sections 13.16 and 13.17.

We will get back to Chapter 3 with Sections 3.8-3.13 but you are NOT expected to memorize metabolic cycles. We want to emphasize principles over details. In Sections 3.14-3.18 we will try to emphasize novel features of microbial metabolism and avoid getting caught up in biochemical minutia. We will emphasize the path of carbon atoms and will bring in examples of representative metabolic pathways from Chapter 13.11- 13.14. We will finish Chapter 3 with a brief discussion of nitrogen fixation. Other Readings and Assignments

No other readings or assignments at this time. Other reading/writing/viewing/internet assignments may be made later.

Mini-Quizzes

The mini-quizzes scattered throughout appropriate sections of Chapter 3 are important! Use these mini-quizzes as ways to assess your understanding of concepts as you read. You can use mini-quizzes in the appropriate sections of Chapter 13/14 in the same way.

Big Ideas

The Big Ideas at the end of the Chapter 3 (pp. 102-103) are important-especially those that come from the chapter sections that we emphasize! These big ideas articulate and emphasize the main point of each chapter sub-section. You should be familiar with and understand these big ideas.

Key Terms

You will need to have a solid understanding of the Key Terms such as those presented on page 104. Other Key Terms (from different chapters) appear in bold on power point slides. These vocabulary terms are the building blocks for your understanding of the principles of microbiology. Use the glossary at the end of the book to help with your understanding or even Google Key Terms for further information.

Review and Application Questions

Review Questions 4-22 and Application Question 2-4 on Page 104-105 are important and helpful. You should use these questions to help guide you in your study of microbiology and your preparation for course exams. These questions help you to look at facts, concepts, big ideas and key terms in different ways and they also help you to understand relationships.

For the Exam

Mini-Quiz, Big Ideas, Key Terms, Review and Application Questions material as described above may appear in some form on one of your course examinations. Other lecture material, writing and homework material may also appear in some form on the exam.