Microbiology terms - A
- B cell
- See B lymphocyte.
- bacillus (plural: bacilli)
- A bacterium with a elongated, rod shape.
- Bacillus
- A bacterial genus in which members are rod-shaped, gram-positive, endospore-forming,
and, depending on species, aerobic or facultatively anaerobic. Type species: B. subtilis.
- bacteremia
- The transient appearance of bacteria in the blood.
- bacterium (plural bacteria)
- See prokaryote.
- Bacteria
- All prokaryotes that are not members of the domain Archaea.
- bactericidal
- Capable of killing bacteria.
- bacteriochlorophyll
- The light-absorbing pigment found in green sulfur and purple sulfur bacteria.
- bacteriocin
- Agents produced by certain bacteria that inhibit or kill closedly related species.
- bacteriophage
- A virus that infects a bacterium or prokaryotes.
- bacteriorhodopsin
- A protein containing retinal found in the membranes of certain extremely halophilic Archaea
and which is involved in light-mediated ATP synthesis.
- bacteriostatic
- Capable of inhibiting bacterial growth without killing.
- bacteroid
- A swollen, deformed Rhizobium cell, found in the root nodule; capable of symbiotic nitrogen
fixation.
- barophile
- An organism able to live optimally at high hydrostatic pressure.
- barotolerant
- An organism able to tolerate high hydrostatic pressure, although growing better at normal
pressures.
- basal medium
- A(n) (unsupplemented) medium which allows the growth of many types of microorganisms
which do not require any special nutrient supplements, e.g. nutrient broth.
- base composition
- In reference to nucleic acid, the proportion of the total bases consisting of guanine plus
cytosine or thymine plus adenine base pairs. Usually expressed as a guanine + cytosine
(G+C) value, e.g. 60% G+C.
- bdelloplast
- See Bdellovibrio
- binary fission
- The division of one cell into two (typically similar or identical ) cells by the formation of a
septum is call binary fission. It is the commonest form of cell division in bacteria. If the
daughter cells are not similar (in size) to the parent cell, it is called asymmetrical binary
fission. Asymmetrical binary fission occurs e.g. in Caulobacter.
- binomial nomenclature
- The system of having two names (genus and specific epithet, also called Latin binomial) for
each organism.
- bioconversion
- In industrial microbiology, use of microorganisms to convert an added chemical to a
chemically modified form.
- biofilm
- Microbial colonies encased in an adhesive, usually polysaccharide material, and attached to a
surface.
- biogeochemistry
- Study of microbially mediated chemical transformations of geochemical interest, e.g. nitrogen
or sulfur cycling.
- bioremediation
- Use of microorganisms to remove or detoxify toxic or unwanted chemicals from an
environment.
- biosynthesis
- The production of needed cellular constituents from other (usually simpler) molecules.
- biotechnology
- The use of living organisms to carry out defined chemical processes for industrial application.
- black smoker
- Thermal vent emitting very hot (270-380 °C) water and minerals.
- blastomycosis
- An acute or chronic mycosis which usually affects man and animals (e.g. dogs).
Blastomycosis is caused by a fungus called Blastomyces dermatitidis and occurs in North
America, Africa and Israel. Infection apparently occurs by inhalation of spores from the
fungus although B. dermatitidis has proved difficult to isolate from environmental habitats.
- B lymphocyte
- A cell of the immune system that differentiates into an immunoglobulin-producing cell.
- biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
- The oxygen-consuming property of a body of water determined by taking a sample of water,
aerating it well, placing it in a sealed bottle, incubating for a standard period of time (usually 5
days at 20 °C), and determining the residual oxygen in the water at the end of incubation.
- brewing
- The manufacture of alcoholic beverages such as beer from the fermentation of malted grains.
- budding
- 1. Asexual reproduction (usually 4yeasts) beginning as a protuberance from the parent cell
that grows to become a daughter cell
2. Release of an enveloped virus through the plasma membrane of an animal cell.
Compiled by Tsute Chen, Converted by Ben Hoyt