Microbiology terms - W
- wandering macrophage
- A macrophage that leaves the blood and migrates to infected tissue.
- wart
- An epidermal tumor of viral origin
- Wassermann test
- A complement fixation test used to diagnose syphilis.
- water activity (aw)
- An expression of the relative availability of water in a substance. Pure water
has an water activity of 1.000. The water activity of a solution is
one-hundredth its relative humidity.
- water mold
- A common term for a member of the division Oomycota.
- whey
- The fluid protion of milk that separates from curd.
- white piedra
- A fungal infection (tinea albigena) caused by the yeast Trichosporon
beigelii that forms light-colored nodules on the beard and mustache.
- whooping cough (pertussis)
- An infectious disease characterized by catarrh of the respiratory tract and
peculiar paroxysms of coughing, ending in a prolonged crowing or whooping
respiration. It is caused by Bordetella pertussis.
- western blot
- See immunoblot.
- Widal test (pronounced vidal)
- A test involving agglutination of typhoid bacilli when they are mixed with
serum containing typhoid antibodies from an individual having typhoid fever;
used to detect the presence of Salmonella typhi and S. paratyphi.
- wild type
- A strain of microorganism isolated from nature. The usual or native form of a
gene or organism.
- wilt
- A plant disease in which bacteria invade the vessels of herbaceous plants,
interfere with movement of water and nutrients, and produce certain toxins
that cause wilting and the eventual death of the plant.
- wine vinegar
- Vinegar produced by the oxidation of alcohol in wine by members of the
genus Acetobacter.
- Winogradsky column
- A glass column with an anaerobic lower zone and an aerobic upper zone,
which allows growth of microorgansims under conditions similar to those
found in a nutrient-rich lake.
- wobble
- In reference to reading the genetic code, the concept that nonstandard base
pairing is allowed between the anticodon and the third position of the
condon.
- wort
- The filtrate of malted grains used as the substrate for the production of beer
and ale by fermentation.
Compiled by Tsute Chen, Converted by Ben Hoyt