Food Microbiology is a discipline where the nutritional and functionality of the food product is of main concern.
Cells usually do not live in isolation. Cells lie in the form of groups in diverse tissues and cells. Therefore, cell to cell communication network is needed to coordinate the growth, differentiation and metabolism of the cells. Direct cell to cell contact is a way of communication in cells present in small groups. But [...]
Pathogen in a broad sense is anything that can infect and can cause a disease. It is a type of infectious agent that can be a virus, bacteria, prion, fungus, viroid or parasite that causes diseases in the host and the host can be a fungus, a plant, an animal or any microorganism also. [...]
A pure culture theoretically contains a single bacterial species. There are a number of procedures available for the isolation of pure cultures from mixed populations. A pure culture may be isolated by the use of special media with specific chemical or physical agents that allow the enrichment or selection of one organism over another. [...]
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their lives. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently. All animals must ingest other organisms or their products for sustenance. Most [...]
Gene regulation in prokaryotes is one of the method of conservation of cell resources by turning OFF and ON of genes transcribing. Controlling of gene expression leads to regulation of metabolism of cell. Regulations of prokaryotic genes are done in units called as Operons. Operons are genes grouped together translated into single mRNA molecule containing [...]
Viruses are obligate parasites. The field of study in which viruses are investigated is called virology. Viruses are the agents considered on the borderline of living organisms, come in various shapes, and are widely distributed in nature, infecting animal cells, plant cells, and microorganisms also. Once a virus infects a host cell it can direct [...]
Active transport uses specific transport proteins, called pumps, which use metabolic energy (ATP) to move ions or molecules against their concentration gradient. For example, in both vertebrates and invertebrates, the concentration of sodium ion is about 10 to 20 times higher in the blood than within the cell. The concentration of the potassium ion is [...]
Cells can import and export large molecules across the plasma membrane. Macromolecules are secreted out from the cell by exocytosis and are ingested into the cell from outside through phagocytosis and endocytosis. Exocytosis It is also called emeiocytosis and cell vomiting. In all eukaryotic cells, secretary vesicles are continually carrying new plasma membrane and cellular [...]
Aerobic conditions are required for the growth of M. tuberculosis and a protein enriched medium is a prerequisite for its culture. Löwenstein–Jensen (LJ) slopes are main agar media employed to culture Mycobacteria. It composition is: Inspissated eggs Malachite green Glycerol (or pyruvate). Glycerol in the LJ medium favours the growth of M. tuberculosis while [...]
Microbial Interactions The population of two species may interact for neutral, positive and negative represented as 00, - -, + +, + 0, - 0 and + - . There are mainly nine types of interactions based on whether species are not gaining, gaining or harming to the other species in a given relationship. [...]
