Microbiology from A to Z

Abiotic non-living
Actinomyces In mouth and intestines
Adineta Crowned ditch resident
Aerobic Needing oxygen
Agar Gelatine to grow in
Alcohol Far more than a drunk’s tipple
Alexander Fleming The birth of antibiotics
Algae The green engine
Alice Catherine Evans Discovered that raw milk contains pathogenic bacteria
Amoeba Shapeshifter
Anaerobic Life without oxygen
Antibiotics Wonder drug for infections?
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Founder of microbiology
Archaea Discovered in very hot water
Arthrospira maxima watery inhabitant
Aspergillus Extremely divers and useful fungi
Autoclave Cleaning under pressure
Autotrophic Independent life
Bacillus subtilis Best researched bacterium
Bacteria They are everywhere
Bacteriophage Friendly virus
Baudoinia compniacensis Angel’s share fungus
Beatrix Potter Celebrated writer, but ignored scientist
Belgian brewer’s yeast unique flavours
Binary fission Quick reproduction
Biodiversity Look for the difference
Biofilm a community of microbes
Bioluminescence Natural night lights
Biotechnology Around for thousands of years
Biotic Living things
Bitter oyster flashy forest fungus
Blepharisma japonicum Shy protist
Botryococcus braunii Fuel factory
Botrytis cinerea Noble rot
Brachionus plicatilis Self-cultivated food for the ARTIS-sea horses
Cable bacteria Microbial electricity
Caenorhabditis elegans Roundworm important to research
Cell Earth’s smallest life form
Cell membrane Where the cell stops
Cell nucleus The DNA’s residence
Cell wall Prevents bursting
Chaetomium globosum Wood rot fungus full of useful substances
Charles Darwin Father of the theory of evolution
Chlamydomonas nivalis red-coloured green algae in white
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Micro cyclops
Chlorella vulgaris common small cell with great potential
Chloroplast Energetic sunlight absorber
Chromosome Colourful body
Chroococcus turgidus Slimy bunch of bacteria
Ciliates Crawling, swimming and eating with cilia
Cladosporium cladosporioides Plastic eater in your own backyard
Cladosporium sp. Gut fungus
Clostridium difficile The black sheep of the class
Clostridium perfringens Rapidly dividing fat lover
Colony Two's a crowd
Colpidium striatum shaggy swimmer
Conjugation Horizontal gene transfer
Conservation The battle against decay
Culture The art of multiplying
Cyanobacteria Bacteria or algae?
Cyclops strenuus Microscopic little lobsters
Cytoplasm The fluid cell
DNA Key to the organism
Deinococcus radiodurans Toughest bacteria on earth
Diatom Armour of glass
Dinoflagellate Diverse plankton group
Ecosystem An organic unit
Edward Jenner Developer of the first vaccine
Elizabeth Bugie Invisible discoverer of streptomycin
Endosymbiosis Linked lives
Enterobacteriaceae Sometimes infamous, often indispensable
Enterococcus faecalis member of man’s microbiome
Enzymes Reaction accelerators
Ernst Boris Chain Made penicillin into the drug we know and love
Escherichia coli Not really that bad
Escherichia virus T4 commandeer and copy
Eukaryote In possession of a cell nucleus
Evolution From microbe to mankind
Exidiopsis effusa Frost bearded fungus
Extremophile Organisms from extremes
Fanny Hesse Unexpected and unacclaimed creator of agar
Fermentation Energy supplier
Firmicutes abundant gut inhabitants
Flagellum Zigzagging with a lash-like appendage
Foraminifera Little chambers of calcium
Frederick Twort discoverer of bacteriophages
Fungus Up to 5 million species
Fusarium venenatum The Quorn fungus
Gene 25,000 genes decide who you are
Generic modification
Genetics What you inherit and from whom
Gonium Groups of green algae
Haematococcus pluvialis Pink like a flamingo
Haloferax volcanii ancient salt lover
Heterotrophic Second-hand energy
Hypholoma fasciculare Sulphur tuft
Ignaz Semmelweis discoverer of the antiseptic method
Ilja Iljitsj Metsjnikov At the start of immunology and probiotics
Infection Source of sickness and infection
Janthinobacterium lividum Useful pigment
Johanna Westerdijk First female professor
John Snow Founder of epidemiology and infection theory
Jonas Salk Developer of the polio vaccine
Laboratory Workplace of the laboratory technician
Lactic acid bacteria Present and future impact
Lactobacillus brevis a bit acidic
Lactobacillus casei Indispensable for your health
Lactobacillus plantarum A fermenting bacterium in our intestines
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Keeps our products well
Lactococcus lactis Ingested microbe
Lichens successful partnership between fungi and algae
Louis Pasteur Father of microbiology
Magnetic stirrer Stirring with a magnet
Martinus Willem Beijerinck Father of virology
Metabolism The body at work
Micrasterias thomasiana star among algae
Micro-organism or microbe 100 million different species
Microbiology The science of micro-organisms
Microbiome All your microbes
Microbiota Microbes in one place
Microscope Progress of the magnifying glass
Mitochondrion The cell’s power stations
Multicellular Between two and three billion cells
Mushrooms Smart spore spreaders
Mutation Change in the genetic material
Mycelium Network of fungal threads
Mycorrhiza Plants and fungi interact
Navicula sp. Boat-shaped oxygen factory
Nematode Successful string
Neocallimastix frontalis Helping with fermentation
Organelle The cell’s organs
Organism All living things
PCR Smart chain reaction
Parasite Living off a host
Pasteurization Food sterilization with low heat
Pathogen Driving force of diseases
Pediastrum boryanum Green algae
Penicillium roqueforti A famous cheesemaker
Penicillium vanoranjei Orange pride
Petri dish A container for microbes
Philodina roseola Feeds with the flow
Phormidium animale Bright green
Photobacterium phosphoreum Luminous bacterium
Photosynthesis Providing our oxygen
Pichia barkeri Micropia yeast
Pilobolus Dung fungus
Pinnularia nobilis Handy water pollution indicator
Pipette Very accurate suspension
Plankton Foundation of the food web
Plasmid Pieces of DNA with convenient properties
Prebiotics Food for your microbes
Probiotics Helpful microorganisms
Prokaryote Organism with no cell nucleus
Propionibacterium acnes Helpful skin resident
Protists Eukaryotic microbes
Psilocybe cubensis A magic mushroom
Pyrocystis noctiluca flashing algae
Quorum sensing Crowd control
RNA Help in copying
Radiolaria Crystal clear creatures
Rasamsonia emersonii The thermophilic fungus
Reproduction From one, comes another
Resistance Insensitive due to super-fast evolution
Rhizobium Root nodules
Rhizopus oligosporus Tasteful, sustainable and healthy
Rhodotorula mucilaginosa Gut yeast
Ribosome Indispensable protein factories
Robert Koch Father of modern bacteriology
Rot Decay after death
Rotifer Catching food with a vortex
SCOBY Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeasts
STI Sick from sex
Saccharomyces boulardii Beneficial effects
Saccharomyces cerevisiae life in beer, bread and wine
Sea sparkle Noctiluca scintillans
Selenastrum gracile Green crescent moon
Selman Waksman Controversial discoverer of antibiotics
Sergei Winogradsky Microbial ecology and the Winogradsky column
Slide the micro-world in between glass
Slime mould The brainless clever clogs
Slipper animalcule Single-cell organism with a tiny mouth
Spore Tough reproductive cells
Staphylococcus aureus not always too nice
Staphylococcus epidermidis Lives in sweaty places
Starter culture Microbes in your food
Sterilization Removal of microbes
Streptococcus At home everywhere
Streptomycetes From antibiotics to earthy forest scent
Symbiosis In between co-operation and merger
Synechococcus sp. Photosynthesizing blue-green algae
Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 Sustainable cyanobacterium
Telomere Repeating end bits
Tetraselmis suecica The swimming algae
Theodor Escherich discoverer of Escherichia coli
Tolypothrix distorta Hairy ball
Tree of life Soo many branches
Trichophyton rubrum Home between the toes
Ulothrix zonata Living camouflage
Unicellular From algae to amoebas
Vaccination Injecting weakened pathogens
Vibrio fischeri The light inside the squid
Virus The very smallest are the most numerous
Volvox Floating inside the mother sphere
Water bears or moss piglets Little survivors all over the place
Water flea Bouncing crustaceans
Xanthoria parietina a lichen consisting of fungus and algae
Xylaria polymorpha Dead man’s fingers
Yarrowia lipolytica Desired yeast in the industry
Yeast A fungus in a hundred