Glossary 1. Acute disease: A
disease in which symptoms develop rapidly but lasts for only a short time.
2. Aseptic techniques: Laboratory tech- niques to minimize contamination.
3. Assimilation: The absorption and digestion of nutrients by any biological system.
4. Axenic: Pure cultures of micro organisms, which are not contaminated by any foreign organisms.
5. Base Stacking: Stacking implies vertical interactions between bases as they sit on top of one another.
6. Bio-augmentation: The use of pollutant acclimated microbes or genetically engineered microbes for bioremediation.
7. Coagulation: The action or process of a liquid, especially blood, changing to a solid or semi-solid state.
8. Coal-tar dyes: Liquid produced by distilling coal containing benzene naphthalene, phenols, aniline and many other organic chemical.
9. Coliforms: Aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, Gram negative, non endospore forming, rod shaped bacteria that ferment lactose with acid and gas formation within 48 hours at 350°C.
10. Colony: A Colony is defined as a visible mass of microorganism all originating from a single mother cell.
11. Cover slip: A small, thin piece of glass used to cover and protect a specimen on a microscope slide.
12. Denaturation of DNA: Separation or unwinding of dsDNA strands into single strands.
13. Denature: To deprive something of its natural character and properties.
14. Depyrogenation: Removal of pyrogens from solutions mostly from injectable pharmaceuticals.
15. Dermatomycosis: A fungal infection of skin.
16. Diatomaceous earth: A soft, crumbly, porous sedimentary deposit formed from the fossil remains of diatoms.
17. DNA amplification: The production of multiple copies of a sequence of DNA.
18. Electromagnetic spectrum: The range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends.
19. Exudate: Low molecular weight metabolites that enter the soil from plant roots.
20. Flake: A small flat thin piece of which has broken away or been peeled from a larger piece.
21. Fluoresence: The property of absorbing light of short wave length and emitting light of longer wave length.
22. Folliculitis: An infection of hair follicles, often occurring as pimples.
23. Fulminating: A condition that develops quickly and rapidly increases in severity.
24. Furuncle: A pus filled, painful infection of a hair follicle.
25. Gene: A unit of heredity which is transferred from parent to progeny.
26. Genetic code: The mRNA codons and the amino acids they encode.
27. Genetics: The study of heredity and variation of inherited characteristics.
28. Genome: One complete copy of the genetic information in cell.
29. Genomics: Study of genes and their functions.
30. Genotype: The genetic makeup of an organisms.
31. Gestation: The development of something over a period of time.
32. Horizontal gene transfer: The transfer of genes between two organisms in the same generation.
33. Hypotonic environment: Environment with higher water concentration and less solutes.
34. Immunodiffusion test: A test consisting of precipitation reactions carried out in an agar gel medium.
35. Immunoelectrophoresis: The identification of proteins by electrophoretic separation followed by serological testing.
36. Inoculation loop: They are made of platinum or nichrome wire. They are used to make smears.
37. Inoculum: The material used to intro- duce an organism into a certain medium for growth or culture medium in which microorganisms are implanted.
38. In vivo: Process taking place in a living organisms.
39. Ionizing radiation: Radiation consisting of particles, X-rays, or gamma rays with sufficient energy to cause ionization in the medium through which it passes.
40. Latent infection: A condition in which a pathogen remains in the host for long periods without producing disease.
41. Lymph: A colourless fluid containing white blood cells, which bathes the tissues and drains through the lymphatic system into the bloodstream.
42. Lysis: Destruction of a cell by the rupture of the plasma membrane, resulting in a loss of cytoplasm.
43. Lysozyme: An enzyme capable of hydrolyzing bacterial cell walls.
44. MHC: Major histocompatibility complex – The genes that code for histocompatibility antigens; also known as human leucocyte antigens.
45. Microaerophile: An organism that grows best in an environment with less molecular oxygen (O2) than is normally found in air.
46. Molasses: It is a viscous product resulting from refining sugar cane or sugar beets into sugar.
47. Monomer–A small molecule that collectively combines to form polymers.
48. Mucigel: Mucilage or complex polysaccharide forming a layer around plant roots.
49. Neutralism: A lack of interaction between two organisms in the same ecosystem.
50. Nick: It is discontinuity in a dsDNA molecule where there is no phosphodiester bond between adjacent nucleotides of one strand.
51. Normal microbiota: The microrganisms that colonize a host without causing disease; also called normal flora.
52. Occupational health: The branch of medicine dealing with the prevention and treatment of job related injuries and illnesses.
53. Osmotic lysis: Rupture of the plasma membrane resulting from movement of water into the cell.
54. Oxidation: The removal of electrons from a molecule.
55. Oxidation reduction: A coupled reaction in which one substance is oxidized and one is reduced also called redox reaction.
56. PCR: Polymerase chain reaction, a technique using DNA polymerase to make multiple copies of a DNA template in vitro.
57. Plasmolysis: Loss of water from a cell in a hypertonic environment.
58. Polynucleotide: Chain of nucleotides. 59. Prevalence: The fraction of a
population having a specific disease at a given time.
60. Progeny: Offspring, decendant of a cell.
61. Protein sequencing: The practical process of determining the amino acid sequence of all or part of a protein or peptide.
62. Protocooperation: An association of mutual benefit to two or more species but without the cooperation or without being obligatory for their existence or the performance of some function.
63. Pustule: A small pus filled elevation of skin.
64. Renaturation/Annealing: Process in which ssDNA or ssRNA pair to form double stranded DNA.
65. Salmon-GAL (6 chloro 3- indolyl –β – D galactopyranoside): It is a chromogenic substrate capable of detecting LacZ gene encoded β galactosidase.
66. Semi-transparent: Partially admitting the passage of light through its substance.
67. Serological methods: Methods for identifying microorganisms based on its reactions with antibodies.
68. Smear: A thin spread of bacterial suspension from a clinical spemicen or from a culture on a glass slide.
69. Spectrophotometer: An apparatus for measuring the intensity of light in a part of the spectrum, especially as transmitted or emitted by particular substances.
70. Stab culture: A long straight wire dipped in culture is punctured into a solid medium usually to see the motility.
71. Topological stress: stress created due to over winding or repeated interwinding of DNA during replication.
72. Topography: the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical feature of an area.
73. Toxigenic: (especially of a bacterium) producing a toxin or toxic effect.
74. Turbo blower: It is a fan that blows the air.
75. Vaccine: A preparation of killed, inactivated, or attenuated microorganisms or toxoids to induce artificial immunity.
76. Vacuoles: A space or vesicle within the cytoplasm of a cell enclosed by a membrane and typically containing fluid.
77. Vegetative cells: A bacterial cell growing actively under favorable conditions.
78. Virulence: The degree of a pathogenicity of a pathogenic microorganism.