Microbiology

Lysosomes

Lysosomes were organelles, first discovered by a scientist named Christian de Duve in the year 1955. Its structure was first studied by a scientist named Novikoff in the year 1956 by performing electron microscopy. The lysosomes function as “Digestive compartments” that helps in the degradation of complex molecules by the digestion enzymes. A lysosome comprises …

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Haemoglobin

Haemoglobin or Hb is an iron transport metalloprotein. It refers as “Metalloprotein” as it contains four iron metal ions or haem (Iron-containing porphyrin) groups and globular protein. Haemoglobin appears red coloured. Almost all vertebrates and tissues of a few invertebrates contain haemoglobin in their RBCs. Other than RBCs, haemoglobin is also present in macrophages, alveolar …

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Gelatin Hydrolysis Test

Gelatin hydrolysis test is the presumptive test method to distinguish between the gelatin hydrolysing and non-hydrolysing organisms. An exoenzyme, “Gelatinase” catalyse the hydrolysis of gelatin. Gelatin hydrolysing bacteria will produce gelatinase enzyme to split the protein component of the media into simpler amino acids. Gelatin non-hydrolysing bacteria do not produce gelatinase enzyme, which in turn …

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Infection

Infection and immunity are the two inter-relatable terms, where the infection-causing organisms could hamper the person’s immunity. The relationship between causing infection-causing microorganisms and host can be saprophytic, parasitic and pathogenic. Infectious disease is a term that is usually interchangeable with the term “Infection”, but there is a slight difference between these two. Infection is …

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Haemagglutination

Haemagglutination is a kind of agglutination reaction that includes erythrocytes. The result is characterized by the agglutination or clumping of erythrocytes. Haemagglutination can be assayed in blood typing and viral quantification. The reason behind the haemagglutination reaction is the glycoproteins that cause RBCs to agglutinate and serves as “Hemagglutinins”. Antibodies and lectins are commonly known …

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Nutrition in Bacteria

Nutrition in bacteria is primarily categorized into two major groups, namely autotrophic and heterotrophic. Classification of bacteria in terms of nutritional requirement typically depends on the energy sources, whether in the form of light or chemical energy. Some bacteria obtain energy directly from the sunlight. However, a few bacteria get chemical energy by utilizing inorganic …

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Difference Between 70-S and 80-S Ribosomes

What is the difference between 70-S and 80-S ribosomes? They are classified based on their sedimentation rate. ‘S’ is the non-SI metric unit, expressed as Svedberg’s Unit, that denotes the sedimentation coefficient of the ribosomes. The particle size of ribosomes in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells differs, due to which they sediment at different rates when centrifuged. …

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