Through the Microscope is a textbook written for students to provide them with the information they need to learn about microbiology at a fair price. This page lists all the chapters of the book with links to each section. If a chapter you want to read is not accessible, you probably need to buy a subscription. If you already purchased a subscription, you may be logged out. Log back in.
Chapter 1 – The Relevance and History of Microbiology
- 1 – 1 Dedication
- 1 – 2 Introduction
- 1 – 3 Microbes have a large impact on human health
- 1 – 4 Microbes have profound effects on the environment
- 1 – 5 Microscopes and Microbes
- 1 – 6 Spontaneous generation was an attractive theory to many people, but was ultimately disproven.
- 1 – 7 Microbes are discovered to cause disease
- 1 – 8 Treating Disease
- 1 – 10 Molecular Microbiology
- 1 – 11 Summary
Chapter 2 – Fundamental Concepts in Microbiology
Chapter 3 – Cell Structure and Organization
- 3 – 1 Introduction
- 3 – 2 Important structures in the cytoplasm
- 3 – 3 Membranes
- 3 – 4 The Bacterial Cytoskeleton
- 3 – 5 The Cell Wall
- 3 – 6 The Cell Surface Extends into the Environment
- 3 – 7 Bacteria can exist in different cell states
- 3 – 8 Archaeal Structure
- 3 – 9 Eukaryotic Cells have Much in Common with Prokaryotic Cells
- 3 – 10 Instructions for buying Through the Microscope
- 3 – 11 Summary
Chapter 4 – DNA: Replication, Mutation, Repair and The Central Dogma
- 4 – 1 Introduction
- 4 – 2 DNA Structure and Replication
- 4 – 3 Errors can occur in DNA replication that create potential mutations
- 4 – 4 Errors in DNA can also occur outside of replication
- 4 – 5 Transcription involves the copying of DNA into RNA
- 4 – 6 The level of mRNA is a common regulatory point in prokaryotes
- 4 – 7 Translation is the conversion of mRNA into protein at the ribosome
- 4 – 8 Summary
Chapter 8 – Metabolism
- 8 – 1 Introduction
- 8 – 2 Important foundations in metabolism
- 8 – 3 Enzymes are biological catalysts
- 8 – 4 Fermentation, energy generation without using a membrane
- 8 – 5 Respiration involves donation of electrons to an inorganic terminal electron acceptor
- 8 – 6 High-energy electrons are converted into ATP using a membrane
- 8 – 7 Many microbes are capable of anaerobic respiration
- 8 – 8 Some microbes can grow completely on inorganic sources of carbon, energy and electrons
- 8 – 9 Summary
Chapter 9 – Photosynthesis
- 9 – 1 Introduction
- 9 – 2 Photosynthetic microbes have several common characteristics
- 9 – 3 Light is collected by protein complexes containing photopigments
- 9 – 4 Purple bacteria, one class of anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria
- 9 – 5 The green bacteria are anoxygenic photosynthetics that form a chlorosome
- 9 – 6 The cyanobacteria perform oxygenic photosynthesis
- 9 – 7 Summary
Chapter 10 – Anabolism
- 10 – 1 Introduction
- 10 – 2 Assimilation of carbon
- 10 – 3 Nitrogen and Sulfur assimilation
- 10 – 4 Assimiliation of other elements
- 10 – 5 Amino acids and simple synthesis
- 10 – 6 The synthesis of some amino acids share common steps
- 10 – 7 Nucleotide and lipid biosynthesis involved complex pathways
- 10 – 8 Monomers are assembled to form polymers
- 10 – 9 Summary
Chapter 11 – Regulation of Metabolism
- 11 – 1 Introduction
- 11 – 2 Regulation is a way to respond to a changing environment
- 11 – 3 The different types of regulation
- 11 – 4 Expression of the <i>lac</i> operon requires the presence of lactose and the absence of glucose
- 11 – 5 The tryptophan operon is controlled by repression, attenuation and feedback inhibition
- 11 – 6 Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis is directed by sigma factors and turned on by a phosphorelay system
- 11 – 7 <i>Alivibrio fischeri</i> senses cell density using a small diffusible molecule that binds to an activator
- 11 – 8 Heat-shock gene expression is controlled by sigma factors, mRNA secondary structure, and protein stability
- 11 – 9 Nitrogen fixation can be controlled by a positive activator, mRNA stability, and enzyme modification
- 11 – 10 Summary
Chapter 12 – Genomics and Genetics
- 12 – 1 Introduction
- 12 – 2 Sequencing and what it tells us
- 12 – 3 What are the applications of the information gained through genomics?
- 12 – 4 An introduction to genetics and genetic engineering
- 12 – 5 How to find a needle in a haystack
- 12 – 6 Generation of mutations
- 12 – 7 Gene Transfer Systems
- 12 – 8 Genetic mapping, complementation and gene fusions
- 12 – 9 Suppressors are second-site mutations that change the phenotype of a mutant to be more like that of the wild type
- 12 – 10 Summary
Chapter 13 – Basic Virology and Prokaryotic Viruses
- 13 – 1 Introduction
- 13 – 2 Viral challenges and structures
- 13 – 3 The viral life cycle, early events
- 13 – 4 The viral life cycle, late events
- 13 – 5 Lambda phage is a lysogenic virus with double-stranded DNA
- 13 – 6 T4 is a large, lytic phage with a large double-stranded DNA genome
- 13 – 7 P22 is a lysogenic, double-stranded DNA phage that was important in the development of bacterial genetics
- 13 – 8 P1 is a double-stranded DNA phage with an ability to infect different hosts
- 13 – 9 Qβ is a small, single-stranded RNA virus
- 13 – 10 M13 has a genome composed of a single-stranded, circular DNA molecule
- 13 – 11 Summary
Chapter 14 – Host-Microbe Interactions
- 14 – 1 Introduction
- 14 – 2 Types of host-microbe interactions
- 14 – 3 Microbes face many challenges when associating with a host
- 14 – 4 Pathogenic outcomes
- 14 – 5 Some examples of host-microbe interactions
- 14 – 6 Microbes that live in close association with plants
- 14 – 7 Insects associate with microbes for nutrition and protection
- 14 – 8 The human microbiome
- 14 – 9 Summary
Chapter 15 – Immunity – Introduction and Innate Immunity
- 15 – 1 Introduction
- 15 – 2 Important Introductory Concepts of the Immune System
- 15 – 3 Susceptibility to a Pathogen Varies Between and Even within Species
- 15 – 4 The Immune System Is a Complex Collection of Organs, Tissues, and Cells
- 15 – 5 The Innate Immune System
- 15 – 6 Inflammation and the systems that react to it
- 15 – 7 Phagocytes kills invaders
- 15 – 8 Summary
Chapter 16 – Immunity – Adaptive Immunity and Errors of the Immune System
- 16 – 1 Introduction
- 16 – 2 Adaptive Immunity – introductory concepts
- 16 – 3 B Lymphocytes – Humoral Immunity
- 16 – 4 T Lymphocytes Regulate the Immune System and Fight Intracellular Infections, Viral Infection and Cancer
- 16 – 5 Putting It All Together – Examples of Responses of the Immune System to Different Types of Pathogens
- 16 – 6 Errors of the Immune System
- 16 – 7 Summary
Chapter 17 – Treatment and Prevention of Disease
- 17 – 1 Introduction
- 17 – 2 The beginnings of disease and efforts to combat them
- 17 – 3 Epidemiology helps to track disease outbreaks and stop them
- 17 – 4 Vaccines train the immune system to fight disease
- 17 – 5 Antimicrobial compounds directly inhibit or kill pathogens
- 17 – 6 Resistance to antibiotics has diminished the effectiveness of antibiotics
- 17 – 7 Summary
Chapter 18 – Introduction to Pathogens and Airborne and Contact Transmission
- 18 – 1 Introduction
- 18 – 2 Introduction to pathogenesis
- 18 – 3 Bacillus anthracis is an endospore-forming microbe that can causes a lethal toxic infection called anthrax
- 18 – 4 <i>Bordetella pertussis</i> causes whooping cough and was a major killer of children
- 18 – 5 Streptococcal diseases are major causes of infectious disease
- 18 – 6 <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> causes a large number of human infections
- 18 – 7 The microbes of the tuberculosis complex are slow-growing pathogens that gradually destroy the host
- 18 – 8 Tetanus and botulism are intoxications caused by clostridia
- 18 – 9 <i>Corynebacterium diphtheriae</i> is the cause of diphtheria
- 18 – 10 Fungal infections
- 18 – 11 Cold and flu viruses
- 18 – 12 Measles virus — An old enemy that is trying to make a comeback
- 18 – 13 Summary
Chapter 19 – Fecal to Oral Transmission
- 19 – 1 Introduction
- 19 – 2 <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> Is the Cause of Many Ulcers
- 19 – 3 Some <i>Escherichia coli</i> Strains Cause Diarrheal Diseases by Colonizing the Intestine, while Others Are Capable of Extraintestinal Infections.
- 19 – 4 <i>Salmonella enterica</i> Causes a Common Form of Gastroenteritis
- 19 – 5 <i>Vibrio cholerae</i> Is the Cause of Cholera
- 19 – 6 Infections with protozoa
- 19 – 7 Infections with Helminths
- 19 – 8 The hepatitis viruses
- 19 – 9 Summary
Chapter 20 – Sexually Transmitted Disease and Those Transmitted by Blood and Body Fluids
- 20 – 1 Introduction
- 20 – 2 Chlamydia are intracellular pathogens that cause the most common forms of venereal disease
- 20 – 3 <i>Treponema pallidum</i> is the cause of syphilis
- 20 – 4 <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i> causes the common sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea
- 20 – 5 Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acute immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
- 20 – 6 Herpes viruses cause cold sores and genital herpes
- 20 – 7 Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic disease with a high fatality rate
- 20 – 8 Summary
Chapter 21 – Vector Borne and Other Diseases
- 21 – 1 Introduction
- 21 – 2 <i>Yersinia pestis</i> is the causative agent of plague
- 21 – 3 <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> causes the tick-borne Lyme disease
- 21 – 4 <i>Plasmodium</i> species cause malaria
- 21 – 5 Trypanosomes cause two forms of trypanosomiasis
- 21 – 6 West Nile Virus causes a viral infection that can result in deadly encephalitis
- 21 – 7 Viroids and prions are infectious agents that are very different from viruses
- 21 – 8 Summary
Chapter 22 – Evolution: Implications for Microbiology
- 22 – 1 Introduction
- 22 – 2 Defining Evolution in a microbial sense
- 22 – 3 Macromolecular sequence data shows how microbes evolve
- 22 – 4 A classification scheme that flows from evolution has many advantages over other methods
- 22 – 5 The results of molecular phylogenies – the tree of life and how it relates to Eukarya
- 22 – 6 Archaea are fundamentally different from bacteria and eukaryotes
- 22 – 7 Bacteria
- 22 – 8 Summary
Chapter 23 – Microbial Ecology
- 23 – 1 Introduction
- 23 – 2 Our view of the environment clarifies
- 23 – 3 Modern molecular methods of microbial census
- 23 – 4 The parameters that influence growth
- 23 – 5 Why are the majority of the world’s microbes unculturable?
- 23 – 6 Culturing the unculturable
- 23 – 7 Microbial Communities in the Acid Mine
- 23 – 8 Summary
Chapter 25 – Aquatic Microbiology
- 25 – 1 Introduction
- 25 – 2 Aquatic environments are the largest surface environments on earth
- 25 – 3 Microbiology of rivers
- 25 – 4 Microbiology of lakes
- 25 – 5 The open ocean
- 25 – 6 Microbial life below the surface of the ocean has fewer nutrients, except at deep sea ocean vents.
- 25 – 7 Microorganisms participate in the cycling of elements
- 25 – 8 Summary
Chapter 26 – Applied Microbiology
- 26 – 1 Introduction
- 26 – 2 Useful metabolites from microbes
- 26 – 3 Growth of microbes in industry
- 26 – 4 Water treatment is essential to public health
- 26 – 5 Health and Food microbiology are important industries
- 26 – 6 Fermentations of milk
- 26 – 7 Yeast fermentations
- 26 – 8 Bread, sauerkraut and food spoilage
- 26 – 9 Enzymes from microorganisms are used in a wide variety of products
- 26 – 10 Industrial microbiology is also important in agriculture
- 26 – 11 Summary
Chapter 27 – Eukaryotic Microbial Diversity
Chapter 28 – Bacterial Diversity
- 28 – 1 Introduction
- 28 – 2 α Proteobacteria, Part 1
- 28 – 3 α Proteobacteria, Part 2
- 28 – 4 β Proteobacteria
- 28 – 5 γ Protoebacteria – Part 1
- 28 – 6 γ Protoebacteria, Part 2
- 28 – 7 δ Proteobacteria
- 28 – 8 ε Proteobacteria
- 28 – 9 Actinobacteria – High GC microbes
- 28 – 10 Firmicutes, Part 1
- 28 – 11 Firmicutes, Part 2
- 28 – 12 Other photosynthetic divisions, Cyannobacteria, Chlorobi and Chloroflexi
- 28 – 13 Spirochaetes, Planctomycetes and Deinococcus
- 28 – 14 Bacteroidetes and Thermotogae
- 28 – 15 Summary
Chapter 29 – Archaeal Diversity
Chapter 30 – Microbial Methods