Applied Microbiology

Genetics

The development of morbid conditions or of disease; more specifically the cellular eventsand reactions and other pathologenic mechanisms occurring in the development of disease is pathogenesis. The genetic material of bacteria and plasmids is DNA.The two essential functions of genetic material are replication and expression.Genetic material must replicate accurately so that progeny inherit all of the specific genetic determinants (the genotype) of the parental organism. Expression of specific genetic material under a particular set of growth conditions determines the observable characteristics (phenotype) of the organism. Bacteria have few structural or developmental features that can be observed easily, but they have a vast array of biochemical capabilities and patterns of susceptibility to antimicrobial agents or bacteriophages. These latter characteristics are often selected as the inherited traits to be analyzed in studies of microbial genetics.