| NFB | National Foundation for the Blind; nonfermenting bacteria |
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| PDB | Paget disease of bone; paradichlorobenzene; patient's database; phosphorus-dissolving bacteria; prev... |
| S-R | smooth-rough [bacteria] |
| TABC | total aerobic bacteria count; typhoid, paratyphoid A, paratyphoid B, and paratyphoid C [vaccine] |
| purple sulphur bacteria | <microbiology> A group of phototrophic prokaryotes containing bacteriochlorophylls a or b and characterised by the ability to oxidize hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and store elemental sulphur inside the cells. (09 Oct 1997) |
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| spiral and curved bacteria | A large, very diverse group of bacteria in which some species are curved, some helical. (12 Dec 1998) |
| sulfur-reducing bacteria | A group of gram-negative, anaerobic bacteria that is able to oxidise acetate completely to carbon dioxide using elemental sulfur as the electron acceptor. (12 Dec 1998) |
| endospore-forming bacteria | A group of rods or cocci whose taxonomic affinities are uncertain. They form endospores, thick-walled bodies formed within the vegetative cells of certain bacteria, able to withstand adverse environmental conditions for prolonged periods. (12 Dec 1998) |
| endosymbiotic bacteria | Bacteria that establish a symbiotic relationship within a eukaryotic cell. For example the nitrogen fixing bacteria of legume root nodules. See: endosymbiont hypothesis. (18 Nov 1997) |
| enteric bacteria | A large group of Gram negative rod-shaped bacteria characterised by a facultatively aerobic metabolism. Many of them are commonly found in the intestines of animals. (09 Oct 1997) |
| faecal coliform bacteria | <gastroenterology, microbiology> Aerobic bacteria found in the colon or faeces, often used as indicators of faecal contamination of water supplies. (09 Oct 1997) |
| flesh-eating bacteria | A strain of Group A streptococcus which, in severe cases, can destroy tissue as fast as surgeons can cut it out. The rapid destruction of tissue caused by these bacteria is localised, so it is unlikely to be caused by a general overstimulation of the immune system by, for example: superantigen exotoxin A. Instead, the invasive strains of strep A probably have other toxin such as exotoxin B, an enzyme (i.e. A cysteine protease) that destroys tissue by breaking down protein. (09 Oct 1997) |
| lactic acid bacteria | <microbiology> A group of Gram-positive, non-sporing bacteria which carry out a lactic acid fermentation of sugars. It includes species of Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus and Streptococcus. See: lactic acid fermentation. (25 Jun 1999) |
| lysogenic bacteria | <microbiology> A bacterium which contains in its genome the DNA of a virus which is lying dormant, passively letting itself be replicated by the bacterium whenever the bacterium replicates its own genome (a lysogenic virus), but able to reactivate and destroy the bacterium at a time of the virus's choosing (becomes a lytic virus). (15 Oct 1997) |