1.3 Vocabulary Flashcards
Antibiotics
Molecules, produced usually by bacteria and fungi, that have the ability to suppress the growth of microbes or kill them.
Antigen
A structure which can be recognized by the immune system as foreign.
Bacilli
Rod-like bacteria.
Botulism
Illness that results from toxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
Capsule
An external layer made of sugars that surrounds some bacteria.
Cell Wall
An external layer surrounding the plasma membrane of most bacteria.
Chemotaxis
The targeted movement of an organism towards or away from a stimulus.
Cocci
Sphere-shaped bacteria.
Colonize
Ability of bacteria to adapt to permanently inhabit our bodies.
Enzymes
Proteins produced by living organisms that are used to speed up chemical reactions
Gonoccoci
Gram-negative bacteria which cause gonorrhea.
Gonorrhea
Sexually transmitted disease caused by gonoccoci, also called Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Lipopolysaccharides (LPS)
Large molecules composed of lipids and polysaccharides, critical in the making of the Gram-negative outer membrane.
Lipoteichoic Acid (LTA)
A polymer of modified lipids used to strengthen the Gram-positive cell wall.
Meningitis
Inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and the spinal cord.
Murein (peptidoglycan)
A complex molecule (polymer) made of sugars and amino acids, that is the building block of the bacterial cell wall.
Peptides
Small proteins made of a few amino acids.
Plasma (cell) Membrane
A membrane that separates the internal cell contents from the outside environment.
Pneumonia
Inflammation of the lung caused by microbes.
Tetanus
An infection caused by Clostridium tetani characterized by muscle spasms due to toxins produced by the bacteria.
Toxins
Molecules (usually proteins) produced by bacteria that are toxic to the host’s cells, and a major reason for the symptoms of an infectious disease.
Transport Channels
Protein complexes in the cell membrane used to transport ions and molecules across the membrane.
Turgor Pressure
The pressure caused by the plasma membrane on the cell wall as the result of water flowing from a dilute outside environment into more concentrated internal cell content.
