2.2 Prokaryotic cells - Key words

Question 1

Hypertonic solution

Answer 1

Solution with a higher concentrations of solutes and lower concentrations of water than the surrounding solution

Question 2

Peptidoglycan

Answer 2

Large, net-like molecule found in all bacterial cell walls made up of many parallel polysaccharide chains with short peptide cross-linkages

Question 3

Pili (fimbriae)

Answer 3

Thread-like protein projections found on the surface of some bacteria

Question 4

Bacteriophages

Answer 4

Viruses that attack bacteria

Question 5

Flagella

Answer 5

Many-stranded helices of the contractile protein flagellin found on some bacteria- They move the bacteria by rapid rotations

Question 6

Mesosomes

Answer 6

Infoldings of the cell membrane of a bacteria

Question 7

Nucleoid

Answer 7

Area in the bacterium where we find the single length of coiled DNA

Question 8

Plasmids

Answer 8

Small, circular pieces of DNA that code for specific aspects of the bacteria phenotype

Question 9

Gram staining

Answer 9

Staining technique used to distinguish types of bacteria by their cell wall

Question 10

Gram +ve bacteria

Answer 10

Bacteria that contain teichoic acid in their cell walls and stain purple/blue with Gram staining

Question 11

Obligate anaerobes

Answer 11

Organisms that can only respire in the absence of oxygen and are killed by oxygen

Question 12

Envelope

Answer 12

Coat around the outside of a virus derived from lipids in the host cell

Question 13

Capsid

Answer 13

Protein coat of a virus

Question 14

Capsomeres

Answer 14

Repeating protein units making up the capsid

Question 15

Virus attachment particles (VAPs)

Answer 15

Antigens that target proteins in the host cell surface membrane

Question 16

DNA/RNA viruses

Answer 16

Viruses that have DNA/RNA as their genetic material

Question 17

Retroviruses

Answer 17

Special type of RNA virus that controls the production of DNA corresponding to the viral RNA and insert it into the host cell DNA

Question 18

Reverse transcriptase

Answer 18

Enzyme synthesized in the life cycle of a retrovirus that makes DNA molecules corresponding to the viral RNA genone

Question 19

Non-virulent

Answer 19

Term used to describe a microorganism that is not disease causing

Question 20

Provirus

Answer 20

DNA that is inserted into the host cell during the lysogenic pathway of reproduction in viruses

Question 21

Lysogeny

Answer 21

Period when a virus is part of the reproducing host cell, but does bot affect it adversely

Question 22

Latent

Answer 22

State id the non-virulent virus within the host cell

Question 23

Virunt

Answer 23

Term used to describe a microorganism that is disease causing

Question 24

Ebola

Answer 24

Highly infectious viral disease that causes fever and internal bleeding and death in about 50% of cases

Question 25

Mortality rate

Answer 25

Measurements of the number of deaths in a given population or due to specific cause

Question 26

Pandemic

Answer 26

Epidemic that takes place in several countries at once