Animal And Plant Pathogens Flashcards
what are pathogens?
an organism which causes disease.
what are the four types of pathogens?
- bacteria
- fungi
- virus
- protoctista
how many people die each year from communicable diseases?
13 million people
do all bacteria cause disease?
no
what type of cell are bacteria?
prokaryotes
what are the two ways of classifying bacteria?
- by their basic shapes.
- by their cell walls.
what are the different basic shapes that bacteria may be?
- rod shaped (bacilli)
- spherical shaped (cocci)
- comma shape (vibrios)
- spiralled shape (spirillia)
- corkscrew (spirochaetes)
what are the two main types of bacterial cell walls?
- gram positive bacteria
- gram negative bacteria
how can you determine the type of bacterial cell wall bacteria has?
gram staining.
why is t useful to know the type of cell wall bacteria has?
the type of cell wall affects how bacteria react to different antibiotics.
what are antibiotics?
compounds that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria.
are viruses alive?
no. they are non-living.
what diameter do viruses have?
0.02-0.03 um in diameter.
how much smaller in length are viruses compared to bacteria?
50 times smaller in length.
what is the basic structure of a virus?
some genetic material (DNA or RNA) surrounded by protein.
how do viruses infect cells?
they invade living cells and the genetic material of the virus takes over the healthy cell to make other viruses. they reproduce rapdly until the cell bursts and genetic information is spread to other healthy cells. they evolve by developing adaptions.