Bacteria Flashcards
What are Prokaryotic cells?
A small, simple cell that doesn’t have a nucleus and has free-floating genetic material instead. Example includes bacteria.
What are Eukaryotic cells?
A complex, large cell that has a distinct nucleus containing the cell’s genetic material (DNA). Examples include animal cells, plant cells, and fungi (yeast, mushrooms, etc.)
What’s the difference between resident and pathogenic microbes?
Resident microbes are healthy bacteria that live on our body’s surface (skin) and digestive system
while pathogenic microbes cause you to be sick.
How are resident microbes beneficial to us?
Resident microbes make vitamin b and vitamin k (dark leafy greens)
Where do we get our resident microbes from?
Receive resident microbes during birth through mothers microbes within the vagina and receive them from inside the digestive system (objects in the mouth, breastfeeding)
What’s a common example of resident microbes in your body?
Lactobacillus (Prokaryotic cell that’s a bacterium) which is one of our healthy bacteria simple cell with no nucleus and candida (eukaryotic cell that’s a yeast)
What is a biofilm?
A bacterial community also known as polysaccharide sheath
How do bacteria benefit from forming biofilms?
Bacteria produce a polyseath barrier that protects them from being destroyed and can tell bacteria when resources are available.
How do bacteria benefit from releasing endotoxins?
Endotoxins damage host cells and trigger symptoms that can cause the host to transmit the disease. The purpose is to make you have symptoms (coughing, sneezing, vomiting) to spread the disease
How do bacteria benefit from releasing exotoxins?
Exotoxins damage host cells and trigger symptoms that can cause the host to transmit the disease. The purpose is to make you have symptoms (coughing, sneezing, vomiting) to spread the disease
How do bacteria benefit from forming endospores?
Endospores allow bacteria to survive really harsh environments and wait for favorable conditions to grow again. As the bacteria die, endospore is left behind and can be alive for thousands of years, waiting for conditions to improve (waits for a host) and becomes a bacterium again, continuing to divide
What’s a capsule?
The outermost layer of the bacterium. It prevents dehydration and allows the bacterium to escape white blood cells of your immune system.
What’s a cell wall?
The middle layer of the bacterium that helps with the structural support of the cell.
What’s a plasma membrane?
The inner layer of the bacterium that regulates what enters and exits the cell.
What’s a cytoplasm?
The fluid and space found outside the nucleus.
What’s chromosomal DNA?
Contains basic genes that allow bacteria to survive and carry about basic life functions.
What’s plasmid DNA?
Not all bacteria will have this. Plasmids are pieces of DNA bacteria absorb from their environment or get from other bacteria. Plasmid DNA may provide bacteria with a certain advantage, like the ability to be resistant to antibiotics.
