bacterial structures Flashcards
what are endospores
structures that protect the bacterial genome when environmental conditions are unfavourable
what are fibrae and pilli
allow bacteria to interact with the environment
size of bacterial genome correlates with
how much the bacterium relies on the host for survival
what is the function of plasmids
code for genes that increase the ability of bacteria to cause disease and resist antibiotics
what is a disadvantage of asexual reproduction
limits genetic diversity
how can bacteria transfer DNA between cells
conjugation, transduction, transformation, transposition
what is conjugation
direct contact between cells and DNA is transferred through conjugation pilus
what is transduction
genes are transferred through bacterial viruses known as bacteriophages that infect cells and inject their DNA into the bacterial genome
what is transformation
small pieces of environmental DNA can be taken up by the bacteria and incorporated into chromosome
what is transposition
enzymes called transposase flanked by inverted DNA sequences, excise DNA from one location in the DNA molecule and integrate it somewhere else.
what is an operon
a stretch of sequence on the chromosome where structural proteins with related functions are
what is a regulon
group of several genes or operons that are turned off or on in response to the same singnal by a regulatory protein
