BIO - TERMS - ORGANISM Flashcards
Benthos
Organisms found on the bottom of a water body.
Acclimation
Process by which an organism is able to adjust to a change in the environment. This enables the organism to survive even under adverse conditions.
aerotolerant anaerobe
An organism that does not use molecular oxygen (O2) but is not affected by its presence.
Antibiosis
Biological interaction between two or more organisms that is detrimental to at least one of them or an antagonistic association between an organism and the metabolic substances produced by another one.
asepsis
The absence of contamination by unwanted organisms.
auxotrophic mutant (auxotroph)
A mutant organism defective in the synthesis of a particular biomolecule, which must therefore be supplied for the organism’s growth.
binomial nomenclature
The system of having two names (genus and specific epithet) for each organism; also called scientific nomenclature.
Bioaccumulation
Biological enrichment of substances to higher concentration in organism than in its environment.
biochemistry
The study of the chemistry that occurs in living organisms.
biofuels
Energy resources made by living organisms, usually from biomass, e.g., ethanol, methane.
biogeochemical cycle
The recycling of chemical elements by microorganisms for use by other organisms.
biomass
Organic matter produced by living organisms and measured by weight.
Biomonitoring
Continuous observation of an area using bioindicators to assess changes in organisms or ecosystems induced by human impact.
bioterrorism
Use of a living organism or its product to intimidate.
Carnivorous fungi
Fungi that are able to trap and consume small soil organisms.
carrying capacity
The number of organisms that an environment can support.
cell doctrine
The proposal that all living organisms are composed of one or more cells and that all cells arise from the division of other living cells.
cell theory
All living organisms are composed of cells and arise from preexisting cells.
cladogram
A dichotomous phylogenetic tree that branches repeatedly, suggesting the classification of organisms based on the time sequence in which evolutionary branches arose.
definitive host
An organism that harbors the adult, sexually mature form of a parasite.
dichotomous key
An identification scheme based on successive paired questions; answering one question leads to another pair of questions, until an organism is identified.
differential medium
A solid culture medium that makes it easier to distinguish colonies of the desired organism.
dioecious
Referring to organisms in which organs of different sexes are located in different individuals.
ecology
The study of the interrelationships between organisms and their environment.
Egg (ovum)
A germ cell produced by a female organism.
embryology
(em-brē-ol′ō-jē) Study of the origin and development of the organism, from fertilization of the secondary oocyte until birth.
Endogenous proviruses
Proviruses that enter the germ line at some point in the history of an organism and are thereafter inherited in normal Mendelian fashion by every cell in that organism and by its progeny. (Chapter 7)
endolith
An organism that lives inside rock.
Endosymbiosis
A mutually beneficial relationship in which one organism lives inside another organism.
Environment
The aggregate of all the external conditions and influences affecting the life and development of an organism.
facultative anaerobe
An organism that can grow with or without molecular oxygen (O2).
facultative halophile
An organism capable of growth in, but not requiring, 1–2% salt.
glycolate pathway
The metabolic pathway in photosynthetic organisms that converts glycolate produced during photorespiration into 3-phosphoglycerate.
halophile
An organism that requires a high salt concentration for growth.
Homeotic mutation
A mutation that causes a body part to develop in an inappropriate position in an organism; for example, a mutation in Drosophila that causes legs to develop on the head in the place of antennae.
Hominin
An organism related to humans.
host
An organism infected by a pathogen. See also definitive host; intermediate host.
hyperthermophile
An organism whose optimum growth temperature is at least 80°C; also called extreme thermophile.
intermediate host
An organism that harbors the larval or asexual stage of a helminth or protozoan.
Intersex
An organism displaying secondary sexual characters intermediate between male and female; a type that shows some phenotypic characteristics of both males and females.
lethal mutation
A mutation that inactivates a biological function essential to the life of the cell or organism.
mesophile
An organism that grows between about 10°C and 50°C; a moderate-temperature–loving microbe.
Metabolic theory of ecology
Assumes that the metabolic rate of organisms influences patterns in ecology.
microaerophile
An organism that grows best in an environment with less molecular oxygen (O2) than is normally found in air.
molecular clock
An evolution timeline based on nucleotide sequences in organisms.
Neuston
At the interface between water and atmosphere, there is a “microlayer” of about 100 μm thickness. The neuston is the collective term for the organisms that float on the top of water (epineuston) or live right under the surface (hyponeuston).Theconcentration of microorganisms in this layer is several orders of magnitude higher than in the underlying water body. Mainly hydrophobic organisms accumulate there.
obligate aerobe
An organism that requires molecular oxygen (O2) to live.
obligate anaerobe
An organism that does not use molecular oxygen (O2) and is killed in the presence of O2.
obligate halophile
An organism that requires high osmotic pressures such as high concentrations of NaCl.
Obligate parasite
Organisms that are absolutely dependent on another living organism for reproduction. (Chapter 1)
Phase II reactions
Formation of water-soluble conjugates of functionalized xenobiotics with endogenous, highly polar molecules or moieties; most prominent in eukaryotic but also existing in prokaryotic organisms.
Phototropism
Growth of an organism or a part of an organism in response to light.
positional value
A cell’s internal record of its positional information in a multicellular organism; an intrinsic character that differs according to a cell’s location.
protozoan (plural: protozoa)
Unicellular eukaryotic organisms; usually chemoheterotrophic.
protozoan parasite
Parasitic, nonphotosynthetic, singlecelled, motile eukaryotic organism, for example Plasmodium.
pscyhrotroph
An organism that is capable of growth between about 0°C and 30°C.
psychrophile
An organism that grows best at about 15°C and does not grow above 20°C; a cold-loving microbe.
schizogony
The process of multiple fission, in which one organism divides to produce many daughter cells.
symbiosis
The living together of two different organisms or populations.
systemic
(sis-tem′ik) Relating to the entire organism as opposed to any of its individual parts.
taxa
Subdivisions used to classify organisms, e.g., domain, kingdom, phylum.
taxonomy
The science of the classification of organisms.
Temperature-sensitive mutant
An organism that can grow at one temperature but not at another.
thermophile
An organism whose optimum growth temperature is between 50°C and 60°C; a heat-loving microbe.
tissue culture
Method by which cells derived from multicellular organisms are grown in liquid media.
Toxicology
The study of toxins and their effects on cells and organisms.
organism
A living being. organogenesis (ōr′gă-nō-jen′ĕ- sis) Formation of organs during development.
