Chapter 1 Flashcards
Nomenclature
System of naming
Genus (plural genera)
First name in scientific nomenclature (always capitalized)
Specific epithet
Species name (not capitalized)
Bacteria
Simple, single celled organisms
Genetic material is not enclosed in a special nuclear membrane (bacteria and Archaea)
Prokaryotes
Peptidoglycan
Carbohydrate and protein complex that are cell walls in bacteria
Cellulose
Plant and algal cell walls
Binary fission
Reproduction by dividing into two equal cells
Flagella
Moving appendages that allow bacteria to “swim”
Archaea
Prokaryoic cells, but if they have cell walls, the cell walls lack peptidoglycan
Methanogens
Archaea that produce methane as a waste product from respiration
Halophiles
Archaea that live in extremely salty environments
Thermophiles
Archaea that live in hot sulfurous water
Eukaryotes
Organisms that have a distinct nucleus containing DNA surrounded by a nuclear membrane
Fungi
Eukaryotes that can be unicellular or multicellular
Chitin
Cell walls of fungi
Yeasts
Unicellular form of fungi, oval microorganisms larger than bacteria
Mycelia
Visible masses of molds
Hyphae
Long filaments that branch and intertwine to form mycelia
Protozoa
Unicellular eukaryotic microbes, move by psuedopods, flagella, or cilia
Slime molds
Not molds, but amoeba-like protozoa
Amebae
A type of protozoan, move by using extensions of their cytoplasm called pseudopods (false feet)
Algae
Photosynthetic eukaryotes with a wide variety of shapes both sexual and asexual reproductive forms
Viruses
Acellular (not cells), can only reproduce by using the cellular machinery of other organisms, contain either DNA or RNA
Multicellular animal parasites
Eukaryotes, known as flatworms and roundworms, or collectively helminths
Eukarya
Protists, fungi, plants, and animals
Protists
Slime molds, protozoa, and algae
Plants
Mosses, ferns, conifers, and flowering plants
Animals
Sponges, worms, insects, and vertebrates
Cell theory
The theory that all living beings are made of cells
Spontaneous generation
The theory that some forms of life could arise spontaneously from nonliving matter
Biogenesis
Theory that living cells arise only from living cells
Aseptic techniques
Procedures that prevent contamination by unwanted organisms
Aseptic techniques
Procedures that prevent contamination by unwanted microorganisms
Pasteurization
Heating beer and wine enough to kill the bacteria spoiling it
Koch’s postulates
A sequence of experimental steps for directly relating a specific microbe to a specific disease
Chemotherapy
Treatment of diseases using chemical substances
Antibiotics
Chemicals produced naturally by bacteria and fungi that act against bacteria
Synthetic drugs
Chemotherapeutic agents prepared from chemicals in the laboratory
Mycology
The study of fungi
Parasitology
The study of protozoa and parasitic worms
Immunology
Study of immunity
Interferons
Substances generated by the body’s own immune system
Virology
The study of viruses
Microbial genetics
The study of mechanisms by which microorganisms inherit traits
Molecular biology
How genetic information is carried in molecules of DNA
Genomics
The study of all of an organism’s genes
Recombinant DNA
Fragments of human or animal DNA that code for important proteins can be attached to bacterial DNA and multiplied
