Chapter 13

Question 1

Biodiversity

Answer 1

the variety within and among living species

Question 2

Domain Bacteria

Answer 2

• most bacteria are probably harmless to humans
• we are most familiar with the ones that cause disease
• many known bacteria obtain nutrients by decomposing dead organisms
• competition between bacteria has produced compounds that humans make use of

Question 3

Antibiotics

Answer 3

• a chemical that kills or disables bacteria

- 50% of antibiotics are derived from bacterial sources

Question 4

Domain Archaea

Answer 4

• superficially similar to bacteria
• differ in structure of cell membranes
• archaeans typically found in extreme environments (high temperature, high pressure, high salt concentration)
• taq polymerase comes from an archaean, thermophilus aquaticus
• archaeans are likely to be source of other interesting biomolecules

Question 5

Domain Eukarya

Answer 5

• protists are the simplest of the eukaryotes

- oldest eukaryotic fossils are 2 billion years old; 1.5 billion years later than the first prokaryotic cells

Question 6

Endosymbiotic Theory

Answer 6

explains the evolution of eukaryotes and their specialized structures

Question 7

Cambrian Explosion

Answer 7

relatively rapid evolution of the modern forms of multicellular life that occurred approximately 550 million years ago

Question 8

Spores

Answer 8

reproductive cell in plants and fungi that is capable of developing into an adult without fusing with another cell

Question 9

Vascular Tissue

Answer 9

cells that transport water and other materials within a plant

Question 10

Flowering Plants

Answer 10

member of the kingdom Plantae, which produces flowers and fruit

Question 11

Biopiracy

Answer 11

when local knowledge is used without benefiting local people