Chapter 2 Diversity: From Simple to Complex (Defs.) Flashcards
A structure that contains strands of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protective protein coat; it cannot live independently outside of cells.
Virus
The outer protein layer that surrounds the genetic material of a virus.
Capsid
The fundamental process of all cells, in which the genetic material is copied before the cell reproduces.
Replication
The replication process in viruses in which the virus’s genetic material uses the copying machinery of the host cell to make new viruses.
Lytic cycle
The replication process in viruses, in which the viral DNA enters the host cell’s chromosomes; it may remain dormant and later activate and instruct the host cell to produce more viruses.
Lysogenic cycle
An infectious particle that causes damage to nerve cells in the brain, and that appears to consist mostly or entirely of a single protein.
Prion
An individual prokaryotic cell or a single species that is in the domain Bacteria.
Bacterium (plural bacteria)
An individual prokaryotic cell or a single species that is in the domain Archaea.
Archaeon (plural archaea
A micro-organism whose overall morphology is spherical or nearly so.
Coccus (plural cocci)
A micro-organism whose overall morphology is rod-shaped.
Bacillus (plural bacilli)
A biological (or chemical) process that produces methane as an by-product. Appears to be unique to the Archaea.
Methanogenesis
An organism that lives in habitats characterized by extreme conditions.
Extremophile
An organism that lives in habitats characterized by moderate conditions.
Mesophile
The asexual form of reproduction used by most prokaryotes (and some eukaryotic organelles), in which a cell divides into two genetically identical cells (or organelles).
Binary fission
A process in which there is a transfer of genetic material involving two cells.
conjugation