Chapter 22: Prokaryotes: Bacteria and Archaea

Question 1

Acidophile

Answer 1

an organism with optimal growth pH of three or below

Question 2

Alkaliphile

Answer 2

organism with optimal growth pH of nine or above

Question 3

Ammonification

Answer 3

process by which ammonia is released during the decomposition of nitrogen containing organic compounds

Question 4

Anaerobic

Answer 4

refers to organisms that grow without oxygen

Question 5

Anoxic

Answer 5

without oxygen

Question 6

Antibiotic

Answer 6

a biological substance that, in low concentration, is antagonistic to the growth of prokaryotes

Question 7

Biofilm

Answer 7

microbial community that is held together by a gunny-textured matrix

Question 8

Biological Nitrogen Fixation

Answer 8

conversion to atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia exclusively carried out by prokaryotes

Question 9

Bioremediation

Answer 9

use the microbial metabolism to remove pollutants

Question 10

Biotechnology

Answer 10

any technological application that uses living organisms, biological systems, or their derivates to produce or modify other products

Question 11

Black Death

Answer 11

devastating pandemic that is believed to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis

Question 12

Botulism

Answer 12

disease produced by the toxin of the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum

Question 13

CA- MRSA

Answer 13

MRSA acquired in the community rather than in a hospital

Question 14

Capsule

Answer 14

external structure that enables a prokaryote to attach to surfaces and protects it from dehydration

Question 15

Chemotroph

Answer 15

organism that obtains energy from chemical compounds

Question 16

Conjugation

Answer 16

process by which prokaryotes move DNA from one individual to another using a pilus

Question 17

Cyanobacteria

Answer 17

bacteria that evolved from early phototrophs and oxygenated the atmosphere; also known as blue-green algae

Question 18

Decomposer

Answer 18

an organism that carries out the decomposition of dead organisms

Question 19

Denitrification

Answer 19

transformation of nitrate from soil to gaseous nitrogen compounds such as N2O , NO, and N2

Question 20

Emerging Disease

Answer 20

disease making an initial appearance in a population or that is increasing in incidence or geographic range

Question 21

Epidemic

Answer 21

disease that occurs in an unusually high number of individuals in a population at the same time

Question 22

Extremophile

Answer 22

organisms that grows under extreme or harsh conditions

Question 23

Foodborne Disease

Answer 23

any illness resulting from the consumption of contaminated food, or of the pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and other parasites that contaminate food

Question 24

Gram Negative

Answer 24

bacterium whose cell wall contains little peptidoglycan but has an outer membrane

Question 25

Gram Positive

Answer 25

bacterium that contains mainly peptidoglycan in its cell walls

Question 26

Halophile

Answer 26

organism that require a salt concentration of at least 0.2 M

Question 27

Hydrothermal Vent

Answer 27

fissure in Earth's surface that releases geothermally heated water

Question 28

Hyperthermophile

Answer 28

organism that grows at temperatures between 80-122 C

Question 29

Microbial Mat

Answer 29

multi-layer sheet of prokaryotes that may include bacteria and archaea

Question 30

MRSA

Answer 30

(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) very dangerous Staphylococcus aureus strain resistant to multiple antibiotics

Question 31

Nitrification

Answer 31

Conversion of ammonium into nitrite and nitrate in soils

Question 32

Nitrogen Fixation

Answer 32

process by which gaseous nitrogen is transformed, or "fixed" into more readily available forms such as ammonia

Question 33

Nodule

Answer 33

novel structure on the roots of certain plants (legumes) that results from the symbiotic interaction between the plant and soil bacteria, and is the site of nitrogen fixation

Question 34

Nutrient

Answer 34

essential substances for growth, such as carbon and nitrogen

Question 35

Osmophile

Answer 35

organism that grows in a higher sugar concentration

Question 36

Pandemic

Answer 36

widespread, usually worldwide, epidemic disease

Question 37

Peptidoglycan

Answer 37

material composed of polysaccharide chains cross-linked to unusual peptides

Question 38

Phototroph

Answer 38

organism that is able to make its own food by converting solar energy to chemical energy

Question 39

Pilus

Answer 39

surface appendage of some prokaryotes used for attachment to surfaces including other prokaryotes

Question 40

Pseudopeptidoglycan

Answer 40

component of archaea cell walls that is similar to peptidoglycan in morphology but contains different sugars

Question 41

Psychrophile

Answer 41

organism that grows at temperatures of -15 C or lower

Question 42

Radioresistant

Answer 42

organism that grows in high levels of radiation

Question 43

Resuscitation

Answer 43

process by which prokaryotes that are in the VBNC state return to viability

Question 44

S-layer

Answer 44

surface-layer protein present on the outside of cell walls of archaea and bacteria

Question 45

Serotype

Answer 45

strain of bacterium that carries a set of similar antigens on its cell surface, often many in a bacterial species

Question 46

Stromatolite

Answer 46

layered sedimentary structure formed by precipitation of minerals by prokaryotes in microbial mats

Question 47

Teichoic Acid

Answer 47

polymer associated with the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria

Question 48

Thermophile

Answer 48

organism that lives at temperatures between 60-80 C

Question 49

Transduction

Answer 49

Process by which bacteriophage moves DNA from one prokaryote to another

Question 50

Transformation

Answer 50

process by which a prokaryote takes in DNA found in it environment that is shed by other prokaryotes

Question 51

Viable-but-non-culturable (VBNC) state

Answer 51

survival mechanism of bacteria facing environmental stress conditions

Question 52

Zoonosis

Answer 52

disease that primarily infects animals that is transmitted to humans