Chapter 24: Early Life/Diversification of Prokaryotes Flashcards
What are the 3 domains of life?
Eukaryotes, Archaea, + Bacteria
What domains are prokaryotes in?
Bacteria + Archaea
What is a prokaryote?
a single-celled organism in the domains Bacteria + Archaea
What is a nucleoid?
an area in which genetic materials are assembled/loosely organized/have no membrane
What are the prokaryote shapes?
Spherical (cocci), rod-shaped (bacilli), + spiral (Spirilla)
What is the function of the cell wall?
maintain shape and protect
What is the function of the capsule?
enables prokaryotes to adhere to substrates or other prokaryotes
What is the function of the plasma membrane?
acts as a selective barrier
What is the function of a fimbriae?
enables prokaryotes to adhere to substrates or other prokaryotes
What is the function of the pilus?
appendages that pull 2 cells together before DNA transfer
What is the function of the flagella?
enables taxis (mobility)
What is the function of ribosomes?
contains RNA
What are cell walls in prokaryotes (Domain Bacteria) made of?
peptidoglycan
What is gram-positive bacteria?
bacteria that stains a darker color due to its thick peptidoglycan cell wall
What is gram-negative bacteria?
bacteria that has a thinner peptidoglycan cell wall - makes its more resistant to drugs
What are plasmids?
smalls rings of independently replicating DNA, located in the nucleoid
What is the internal organization of prokaryotes?
-Lack complex compartments
-Some have specialized membranes
-The membrane = plasma infoldings
What is a phototroph?
organisms that obtain energy from light
What is a chemotroph?
organisms that obtain energy from chemicals
What is an extremophile?
Prokaryotes that love extreme environments
What is a thermophile?
prokaryotes that can live in very hot environments
What is an acidophile?
prokaryotes that can live in very acidic environments
What is a halophile?
prokaryotes that can live in very salty environments
What is a psychcrophile?
prokaryotes that can live in very cold environments
What is a biofilm?
a surface coating colony of 1 or more species of prokaryotes that engage in metabolic cooperation (slime on a lake, grime on teeth)
What are obligate aerobes?
use oxygen for cellular respiration
What are obligate anaerobes?
fermentation/use of molecules that are not oxygen like NO3. Oxygen is poisonous to them.
What is metabolic cooperation?
-singles cells that can’t carry out 2 processes at once
-enables access to additional resources
-occurs in biofilms
What are nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria?
photosynthetic cells that make sugar
What are heterocysts?
fix N2
What process do prokaryotes use to reproduce?
binary fission
What prevents reproduction in prokaryotes?
-depleted nutrients + metabolic wastes
-competition
-predators
What is mutualism?
a relationship where both species benefit
What is commensalism?
a relationship where one species benefits while the other is not benefited nor harmed
What is parasitism?
a relationship where one species benefits while the other is harmed
What is symbiosis?
when two species live in close contact
What is bioremediation
a process using living organisms to remove pollutants from soil, air, and water
How do prokaryotes have a high level of genetic diversity?
rapid reproduction, mutations, and genetic recombination
What is genetic recombination?
the combining of DNA from 2 sources
What horizontal gene transfer?
the movement of genes from one organism to another
What are the three mechanisms in horizontal gene transfer?
- Transformation
- Transduction
- Conjugation
What is transformation?
the uptake of foreign DNA from surroundings
What is transduction?
bacteriophages carry prokaryotic genes from one host cell to another
What is conjugation?
The DNA transfer between 2 prokaryotes
What are proteobacteria?
-Aerobes/anaerobes
-gram-negative
-has five sub-groups (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon)
What are sister bacteria?
chlamydia, spriochetes, cyanobacteria, gram-positive
What are the four stages of early life on earth?
- The abiotic synthesis of small/organic molecules
- The abiotic joining of small organic molecules into macromolecules
- The packaging of these molecules to protocells
- The origin of self-replication molecules