Chapter 29 Flashcards
Plasmodium
a parasitic protozoan of a genus that includes those causing malaria.
Flagellum
a slender threadlike structure, especially a microscopic whiplike appendage that enables many protozoa, bacteria, spermatozoa, etc., to swim.
Endomembrane system
composed of the different membranes that are suspended in the cytoplasm within a eukaryotic cell. These membranes divide the cell into functional and structural compartments, or organelles.
Endosymbiosis Theory
A theory that the mitochondria of eukaryotes and the chloroplasts of green plants and flagellates originated as free-living prokaryotes that invaded primitive eukaryotic cells and become established as permanent symbionts in the cytoplasm.
pseudopodia
Temporary cytoplasmic projection of the cell membrane of certain unicellular protists, and is used in locomotion and/or in feeding by engulfing food.
Absorptive feeding
The process of absorbing or assimilating substances into cells or across the tissues and organs through diffusion or osmosis, as in absorption of nutrients by the digestive system, or absorption of drugs into the bloodstream.
Amoeboid motion
the most common mode of locomotion in Eukaryotic cells. It is a crawling-like type of movement accomplished by protrusion of cytoplasm of the cell involving the formation of pseudopodia. The cytoplasm slides and forms a pseudopodium in front to move the cell forward.
Alternation of generations
a pattern of reproduction occurring in the life cycles of many lower plants and some invertebrates, involving a regular alternation between two distinct forms. The generations are alternately sexual and asexual (as in ferns) or dioecious and parthenogenetic (as in some jellyfish).
Gametophyte
a stage in the life cycle of plants and algae that undergo alternation of generations. It is a haploid multicellular organism that develops from a haploid spore that has one set of chromosomes. The gametophyte is the sexual phase in the life cycle of plants and algae.
sporophyte
multicellular diploid generation found in plants and algae that undergo alternation of generations. It produces haploid spores that develop into a gametophyte. The gametophyte then makes gametes that fuse and grow into a sporophyte.
Conjugation
the process by which one bacterium transfers genetic material to another through direct contact. During conjugation, one bacterium serves as the donor of the genetic material, and the other serves as the recipient.
Bioluminescence
the production and emission of light by a living organism. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria and terrestrial invertebrates such as fireflies.
Diatom
single-celled algae that form a silica-based cell wall. They are broken up into two major groups, the centric diatoms and the pennate diatoms, based on the form of their frustule. Diatoms live in all aquatic environments, including the ocean, freshwater lakes, and moist soils.
Diatomaceous earth
a soft, crumbly, porous sedimentary deposit formed from the fossil remains of diatoms
Holdfast
Any of various devices used to fasten something securely. Biology An organ or structure of attachment, especially the basal, rootlike formation by which certain seaweeds or other algae are attached to a substrate.
