Domains of Life and Scientific Nomenclature Flashcards
Three Domains of Life
Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya.
Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA)
The unique common ancestor thought to be the origin of all life on earth.
Biochemical components
L-Amino Acids and D-Carbohydrates that support the evidence for LUCA.
Universal genetic code
The genetic code that is shared by all living organisms.
Metabolic pathways
Biochemical processes that are common across different forms of life.
16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
A type of RNA used to compare sequences to understand relationships among living organisms.
Bacteria
Single-celled, asexual, prokaryotic organisms including predators, mutualists, parasites, and extremophiles.
Archaea
Single-celled, prokaryotic, asexual microorganisms, often extremophiles.
Eukaryotes
Organisms with eukaryotic cells containing plastids, evolved by endosymbiosis.
Pathogens
Organisms that cause disease, with varying modes of transmission and interaction with hosts.
Scientific name
A formal name used to uniquely identify a species.
Linnean classification
A system for naming and classifying organisms developed by Carl Linnaeus.
Taxonomy
The description, identification, and classification of organisms.
Systematics
The study of evolutionary relationships among biological entities.
Binomial nomenclature
A system of naming organisms using two terms: the genus and species.
Species
A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
Evolutionary fitness landscape
A representation of the relationship between fitness and genotype or phenotype.
Erasmus Darwin
Charles Darwin’s grandfather who proposed ideas about common descent and evolution.
Charles Darwin
Naturalist who expanded on the idea of descent from a common ancestor and evolution over time.
Homologous traits
Traits shared by organisms due to common ancestry.
Analogous traits
Traits that arise independently in different species due to similar selective pressures.
Convergent evolution
The process where unrelated organisms develop similar traits due to similar environments.
Phylogenetic diagrams
Visual representations of evolutionary relationships among species.
Clade
A monophyletic group of organisms that includes an ancestor and all its descendants.
Common Ancestor
An ancestral species from which multiple species have evolved.
Sister Group
Groups that share a most recent common ancestor.
Outgroup
A species or group that is closely related to the ingroup but not a part of it.
