Pathogens Flashcards
What are vectors>
organsisms that carry a pathogen form one organism to another
involved in the spread a number of plant and animal diseases
What are the different structures of bacteria relating to coccus?
coccus - spherical
cocci - pair of coccus
strepocci - chain of cocci
staphylococci - cluster of cocci
What are the other shapes of bacteria?
vibrio - comma
spirillium - spiral
spirochaete - corkscrew
What are the different types of bacteria cell walls?
two main types - react differently with a process called gram staining
gram positive - turn purple-blue under light microscope, e.g MRSA
gram negative bacteria - red, e.g. E. coli
What does the type of cell wall effect?
affects how the bacteria react to antibiotics
What are viruses
non-living infectous agents
50 x smaller than the average bacterium
What is the basic structure of a virus?
some genetic material surrounded by a protein
How do viruses infect cells?
they invade them
the genetic material of the virus takes over the biochemistry of the host cell to make more viruses
What is different about virsus’ and what are bacteriophages?
cause disease in every other type of organisms
virus’ that attack bacteria are called bacterophages
these can be used to treat disease and in scientific research
How do protocistas cause disease?
aka protista
eukrayotic organsims that are single celled but group into colonies
need a vector, e.g. malaria
or enter through polluted water, e.g. amoebic dysentry
What are fungi?
can be single-celled or multi-cellular
eukaryotic
How do fungi feed and reproduce?
don’t photosynthesise, so they feed on decaying matter
however some are parasitic and feed on living pants and animals, these are the pathogenic fungi
when they reproduce, they produce millions of tiny spores that can spread huge distances, spread quickly through plants
often effect leaves, which can stop the plant from photosynthesising
