Prokaryotes And Viruses Flashcards
What does Woese’s tree of life show ?
Classification of living organisms based on appearance and behaviour
What 4 structures do all cells have in common ?
- cell membrane
- cytoplasm
- ribosomes
- cell wall
What is the function of the cell membrane ?
A barrier that separates the inside of the cell from the outside environment
What is the function of the cytoplasm ?
Aqueous mixture of macromolecules, ions and ribosomes
What is the function of ribosomes?
Protein synthesizing structures
What is the function of the cell wall ?
Provides structural strength and prevents osmotic lysis
What are the 3 domains of life?
- bacteria
- archaea
- eukaryotes
What is archaea ?
Anaerobes living in low oxygen
What are the structures found in prokaryotes ?
- no membrane enclosed organelles
- cell membrane
- ribosomes
- plasmids
- nucleoid
- cell wall
- some have flagella
What is an organelle ?
A part of a cell that does a specific job
What is a plasmid ?
A small, circular, double stranded DNA molecule
What is morphology ?
It enables micro - organisms to cope with their environment and is a tool for gaining a competitive advantage
List some other prokaryotic cell structures ?
- pilus/superciliary structures
- flagella
- fimbriae
- capsule
What is the cell envelope ?
It is made up of 2 to 3 layers :
- interior cell membrane
- cell wall
- capsule (in some bacteria)
What is pilus ?
Hairlike projections on the outside of the cell which attach bacteria to substrates and act as sex organs
They originate in the cell membrane and protrude out the cell wall