Prokaryotic cell diversity

Question 0

Name two structures extending from the cell membrane of bacteria.

Answer 0

Flagella (long distinctive structures capable of movement)

Pili (shorter thinner structures involved in adhesion).

Question 1

Most archaea and many bacteria have what basic shapes?

Answer 1

Round, rod-shaped or thread-like.

Question 2

What is bacterial conjugation?

Answer 2

A form of mating where genetic information is transmitted from one cell to another via a sex pili.

Question 3

Are single-celled prokaryotes generally small or large?

Answer 3

Small, although there are exceptions.

Question 4

Name two exceptionally large single-celled prokaryotes.

Answer 4

Spirochaetes, which have a characteristic shape like a coiled spring. They can grow over 100 micrometers long.

Sulfur pearl of Namibia. Largest bacterium known at time of writing. They can grow up to 0.75mm long.

Question 5

Using a light microscope, how would you identify that an organism was a prokaryote not a eukaryote?

Answer 5

The absence of a nucleus.