Prokaryotic Cells Flashcards
Hypertonic Solution
A hypertonic solution is a solution with a higher concentration of solutes and lower concentration of water (solvent) than surrounding solution.
Peptidoglycan
Peptidoglyan is a large, net-like molecule found in all bacterial cell walls made up of many polysaccharide chains with short peptide cross-linkages.
Pili (fimbria)
are thread-like protein projections found on the surface of some bacteria.
Bacteriophages
Are viruses that attack bacteria.
Flagella
These are many stranded helixes of the contract contractile protein flagelin found on some bacteria. They move the bacteria by rapid rotations.
Mesomes
These are infoldings of the cell membrane of bacteria.
Nucleoid
This is the area in a bacterium where we find the single length of coiled DNA.
Plasmids
These are small, circular pieces of DNA that code for specific aspects of the bacterial phenotype.
Gram staining
This is a staining technique used to distinguish types of bacteria by their cell wall.
Gram-positive bacteria
are bacteria that contain teichoic acid in their cell walls and stain purple/blue with Gram staining.
Teichoic acid
This is a chemical found in the cell walls of Gram-positive bacteria.
Gram-negative bacteria
These are bacteria that have no teichoic acid in their cell walls. They stain red with Gram staining.
Cocci
These are spherical bacteria.
Spirilla
are bacteria with a twisted or spiral shape.
Vibrios
These are comma shaped bacteria.
