| prokaryotes | unicellular organisma that lack a nucleous |
| bacilli | rod shaped prokaryotes |
| cocci | spherical prokaryotes |
| spirilla | spiral or corck-screw shaped prokaryotes |
| chemoheterotrophs | organism that must take in organic molecules for both energy and carbon |
| photoheterotrophs | organism that is photosynthetic but needs organic compounds as a carbon source |
| photoautotroph | organism that uses energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water to carbon compounds |
| chemoautotrophs | organism that makes organic carbon molecules from carbon dioxide using energy from chemical reactions |
| obligate aerobes | organisms that require a constant supply of oxygen in order to live |
| obligate anaerobes | organisms that must live in the absence of oxygen |
| facultative anaerobes | organisms that are able to function in different ways, depending on their environment with or without oxygen |
| binary fission | type of asexual reproduction in which an organism replicates its DNA and divides in half, producing two identical daughter cells |
| conjugation | form of sexual reproduction in which paramecia and some prokaryotes exchange genetic information |
| endospore | type of spore formed when a bacterium produces a thick internal wall that encloses its DNA and a protion of its cytoplasm |
| nitrogen fixation | the process of converting nitrogen gas into a form plants can use |
| viruses | particles of nucleic acid, protein, and in some cases lipids |
| capsid | a virus's protein coat |
| bacteriophages | viruses that infect bacteria |
| lytic infection | process in which a virus enters a cell, makes a copy of itself, and causes the cell to burst |
| lysogenic infection | process by which a virus embeds its DNA into the DNA of the host cell and is replicated along with the host's cells DNA |
| prophage | the viral DNA that is embeded in the host's DNA |
| retroviruses | virus that contains RNA as its genetic information |
| pathogens | disease causing agents |
| vaccine | a preparation of weakened or killed pathogens |
| antibiotics | compounds that block the growth and reproduction of bacteria |
| viroids | single-stranded RNA molecules that have no surrounding capsids |
| prion | protein infectious particles |