 | Term | Definition |
| |
prokaryote |
unicellular organism lacking a nucleus |
| |
bacillus |
rod-shaped prokaryote |
| |
coccus |
spherical prokaryote |
| |
chemoheterotroph |
organism that must take in organic molecules for both energy and carbon |
| |
photoheterotroph |
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 |
| |
chemoautotroph |
organism that makes organic carbon molecules from carbon dioxide using energy from chemical reactions |
| |
obligate aerobe |
organism that requires a constant supply of oxygen in order to live |
| |
obligate anaerobe |
organism that cannot live in the presence of oxygen |
| |
facultative anaerobe |
organism that can survive with or without oxygen |
| |
binary fission |
asexual reproduction in prokaryotes |
| |
conjugation |
form of sexual reproduction in prokaryotes, exhanges genetic information |
| |
endospore |
type of spore formed when a bacterium produces a thick internal wall that encloses its DNA and a portion of its cytoplasm |
| |
nitrogen fixation |
process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia |
| |
virus |
particle made up of nucleic acid and protein, can replicate only by infecting living cells |
| |
capsid |
outer protein coat of a virus |
| |
bacteriophage |
virus that infects bacteria |
| |
lytic infection |
process in which a virus enters a cell and replicates, causing 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 cells DNA |
| |
prophage |
the viral DNA that is embedded in the host cells DNA |
| |
retrovirus |
virus that contains RNA as its genetic information |
| |
pathogen |
disease-causing agent |
| |
vaccine |
a preperation of weakend or killed pathogens |
| |
antibiotic |
compound that blocks the growth and reproduction of bacteria |
| |
viroid |
single stranded RNA molecule that has no surrounding capsid |
| |
prion |
infectious particle made up of protein rather than DNA or RNA |
| |
spirillum |
spiral or corkscrew-shaped prokaryote |
| Add or remove terms from this set |
