Module 2 Key Terms - Chapter 16, 17

Archaea

The subkingdom of bacteria that includes methane, salt and sulpholobus bacteria

Autotroph

an organism capable of sustaining itself through conversion of inorganic substances to organic material

Bacillus (bacilli pl.)

A general term for rod shaped bacteria

Bacteriophage

a virus whose host is a bacterium

Bioremediation

The use of living organism to remove pollutants and contaminants from the environment

Coccus (cocci pl.)

A general term for spherical bacteria

Conjugation

a process leading to the fusion of isogametes in algae, fungi, and protozoa; also the means by which certain bacteria exchange DNA

Cyanobacteria

Formerly known as the blue-green algae, they are photosynthetic bacteria

Disease

...

Bacteriophyta

...

Fission

the division of cells of bacteria and related organisms into two new cells

Heterotroph

incapable of synthesizing food and therefore dependent on other organisms for it

Koch's postulates

The rules used to determine whether a particular organism causes a specific disease

Methane bacteria

Group of anaerobic bacteria that produce swamp or marsh gas. Part of the kingdom archaea

Morphology

The study of an organism's form

Parasite

An organism that obtains its food directly from living organisms

Prokaryotic

having a cell or cells that lack a distinct nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles (ex. bacteria)

Salt bacteria

kingdom archaea

Saprophyte

an organism that lacks chlorophyll and obtains nutrients from dead or decaying organic matter

Spirillum (spirilli pl.)

spiral shape

Sulpholobus bacteria

kingdom archaea

Viruses

a tiny particle consisting of a core of nucleic acid, usually surrounded by a protein coat. viruses are incapable of growth alone and can reproduce only within, and at the expense of a living cell. A "parasitic" infectious macromolecule