Chapter 20.2 Prokaryotes Flashcards

1
Q

What is a prokaryote?

A

smallest and most abundant microorganisms that are unicellular and lack a nucleus

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2
Q

Where is prokaryote DNA located?

A

in the cytoplasm

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3
Q

Where is eukaryote DNA located?

A

in a membrane-bound nuclear envelope

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4
Q

Domain Bacteria

A

(Kingdom Eubacteria)

  • the larger of the two domains
  • surrounded by a cell wall that protects from injury and determines its shape
  • cell walls contain peptidoglycan
  • some bacteria (ie. E. coli) have a second membrane outside the peptidoglycan wall that makes the cell especially resistant to damage
  • live in wide range of environments
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5
Q

What is peptidoglycan?

A

a polymer of sugars and amino acids

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6
Q

Domain Archaea

A

(Kingdom Archaebacteria)

  • cell walls lack peptidoglycan
  • membranes contain different lipids
  • archaea and eukaryotes are more closely related to each other than bacteria
  • live in harsh/extreme environments
  • methanogens
  • halophiles
  • thermoacidphiles
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7
Q

What are methanogens?

A

bacteria that can live in swamps, lake sediment, animals’ guts and produce methane gas (greenhouse gas)

    - live in places with little or no oxygen
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8
Q

What are halophiles?

A

bacteria that live in very salty habitats like the Dead Sea, seawater-evaporating ponds for salt production

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9
Q

What are thermoacidphiles?

A

bacteria that live in acid, hot conditions, like hot springs, deep-sea volcanic vents

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10
Q

How do prokaryotes vary in their structure and function?

A

prokaryotes vary in their size and shape, in the way they move, and in the way they obtain and release energy

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11
Q

Describe the size of prokaryotes.

A

range in size from 1 to 5 micrometers (smaller than most eukaryotic cells)

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12
Q

What are the three different shapes of prokaryotes?

A
  1. bacilli: rod-shaped
  2. cocci: spherical
  3. spirilla: spriral and corkscrew-shaped
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13
Q

Describe the movement of prokaryotes.

A

some do not move at all, some are propelled by a flagella, some glide slowly along a layer of slimelike material they secrete

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14
Q

Describe the nutrition and metabolism of prokaryotes.

A

store chemical energy in the form of fuel molecules (sugars), this energy is released during cellular respiration, fermentation, or both

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15
Q

What is a photoautotroph?

A

organism that carries out photosynthesis in a manner similar to that of plants

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16
Q

What is a chemoautotroph?

A

organism that makes food from chemical reactions such as ammonia

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17
Q

What is a decomposer?

A

organism that takes in organic molecules and then breaks them down

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18
Q

What is a photoheterotroph?

A

organism that uses light energy in addition to processing organic molecules

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19
Q

What is binary fission?

A

a type of asexual reproduction in which an organism replicates its DNA and divides in half, producing two identical daughter cells

20
Q

What is an endospore?

A

a thick internal wall that encloses the DNA and a portion of the cytoplasm

21
Q

What is conjugation?

A

a process in which paramecia and some prokaryotes exchange genetic info

hollow bridge forms between two bacterial cells, and genetic material, usually in the form of a plasmid

2 bacteria joined by pili and a small piece of DNA (plasmid) moves from one bacterium to the other

AKA LATERAL GENE TRANSFER: increases genetic diversity

22
Q

How do decomposers help the ecosystem recycle nutrients when a tree dies?

A

They feed and digest dead tissue, breaking it down into its raw materials which are released back into the environment.

23
Q

What would happen to plants and animals if decomposers did not recycle nutrients?

A

Plants would drain the soil of minerals and die, and animals that depend on plants as food would starve.

24
Q

Why do all organisms need nitrogen?

A

to make proteins and other molecules

25
Q

Why is the process of nitrogen fixation important?

A

the process converts nitrogen gas into ammonia which can then be converted to nitrates that plants use or can be attached to amino acids that all organisms use

26
Q

What kind of relationship do many plants have with nitrogen-fixing bacteria?

A

symbiotic relationship

27
Q

Where does conjugation happen?

A

in harsh environments, plasmids may contain genes to survive in new environments or to resist antibiotics

28
Q

What are the 6 important things about prokaryotes?

A
  1. decomposers
  2. producers
  3. nitrogen fixers
  4. human uses
  5. human body
  6. diseases
29
Q

How are prokaryotes classified?

A

prokaryotes are classified as Bacteria or Archaea (two of the three domains of life)

30
Q

DECOMPOSERS: importance of prokaryotes (3)

A
  • assist in breaking down dead organisms
  • supply raw materials (recycles) and help to maintain equilibrium in the environment
  • sewage treatment, purify water
31
Q

PRODUCERS: importance of prokaryotes (2)

A
  • photosynthesizers: produce oxygen in the open ocean

- basis of many food chains: depended on for food and biomass production

32
Q

NITROGEN FIXERS: importance of prokaryotes (2)

A
  • nitrogen fixation

- some plants have symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes

33
Q

HUMAN USES: importance of prokaryotes

A
  • food production
  • mining
  • synthesizing drugs and chemicals
  • remove wastes
  • etc.
34
Q

HUMAN BODY: importance of prokaryotes

A
  • 9/10 cells are bacterial
  • each cm squared of skin has 100,000 bacteria
  • helps digestion
  • helps immunity
35
Q

DISEASES: importance of prokaryotes

A
  • some bacteria are disease causing
36
Q

What are the most abundant photosynthetic organisms in the world?

A

cyanobacterium “Prochlorococcus”
- may account for more than half of the primary
production in the open ocean

37
Q

What roles do prokaryotes play in the living world?

A

Prokaryotes are essential in maintaining every aspect of the ecological balance of the living world. In addition, some species have specific uses in human industry.

38
Q

What do plasmids carry?

A

genes that enable bacteria to survive in new environments or to resist antibiotics that might otherwise prove fatal

39
Q

What are mutations?

A

random changes in DNA that occur in all organisms

40
Q

How are mutations inherited in prokaryotes?

A

by daughter cells produced by binary fission

41
Q

Mode of Metabolism: OBLIGATE AEROBE

  • meaning
  • how energy is released
  • habitat
  • example
A

meaning: “requiring oxygen”

how energy is released: cellular respiration (must have ready supply of oxygen to release fuel energy)

habitat: oxygen-rich environments (ie. near water, in animal lungs)
example: mycobacterium tuerculosis (sometimes in human lungs)

42
Q

Mode of Metabolism: OBLIGATE ANAEROBE

  • meaning
  • how energy is released
  • habitat
  • example
A

meaning: “requiring a lack of oxygen”

how energy is released: fermentation; die in presence of oxygen

habitat: oxygen-deficient environments (ie. deep soil, airtight containers, intestines)
example: clostridium botulinum (found in improperly sterilized food: food poisoning)

43
Q

Mode of Metabolism: FACULTATIVE ANAEROBE

  • meaning
  • how energy is released
  • habitat
  • example
A

meaning: “surviving without oxygen when necessary”

how energy is released: can use either cellular respiration or fermentation as necessary

habitat: oxygen-rich or oxygen-deficient environments
example: E. coli (aerobically in sewage and human large intestines)

44
Q

Mode of Nutrition: HETEROTROPH

  • meaning
  • how energy is released
  • habitat
  • example
A

meaning: “other feeder”

how energy is released: take in organic molecules from environment or other organisms to use as both energy and carbon supply

habitat: wide range of environments
example: clostridium

45
Q

Mode of Nutrition: PHOTOHETEROTROPH

  • meaning
  • how energy is released
  • habitat
  • example
A

meaning: “light and other feeder”

how energy is released: like basic heterotrophs, but also use light energy

habitat: where light is plentiful
example: rhodobacter, chloroflexus

46
Q

Mode of Nutrition: PHOTOAUTOTROPH

  • meaning
  • how energy is released
  • habitat
  • example
A

meaning: “light self-feeder”

how energy is released: use light energy to convert carbon dioxide into carbon compounds

habitat: where light is plentiful
example: anabaena

47
Q

Mode of Nutrition: CHEMOAUTOTROPH

  • meaning
  • how energy is released
  • habitat
  • example
A

meaning: “chemical self-feeder”

how energy is released: use energy released by chemical reactions involving ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, etc.

habitat: in chemically harsh and/or dark environments (ie. deep in the ocean, thick mud, digestive tracts of animals, boiling hot springs)
example: nitrobacter