Key Terms – Microbes
- Amoebozoa
- the eukaryotic supergroup that contains the amoebas and slime molds
- anaerobic
- refers to organisms that grow without oxygen
- anoxic
- without oxygen
- Archaeplastida
- the eukaryotic supergroup that contains land plants, green algae, and red algae
- Ascomycota
- (sac fungi) a division of fungi that store spores in a sac called ascus
- basidiomycota
- (club fungi) a division of fungi that produce club shaped structures, basidia, which contain spores
- biofilm
- a microbial community that is held together by a gummy-textured matrix
- bioremediation
- the use of microbial metabolism to remove pollutants
- Black Death
- a devastating pandemic that is believed to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis
- botulism
- a disease produce by the toxin of the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum
- capsule
- an external structure that enables a prokaryote to attach to surfaces and protects it from dehydration
- Chromalveolata
- the eukaryotic supergroup that contains the dinoflagellates, ciliates, the brown algae, diatoms, and water molds
- Chytridiomycota
- (chytrids) a primitive division of fungi that live in water and produce gametes with flagella
- commensalism
- a symbiotic relationship in which one member benefits while the other member is not affected
- conjugation
- the process by which prokaryotes move DNA from one individual to another using a pilus
- cyanobacteria
- bacteria that evolved from early phototrophs and oxygenated the atmosphere; also known as blue-green algae
- endosymbiosis
- the engulfment of one cell by another such that the engulfed cell survives and both cells benefit; the process responsible for the evolution of mitochondria and chloroplasts in eukaryotes
- epidemic
- a disease that occurs in an unusually high number of individuals in a population at the same time
- Excavata
- the eukaryotic supergroup that contains flagellated single-celled organisms with a feeding groove
- extremophile
- an organism that grows under extreme or harsh conditions
- foodborne disease
- any illness resulting from the consumption of contaminated food, or of the pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or other parasites that contaminate food
- Glomeromycota
- a group of fungi that form symbiotic relationships with the roots of trees
- Gram-negative
- describes a bacterium whose cell wall contains little peptidoglycan but has an outer membrane
- Gram-positive
- describes a bacterium that contains mainly peptidoglycan in its cell walls
- hydrothermal vent
- a fissure in Earth’s surface that releases geothermally heated water
- hypha
- a fungal filament composed of one or more cells
- lichen
- the close association of a fungus with a photosynthetic alga or bacterium that benefits both partners
- microbial mat
- a multi-layered sheet of prokaryotes that may include bacteria and archaea
- mold
- a tangle of visible mycelia with a fuzzy appearance
- MRSA
- (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) a very dangerous Staphylococcus aureus strain resistant to antibiotics
- mycelium
- a mass of fungal hyphae
- mycorrhiza
- a mutualistic association between fungi and vascular plant roots
- mycosis
- a fungal infection
- Opisthokonta
- the eukaryotic supergroup that contains the fungi, animals, and choanoflagellates
- pandemic
- a widespread, usually worldwide, epidemic disease
- parasite
- an organism that lives on or in another organism and feeds on it, often without killing it
- pathogen
- an organism, or infectious agent, that causes a disease
- pellicle
- an outer cell covering composed of interlocking protein strips that function like a flexible coat of armor, preventing cells from being torn or pierced without compromising their range of motion
- peptidoglycan
- a material composed of polysaccharide chains cross-linked to unusual peptides
- phototroph
- an organism that uses energy from sunlight
- pilus (plural pili)
- a hair-like structure associated with bacterial adhesion and related to bacterial colonization and infection
- plastid
- one of a group of related organelles in plant cells that are involved in the storage of starches, fats, proteins, and pigments
- pseudopeptidoglycan
- a component of some cell walls of Archaea
- Rhizaria
- the eukaryotic supergroup that contains organisms that move by amoeboid movement
- saprobe
- an organism that feeds on dead organic material
- septum
- the cell wall division between hyphae
- stromatolite
- a layered sedimentary structure formed by precipitation of minerals by prokaryotes in microbial mats
- thallus
- a vegetative body of a fungus
- transduction
- the process by which a bacteriophage moves DNA from one prokaryote to another
- transformation
- a mechanism of genetic change in prokaryotes in which DNA present in the environment is taken into the cell and incorporated into the genome
- yeast
- a general term used to describe unicellular fungi
- Zygomycota
- (conjugated fungi) the division of fungi that form a zygote contained in a zygospore