4:2:1 Biodiversity Flashcards
What is a communicable/infectious disease
An illness or disorder of the body or mind that leads to poor health, which has signs and symptoms, which are caused by pathogens and are transmissible (spread between individuals)
Define an infectious disease
Disease caused by a pathogen that passes from an infected individual to an uninfected individual (e.g. cholera, HIV)
Define a non-infectious disease
Long term diseases that aren’t caused by pathogens (e.g. lung cancer, depression)
What are are pathogens
Microorganisms that cause disease (e.g. bacteria, fungi, protoctists, viruses)
What is M. tuberculosis
Pathogenic bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) in humans, by infecting the lungs and causing a chronic cough and bloody mucus. M.bovine in cows can also transmit as TB to humans
What is N. meningitidis
Pathogenic bacteria that causes bacterial meningitis in humans, by crossing the meninges barrier, causing acute inflammation with fever, headache, stiffness and rash as symptoms
What is ring rot
Pathogenic bacteria that infects the vascular tissue of potato’s by preventing the transport of water causing wilting and death. It spreads to the potato tubers and causes a black ring of rot.
How do bacteria cause diseases
Some bacteria are non-pathogenic, and some are pathogenic (cause disease) and they can infect host cells as well as remain in body cavities or spaces
How do viruses cause disease
They infect host cells and hijack their machinery to replicate their own genetic material and proteins
What is tobacco mosaic virus
TMV is a virus infects plant species by travelling through the phloem and plasmodesmata and causes yellowing of leaves in a mosaic pattern, and stunting growth
What is influenza virus
Influenza A, B and C are viruses that infect the cells that line airways and cause high temperatures, body aches and fatigue. Influenza A is the virus that causes the most flu, with a capsid (protein coat containing nucleic of virus) surrounding RNA molecules
What is human immunodeficiency virus
HIV is an enveloped retrovirus that infects specific cells in the immune system, by the reverse transcriptase producing a single stranded DNA from the viral RNA, which gets synthesised and inserted into host DNA
How do protoctista cause disease
In a parasitic way
What is plasmodium falciparum
The protist that causes malaria in humans, by being spread by mosquitos and causing fever chills and fatigue
What is P. infestans
The protist that causes potato blight, that is transmitted via spores, causing small dark brown marks on leaves, destroying the crops
