Chap. 27 Book Flashcards
(118 cards)
What were the first organisms to inhabit earth?
Prokaryotes
Are most prokaryotes unicellular or multicellular?
Unicellular
What is the difference between the cell wall of prokaryotes and eukaryotes?
Prokaryotes have a cell wall which contains peptidoglycan
A polymer composed of modified sugars cross-linked by short peptides. Why is this term important to know?
Peptidoglycan
…encloses the entire prokaryotic bacterium
Name the three most common shapes of prokaryotes
Cocci, bacilli, Spirilli
What is the purpose of the Gram stain?
To categorize bacterial species according to differences in wall composition
What type of cell wall do gram-positive bacteria have?
Simple walls
Large amounts of peptidoglycan
A bacteria is structurally complex and has an outer membrane that contains lipolysaccharides. A gram stain is done. What will the result be?
Gram-negative
Why are gram-negative bacteria more resistant than gram-positive species to bacteria?
outer membrane impedes entry of drugs
A dense and well-defined and sticky layer of polysaccharide or protein
capsule
The Streptococcus bacterium attaches to cells in the respiratory tract. How does it do this?
capsule
What advantages does a capsule give to a prokaryote?
- adherence to substrate or individuals in a colony
- protect against dehydration
- shield from attacks by host
Certain bacteria develop resistant cells called _____ when they lack an essential nutrient
endospores
ENDOSPORE FORMATION
a. original bacteria cell produces a copy of its ___ and surrounds that copy with a tough multilayered structure = __________.
chromosome, endospore
What is the difference between fimbriae and pili? What is their common function?
Fimbriae are shorter and more numerous, connect two cells together
Fimbriae
a. hairlike appendages that attach cells to surfaces or e/o
b. appendages that pull two cells together prior to DNA transfer
a. hairlike appendages that attach cells to surfaces or e/o
Of the various structure that enable prokaryotes to move, the most common are what?
FLagella
What do structural and molecular comparisons indicate about the flagella of bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes? Would they be analogous or homologous?
they arose independently, analogous
T/F all prokaryotes are capable of taxis
False (50% are)
How could such a complex structure like the flagellum evolve?
bacterial flagellum originated as simpler structures that were modified in a. stepwise fashion over time
The bacterial flagellum may have evolved as other proteins were added to an ancestral secretory system. What is this process an example of?
Exaptation
The process in which existing structures take on new functions through descent with modification
Exaptation
The cells of prokaryotes are ______ than those of eukaryotes in their internal structure and DNA arrangement
simpler
Unlike eukaryotes, what do prokaryotes lack?
nucleus