Types of pathogens Flashcards
what are bacteria?
- prokaryotes
- have no membrane bound organelles
what shape are bacteria?
can be: rod shaped spherical shaped comma shaped spiralled corkscrew
what are the different types of bacteria?
- gram positive bacteria
- gram negative bacteria
what colour do gram positive bacteria look like?
purple blue
what colour do gram negative bacteria look like?
red
what is a virus?
a non-living infectious agent?
how do viruses work?
they invade living cells where it replicates it’s own genetic material to make more viruses
why are viruses pathogenic?
they cause disease in all types of organisms
what is a bacteriophage?
a virus which takes over bacterial cells and use them to replicate while also destroying the bacteria
what is a parasite?
an organism which lives in another organism and benefits of it’s nutrients
what are protoctists?
- eukaryotic
- parasitic
- can be moved by a vector or by entering the body directly
why are fungi dangerous for plants?
once it has entered the plant, it stops the plant from being able to photosynthesise which kills the plant
they then release millions of spores which spread rapidly and causes more disease
