Foundations & History
This scientist's postulates are used to link a specific microbe to a specific disease.
Robert Koch (Koch's Postulates)
This structure, following the fluid mosaic model, acts as a selectively permeable barrier.
What is the Plasma Membrane (Cell Membrane)
This protein coat surrounds the viral nucleic acid and provides its shape.
What is the Capsid
This is the primary method of reproduction for most bacteria and archaea.
What is Binary Fission?
In this type of interaction, both partners benefit, but the relationship is not obligatory.
What is Cooperation
This hypothesis suggests that a specific nucleic acid was the precursor to all current life forms.
What is RNA World Hypothesis
Gram-negative bacteria possess this unique outer membrane component that acts as an endotoxin.
What is Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)?
In this replicative cycle, phage DNA integrates into the host's chromosome, becoming a prophage.
What is the lysogenic cycle
During this growth phase, cells are dividing at their maximal and constant rate.
What is the Log (Exponential) Phase
This term describes an inanimate object, such as a doorknob, that can transfer pathogens.
What is a Fomite
This technique, using a specific type of RNA, is the basis for constructing modern phylogenetic trees.
What is rRNA sequencing
These highly resistant structures allow some bacteria to survive extreme environmental stress for years.
What are endospores
These infectious acellular agents are composed entirely of abnormally folded proteins.
What are Prions?
Organisms that grow optimally in high-temperature environments like the deep ocean are called this.
What are thermophiles
Malaria, transmitted by mosquitoes, is an example of this mode of pathogen transmission.
What is Vector-borne transmission
This theory, refuted by Pasteur and Redi, suggested that living organisms arise from non-living matter.
What is Spontaneous Generation
This type of diffusion moves molecules from high to low concentration using a carrier but no energy.
What is Facilitated Diffusion
This term refers to the specific cell types or tissues a virus is capable of infecting.
What is Tropism
This trophic category describes organisms that obtain energy from chemicals and lack photosynthetic pigments.
What are Chemoheterotrophs
This term describes a sudden increase in a disease above the expected level in a population.
What is an Epidemic
This measure is used to quantify the evolutionary relationship between two organisms on a tree.
What is Evolutionary Distance
This structure, external to the cell wall, helps bacteria resist phagocytosis and adhere to surfaces.
What is the Capsule
This explains how certain viral infections can lead to cancer.
What is the Two-Hit (Two-Step) Hypothesis
These enzyme-like RNA molecules function as biological catalysts.
What are Ribozymes
This process involves bacterial symbionts consuming H2 to ensure host fermentation remains favorable.
What is Interspecies Hydrogen Transfer