Viral Replication Cycles
Viruses must infect these to reproduce.
What are host cells?
This process uses bacteria to clean up oil spills and other environmental pollutants.
What is bioremediation?
Bacteria can resist antibiotics by producing these molecules that break down the drug.
What are enzymes?
This antibiotic, discovered in 1928, was the first widely used bacterial treatment.
What is penicillin?
This is the basic unit of life in all living organisms.
What is a cell?
This rapid viral replication cycle results in host cell destruction.
What is the lytic cycle?
This microbial process is used to break down organic waste in sewage treatment plants.
What is decomposition?
Some bacteria form a slimy protective layer to shield themselves from immune responses and antibiotics.
What is a biofilm?
This type of extremophiles' enzymes are used in gel electrophoresis.
What are thermophiles?
These molecules store genetic information and include DNA and RNA.
What are nucleic acids?
Some viruses integrate their genetic material into the host genome and remain dormant in this cycle.
What is the lysogenic cycle?
Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacterium used as this type of environmentally friendly pest control.
What is a biopesticide?
Bacteria use this system, originally discovered in Streptococcus, to cut viral DNA and protect themselves from infections.
What is CRISPR-Cas9?
This method of heat treatment kills harmful bacteria in milk and juice.
What is pasteurization?
In photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into this simple sugar.
What is glucose?
HIV is a retrovirus that converts its RNA genome into DNA using this enzyme.
What is reverse transcriptase?
Microbes are used to produce these alternative fuels from plant material.
What are biofuels?
This protective structure allows certain bacteria to survive extreme heat, radiation, and chemicals.
What is an endospore?
Scientists use these viruses to specifically target and destroy harmful bacteria.
What are bacteriophages?
This process occurs in the mitochondria and produces ATP, the energy currency of the cell.
What is cellular respiration?
Viruses exit the host cell through one of these two processes.
What are budding and lysis?
This process, involving microbes, is responsible for producing vinegar from alcohol.
What is acetification?
These proteins, secreted by bacteria, help them evade the host immune system by breaking down defenses.
What are exotoxins?
This revolutionary gene-editing technology is based on a bacterial immune system.
What is CRISPR?
These biological catalysts speed up chemical reactions in living organisms.
What are enzymes?