An organism’s genetic information is stored within the sequence
of _____. This information is transcribed into a sequence of _____, which are then translated into a sequence of _____.
DNA bases; RNA bases; amino acids
What are the levels of classifications of organisms in order of most broad to most specific?
Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
What is the difference between the cell walls of gram-positive and gram-negative prokaryotes?
Gram-Positive prokaryotes have a thick layer of peptidoglycan
Gram-Negative prokaryotes have a think layer of peptidoglycan
The symbiosis between fungi and plant roots, called a _____________ , absorbs phosphorus and other essential minerals from the soil and makes them available to the plant.
Mycorrhiza
Panthera tigris is the scientific name for a Tiger, which is the genus?
Panthera
In what cycle, Lytic or Lysogenic, does the following occur?
Phage DNA enters the cycle inside a bacterium, it is replicated, transcribed, and translated. The new viral DNA and protein molecules then assemble into new phages, which burst from the host cell.
The Lytic Cycle
What term describes a discipline of biology that focuses on classifying organisms and determining their evolutionary relationships.
Systematics
For an extra 100 points, how is Systematics different to Taxonomy?
Which domain contains organisms that can survive in extreme environments?
Name the 3 types.
Archaea; thermophiles, halophiles, methanogens
What happens during the heterokaryotic stage?
Fusion of haploid hyphae which produces nuclei from two parents.
Identify the process described;
mRNA is transcribed from a DNA template, amino acids attach to its proper tRNA, the mRNA and its corresponding tRNA join, a succession of tRNAs add their amino acids to the polypeptide chain as the mRNA is moved through the ribosome, the ribosome recognizes the stop codon and the polypeptide chain is terminated.
Translation
What are the 3 mechanisms bacteria use to move genes from cell to cell.
Bonus 100 for describing the specifics for each.
Transformation is the uptake of DNA from the surrounding environment.
Transduction is gene transfer by phages.
Conjugation is the transfer of DNA from a donor to a recipient bacterial cell.
What two things are evidence used to determine phylogeny?
Convergent Evolution and Molecular Sequencing
What is the difference between an exotoxins and endotoxins?
Exotoxins, proteins that bacterial cells secrete into their environment.
Endotoxins, lipid components of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria that are released when the cell dies or is digested by a defensive cell.
What only reproduces asexually for spore production and what are the two examples?
For a bonus 100 points, what is the difference between the examples?
Imperfect Fungi; Mold and Yeast
Mold is any rapidly growing fungus that reproduces asexually by producing spores, often at the tips of specialized hyphae
Yeast refers to any single-celled fungus
What are the three most common shapes of prokaryotic cells?
Bacillus - Rod
Coccus - Sphere
Spirilla/Spirochetes - Spiral
HIV is a _________. It uses RNA as a template for making DNA, which then inserts into a host chromosome
These viruses carry molecules of an enzyme called ______________, initiates the synthesis of DNA on an RNA template.
Retrovirus; Reverse Transcriptase
The longer two groups have been separated, the greater the divergence of their genes, some genes or other regions of genomes appear to accumulate changes at constant rates.
What is this concept called?
Molecular Clock
What are the four monophyletic supergroups?
SAR
Excavata
Unikonta
Archaeplastida
What are the two main benefits of lichen?
The fungus receives food from its photosynthetic partner.
The fungal mycelium helps the alga or cyanobacterium absorb and retain water and minerals.
What is the difference between hyphae and mycelium?
A mass of threadlike filaments called hyphae, which branch repeatedly as they grow, forming a mycelium.
_____ pose serious problems for human medicine by carrying genes for enzymes that destroy antibiotics.
R Plasmids
Why is a diagram of the tree of life is difficult to construct?
Phylogenetic trees are hypotheses, about evolutionary history and parsimony is used. They are revised or rejected in accordance with new evidence.
In recent years, the development of molecular techniques and new technologies for studying microorganisms have supplied an avalanche of new data, and cladistics has brought a new approach to tree construction.
How do populations of prokaryotes adapt rapidly to changes in their environment?
They reproduce quickly in a favorable environments, if environmental conditions become too harsh to sustain active metabolism prokaryotes can form a specialized resistant cell called an endospore
Why are fungi important to/for plants?
Symbioses with fungi were crucial to the colonization of land by plants.
Advances in molecular genetics revealed what about prokaryotes?
Many prokaryotes are actually more closely related to eukaryotes than to other prokaryotes