Organismal Biology

Eukaryotes

Eukaryotes

• cells with linear chromosomal DNA packed into a membrane-enclosed nucleus

• contains membrane enclosed organelles (mitochondria and/or plastids)

Prokaryotes

• cells that don’t have a nucleus and no membrane-enclosed organelles

• DNA contained in circular plasmids

Autotrophs

• being able to generate their own food

  • plants

Heterotrophs

• consume other organisms

  • dogs, birds, humans, etc

Chemotrophs

• energy comes from organic compounds

  • mushrooms and bacteria

Phototrophs

• energy comes from light

  • grass, trees, and other plants

Aerobic

• needs oxygen in order to survive

Anaerobic

• does NOT require oxygen to survive

  • can survive in places with low oxygen

Plastid

• double-membrane organelles

  • found in cells of plants and algae

• responsible for making and storing the food

Plasmid

• a small circular DNA molecule

  • found in bacteria and some other microscopic organisms

• physically separate from chromosomal DNA and replicate independently

Binary Fission

• asexual reproduction by a separation of the body into two new bodies

  • how cells “reproduce”

Cyanobacteria

also called “blue-green algae”

• an ancient group of photosynthetic microbes that occur in most inland waters and that can have major effects on the water quality and functioning of aquatic ecosystems

Stromatolite

• microbial reefs created by cyanobacteria

Endosymbiosis

• a form of symbiosis wherein the symbiont lives within the body of its host

Horizontal Transmission

• acquired from environment

Vertical Transmission

• passed down directly from parent to offspring

Heterocyst

• a transparent thick-walled empty cell that is present in the filaments of blue-green algae

  • they are formed during cases of nitrogen starvation

  • main function is to fix nitrogen

Metabolite Cross-Feeding

When bacteria share molecules from their food breakdown with each other, and one bacteria's leftovers become another's meal.

Biofilm

A surface coating made by one or more kinds of microbes that work together to break down food

• Stromatolites

• Plaque/tartar in ones mouth

Quorum Sensing

• In the microbial population, they’re only going to initiate some activity as a group IF that group is large enough

  • the baby squid that has bioluminescence

Autoinducer

A molecule that bacteria release to communicate and coordinate their behavior with other nearby bacteria

Absorptive Nutrition

Secrete enzymes into the substrate surrounding them, digest their food outside their bodies, and then transport the resulting breakdown products (nutrients) into their bodies

• Digest the food outside their bodies and bring it in

Hyphae

• long filamentous branching in fungus and actinobacteria

  • singular is hypha, plural is hyphae

Mycelium

a network of hyphae

Indeterminate Growth

• no defined end structure

Mycorrhizal Fungi

fungi that forms mycorrhizae

• Two main types: Ectomycorrhizal and Arbuscular

Ectomycorrhizal Fungi

• forms sheaths of hyphe over the surface of a root and usually grow into the extracellular spaces of the root cortex

Arbuscular Fungi

• extends arbuscules through the root cell wall and into tubes formed by invagination (pushing inward) of the root cell plasma membrane

Inflorescence

The flowering stalk

Filamentous Chains

Long lines or groups of things joined together, like beads on a string

• hair strands, a line of ants, or a row of cars in traffic can be thought of as ___________.

Cytoplasmic Streaming

A mechanism to distribute pressure, water, nutrients, organelles, nuclei.

Meiosis

Production of haploid cells from a diploid cell over two rounds of cell division

Fertilization

Union of haploid gametes to produce diploid zygote

Sporogenesis

The process of spore formation

Gametogenesis

The process of gamete formation

Gametophyte

Haploid organism that produces gametes by mitosis

Sporophyte

Diploid organism that produces spores by meiosis

The Fruiting Body

Serves to help fungi disperse across the land

Basidium

“Club” like cell where the zygote forms before meiosis

Basidiocarp

The mushroom

Plasmogamy

Hyphal tips come together and their cytoplasms fuse BUT their two nuclei stay distinct

Heterokaryon

A cell containing two or more nuclei from different sources

Karyogamy

When the nuclei of two cells come together and fuse into one

Monophyletic Group

A group of organisms that includes an ancestor and all of its descendants

• mammals are a _____________ that would include all descendants of the first mammal, including humans, dogs, cats, and elephants, because they all share a common mammalian ancestor

Ecological Group

A bunch of organisms that share the same habitat or environment

• In a forest ecosystem, herbivores (e.g., deer, rabbits) and carnivores (e.g., wolves, lions) might belong to different ecological groups because they live in different parts of the forest.

Functional Group

Organisms that perform similar roles or functions within an ecosystem, regardless of where they live

• Primary consumers (e.g., herbivores) and secondary consumers (e.g., carnivores), which perform similar functions in the ecosystem by feeding on different levels of the food chain

Primary Endosymbiosis

________________ is like a big cell swallowing a smaller cell, and both cells team up to live together

• the first eukaryotic cells, like plants and algae, are formed through ____________ when a bigger cell engulfs a smaller cell, which later becomes an organelle like a chloroplast

Secondary Endosymbiosis

_______________ happens when a cell that already swallowed another cell gets eaten by another bigger cell. This new relationship can also lead to the formation of organelles, like chloroplasts or mitochondria

• dinoflagellates, a type of algae, underwent ____________ when they were ingested by other eukaryotic cells, like certain types of protists

Diatom

Tiny single-celled organisms found in water and has a unique glass-like cell walls made of silica embedded in organic matrix

• they play a crucial role in the aquatic ecosystems by producing oxygen and serving as food for other organisms

Dinoflagellates

__________ are tiny, single-celled organisms that live in water, like oceans or lakes. They have a two flagella, whip-like tail, that makes them spin

• some have transitions to heterotrophy while others are mixotrophs (autotrophs and heterotrophs) that can switch back and forth between modes of acquiring nutrition

• An example of ___________ is Noctiluca scintillans, also known as sea sparkle, which creates the beautiful blue glow often seen in the ocean at night.

Brown Algae

This type of seaweed is found in marine environments, usually in cooler coastal waters. They get their color due to the pigment fucoxanthin.

• This include kelp, such as giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), which forms large underwater forests and provides habitat for diverse marine life

Red Algae

This type of seaweed is found in marine environments, ranging from shallow coastal waters to deep ocean areas. They get their color from pigments called phycoerythrins.

• Examples include nori, used in making sushi, and Irish moss, used as a thickening agent in various foods and cosmetics

Phycocolloids

Polysaccharide compounds that prevent desiccation

Green Algae

A diverse group of algae found in various aquatic environments, including freshwater, marine, and even damp terrestrial habitats like soil or rocks. They contain chlorophyll.

• Examples include Spirogyra, which forms long, filamentous strands in freshwater habitats, and Ulva, commonly known as sea lettuce, found in coastal areas worldwide.

Lichens

An ecological group thats a combo of two organisms

• 1 is a heterotrophic fungus (mycobiont)

• 2 is a phototrophic alga OR a cyanobacterium

Photobiont

A type of organism, often algae or cyanobacteria, that lives in a symbiotic relationship with another organism, such as a fungus or a plant. The __________ provides energy through photosynthesis, while the other organism offers protection and support

• lichens are formed by a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and a ________, typically green algae or cyanobacteria. In this partnership, the ________ conducts photosynthesis, providing food for both organisms, while the fungus provides structure and protection

• Provides sugars and fixed nitrogen if cyanobacteria

Mycobiont

A type of organism, often a fungus, that forms a symbiotic relationship with another organism, such as algae or cyanobacteria, in structures like lichens. The _________ provides support and protection, while the other organism (photobiont) provides energy through photosynthesis.

• Provides moisture, shelter, UV protection, and minerals from dust or leached from substrate

Soredia

Bundle of fungi and algae

“Seed-free” Plant

Also known as non-vascular plants, are simple plants that don't produce seeds or have specialized tissues to transport water and nutrients

Instead, they rely on direct absorption of water and nutrients from their surroundings.

• An example is moss, which often grows in moist environments like forests or bogs.

Bryophyte

A type of small, non-vascular plant that usually grows in damp environments like forests, swamps, or rocks

They don't have true roots, stems, or leaves, and they reproduce using spores instead of seeds

• moss

Desiccation

Drying out

Phyllids

Thin leaf-like growths that absorb water through direct in contact with ground or trapped moisture

• DOES NOT HAVE LEAVES (those come later)

Rhizoids

long tubular single cell or filaments that do some water/nutrient uptake but mainly function to anchor plant

• NOT ROOTS (those come later)

Gametangia

New multicellular protective tissues where gametes form

Antheridia

Gametangia the produces sperm

Archegonia

Gametangia that produces eggs

Embryo

the zygote (fertilized egg) is also retained in the archegonium and develops embedded in and dependent on nutrition from maternal tissue

Cuticle

A waxy waterproof layer that covers the outer surface of leaves and stems of many plants meant to reduce water loss from the plant and provides protection against damage from environmental factors like sunlight and pathogens

Sporangia

Structures found in certain plants that produce and hold spores

• __________ are often located on the underside of leaves or in clusters called sori.

Sporopollenin

a polymer that prevents desiccation of charophyte zygotes, to make plant spores also resistant to harsh environments and capable of dispersal by air

Sporophyll

Leaves the form sporangia

Sorus (pl. sori)

Clustered groups of sporangia

Peat

A type of organic material formed from partially decomposed plant matter, primarily mosses, in waterlogged environments like bogs or wetlands

• ______ moss is used as soil conditioner because moss cells can absorb >20x their weight in water

Lycophyte

A group of primitive vascular plants that reproduce by spores and are characterized by their small size, typically with narrow leaves arranged in spirals

• An example would be is the clubmoss, which grows in moist, shaded areas and resembles a miniature tree with its upright stems and small leaves.

Monilophyte

A group of vascular plants that reproduce by spores and are characterized by having leaves with a branching vein pattern and have well-developed vascular systems for transporting water and nutrients and typically produce large, compound leaves called fronds

• Include ferns, horsetails, and whisk ferns

Microphyll

Leaves with a single-unbranched vein; branching only occurs at shoot tip

Megaphyll

Leaves with branched veins

Sporophyte

A plant that produces spores

Icehouse Earth

A long-term decrease in temperatures on Earth's surface and atmosphere, leading to polar ice caps and continental ice sheets

Greenhouse Earth

Lack of continental ice sheets; high levels of carbon dioxide, water, and methane

Carboniferous Period

During this period there was increased continental weathering and erosion rates, strong fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide, significant global cooling and warming events, sea level changes and HUGE deposits of coal throughout Northern Europe, Asia, and the midwest and east parts of North America

Azolla (the Azolla Event)

When the water fern ______ grew rapidly and covered large parts of the Arctic Ocean, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and cooling the Earth's climate, making it go from the Greenhouse Earth to the Icehouse Earth

Heterosporous

Produces two types spores

• in turn there’s also two types of sporangium and two types of gametophytes

Gymnosperm

Produce seeds and pollen in cones

Seed

A small, dormant plant embryo enclosed in a protective coat, often containing stored food reserves, which is capable of germinating into a new plant under suitable conditions

Pollen Cone

A reproductive structure found in certain types of gymnosperms like conifers

• It produces and releases pollen, which contains the male gametes (sperm cells), into the air

• They are typically smaller and less conspicuous than seed cones (female cones) and are usually located on the lower branches of the tree.

Ovulate Cone

A reproductive structure found in certain types of gymnosperms like conifers

• It contains ovules, which are structures that house the female gametes (egg cells) and develop into seeds after fertilization

• They are usually larger and more prominent than pollen cones and are often located on the upper branches of the tree

Megaspores

Large spores that develop into female gametophtes

Megasporeangium

A structure found within the ovule of seed plants that contains megaspores

• This is the site where megaspores undergo meiosis to produce haploid megagametophytes, which eventually develop into egg cells

Microspore

Small spores and develop into male gametophytes (pollen grains)

Microsporangium

It is a small sac/structure that produces microspores through the process of meiosis

• These microspores develop into pollen grains, which contain the male gametes (sperm cells) needed for fertilization.

Pollen Grain

A tiny structure produced by the male reproductive organs of seed plants, containing the male gametes (sperm cells) and is responsible for the transfer of these sperm cells to the female reproductive organs

• They are typically small and lightweight, often carried by wind, water, insects, or other animals to reach the female reproductive structures where fertilization occurs

Pollen Tube

a structure that forms from a pollen grain after it lands on the stigma of a flower during pollination

• It grows down through the style of the flower towards the ovary

• Main function is to deliver the male gametes (sperm cells) contained within the pollen grain to the ovule, where fertilization takes place

Ovule

Megasporangium surrounded by the seed coat

Integument

Seed coat

Seed Coat

Protective structure meant to protect megasporangium

Pollination

The transfer of pollen to the part of a seed plant containing the ovules

Angiosperm

Contains seeds

Determinate Growth

In angiosperms, _____________ is commonly observed in structures like flower clusters (inflorescences) or individual flowers. Once these structures have reached a certain size or maturity, further growth ceases, and the plant transitions to other developmental stages, such as flowering or fruiting

In other words, the growth of the structure is limited or "determined" by predetermined factors, such as genetic programming or environmental cues

• This growth pattern ensures that the plant invests its resources efficiently and optimizes reproductive success by producing flowers and seeds at the appropriate time

Whorls

The arrangement of floral organs (such as sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels) around the stem at each level of the flower