Kingdom Fungi Exam #1

Chlorophyta

Green algae that can be unicellular or multicellular, mostly freshwater, and are considered the closest living ancestors to plants

Alveolates

Protists with membrane-bound sacs called alveoli beneath the plasma membrane that help regulate water and ion balance and stabilize the cell surface.

Alveoli

Membrane-bound sacs beneath the plasma membrane that regulate water and ion balance and stabilize the cell surface.

Dinoflagellates

Marine, bi-flagellated protists with chloroplasts containing carotenoid pigments and an armored body made of cellulose plates.

Peridinium

A dinoflagellate that has a mutualistic relationship with coral reefs.

Pfiesteria

A dinoflagellate that can cause red tides and release toxins into the water that can harm marine animals.

Apicomplexans

Unicellular parasites of vertebrates with complex life cycles involving hosts and vectors; they produce infectious spores called sporozoites.

Sporozoites

Spores produced by apicomplexans that can infect humans.

Apicoplast

A non-photosynthetic plastid found in apicomplexans that is involved in fatty acid synthesis.

Plasmodium vivax

An apicomplexan parasite that causes malaria and is transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes.

Ciliophora

A group of ciliated protozoans that use cilia for movement and feeding.

Cilia

Short hair-like structures used by ciliates for movement and feeding.

Oral Groove

A groove in ciliates that leads to a mouth-like buccal cavity where food is ingested.

Macronucleus

The larger, polyploid nucleus responsible for most cell functions in ciliates.

Micronucleus

The smaller, diploid nucleus involved in reproduction in ciliates.

Contractile Vacuoles

Structures that store and release excess water from ciliates.

Stramenopiles

Protists whose reproductive cells typically have two flagella: one covered with fine hairs and one smooth.

Oomycota

A group of aquatic water molds that are heterotrophic and mostly saprobes; they can reproduce sexually and asexually.

Zoosporangia

Asexual reproductive structures in water molds that produce zoospores.

Zoospores

Asexual reproductive cells of water molds that have one smooth and one hairy flagellum.

Oogonia

Female reproductive structures in water molds that produce eggs.

Antheridia

Male reproductive structures in water molds that produce sperm.

Achlya

A saprophytic water mold.

Phytophthora infestans

A parasitic water mold responsible for the Irish Potato Famine.

Diatoms

Non-motile freshwater and marine protists that make up a large portion of aquatic plankton.

Diatom Cell Wall

A cell wall composed primarily of silica.

Diatom Chloroplasts

Chloroplasts containing carotenoid pigments.

Laminarin

A polysaccharide used by diatoms and brown algae to store glucose.

Chrysophyta

A group of golden algae that can live in freshwater or marine environments and contain golden and brown carotenoid pigments.

Phaeophyta

A group containing brown algae, including rockweeds and kelps, that mostly live in cold marine environments.

Algin

The material that makes up the cell walls of brown algae and is used as a thickening agent.

Holdfast

A structure that anchors brown algae to a surface.

Blade

The photosynthetic portion of brown algae.

Stipe

A structure that provides support to brown algae.

Amoebozoans

Protists that use pseudopodia for movement and feed by phagocytosis.

Pseudopodia

Cytoplasmic projections used by amoebozoans for movement and feeding.

Phagocytosis

The process of engulfing food into vesicles.

Gymnoamoeba

Free-living amoebas that may be naked or shelled and use broad pseudopodia for movement and feeding.

Entamoeba

A group of parasitic amoebas that use pseudopodia and feed by phagocytosis.

Entamoeba histolytica

A parasitic amoeba that causes amebic dysentery, an infection of the large intestine.

Amebic Dysentery

An infection of the large intestine caused by Entamoeba histolytica, commonly spread through contaminated food, water, or utensils.

Myxogastrida

Plasmodial slime molds that are terrestrial, heterotrophic decomposers of rotting wood.

Plasmodium

A multinucleated mass of cytoplasm formed when slime mold cells repeatedly undergo mitosis without cytokinesis.

Dictyostelida

Cellular slime molds that are terrestrial, heterotrophic decomposers.

Cellular Slime Mold

Slime molds that exist as individual amoeboid cells but aggregate together when food is depleted.

Slug

A migrating aggregation of cellular slime mold cells that moves toward a new food source.

Sorocarp

A reproductive sporangium produced by cellular slime molds that produces new amoeboid cells

Phototroph

An organism that uses light as its source of energy.

Chemotroph

An organism that uses organic or inorganic molecules as its source of energy.

Autotroph

An organism that uses carbon dioxide as its source of carbon.

Heterotroph

An organism that uses organic compounds as its source of carbon.

Chemoheterotroph

An organism that uses organic compounds as both its source of energy and source of carbon.

Chemoautotroph

An organism that uses inorganic molecules as its source of energy and carbon dioxide as its source of carbon.

Saprobes

Organisms that obtain organic compounds from non-living or dead organisms.

Parasites

Organisms that obtain organic compounds from another living organism.

Methanogens

Organisms that use methane as their source of energy.

Sulfur-fixing Bacteria

Bacteria that use sulfate as their source of energy.

Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria

Bacteria that use nitrate as their source of energy.

Photoautotrophs

Organisms that use light as their source of energy and carbon dioxide as their source of carbon; cyanobacteria are an example.

Photoheterotrophs

Organisms that use light as their source of energy and organic compounds as their source of carbon.

Normal Bacterial pH Range

Most bacteria grow best between pH 6.5–7.5.

Acidophiles

Bacteria that survive in environments with a pH below 6.0.

Mesophiles

Bacteria that thrive at temperatures between 25–45°C.

Psychrophiles

“Cold-loving” bacteria that thrive at temperatures between 0–25°C.

Thermophiles

“Heat-loving” bacteria that thrive at temperatures between 45–100°C.

Domain Archaea

Prokaryotic organisms that can thrive in extreme conditions.

Halophiles

Organisms that thrive in high-salt environments; typical bacteria can tolerate salt concentrations up to about 3%.

Obligate Aerobes

Organisms that require oxygen for cellular respiration and cannot grow without it.

Facultative Anaerobes

Organisms that use oxygen when it is available but can perform fermentation without oxygen.

Obligate Anaerobes

Organisms that only perform fermentation and are harmed or killed by oxygen.

Symbiosis

A relationship between two species that coexist closely.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is not affected.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed.

Decomposition

The breakdown of dead organic matter, which recycles nutrients in the environment.

Bioremediation

The use of living organisms to detoxify and restore polluted or degraded environments.

Genetic Engineering

The direct manipulation of genes for practical purposes.

Pathogenicity

The ability of an organism to cause disease; only about 3–5% of bacteria are pathogenic.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Bacterium that causes tuberculosis, a respiratory infection.

Vibrio cholerae

Bacterium that causes cholera, an intestinal infection.

Borrelia burgdorferi

Bacterium that causes Lyme disease.

Treponema pallidum

Bacterium that causes syphilis.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Bacterium that causes gonorrhea.

Chlamydia trachomatis

Bacterium that causes chlamydia.

Bacillus anthracis

Bacterium that causes anthrax.

Clostridium botulinum

Bacterium that causes botulism.

Endotoxin

A toxin released when bacteria die and their cells break down; typically produced by Gram-negative bacteria.

Exotoxin

A toxin released by living bacteria that can remain even after the bacteria are gone; typically produced by Gram-positive bacteria.

Food Spoiling

The natural decay of food caused by bacteria.

Food Poisoning

Illness caused by toxins released by bacteria during the decay of food.

Endosymbiotic Theory

Theory proposed by Lynn Margulis in the 1960s that explains how eukaryotic cells, mitochondria, and chloroplasts evolved from ancestral prokaryotes.

Mitochondrial Origin

According to the endosymbiotic theory, mitochondria developed when an early eukaryote engulfed an aerobic heterotrophic prokaryote.

Chloroplast Origin

According to the endosymbiotic theory, chloroplasts developed when an early eukaryote engulfed a photosynthetic cyanobacterium.

Flagellated Protists

Protists that contain flagella for locomotion and are believed to have evolved from a common ancestor.

Diplomonads

Unicellular, heterotrophic, anaerobic protists with two equally sized nuclei and multiple flagella; many are intestinal parasites.

Giardia intestinalis

A diplomonad that causes the intestinal infection giardiasis.

Parabasalids

Heterotrophic, anaerobic protists with multiple flagella and an undulating membrane; they can be parasites or mutualistic symbionts.

Trichomonas vaginalis

A parabasalid that causes the infection trichomoniasis.

Trichonympha

A flagellated protist that lives in the gut of termites in a mutualistic relationship and digests cellulose from wood.

Kinetoplastids

Bi-flagellated, heterotrophic parasitic protists that possess an undulating membrane and a kinetoplast.