Prokaryotes, Protists, and Seedless Plants Flashcards

A set of 100 vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, organisms, and anatomical structures from prokaryotes, protists, and seedless plants based on lecture notes.

Prokaryotes

Organisms that lack membrane-bound organelles.

Archaea

Prokaryotic organisms lacking peptidoglycan in their cell walls, mostly living as extremophiles in extreme environments.

Bacteria

Universal prokaryotes containing cell walls made of peptidoglycan.

Peptidoglycan

A mesh-like structure of cross-linked amino acids and sugars found in bacterial cell walls.

Gram-positive bacteria

Bacteria with a thick peptidoglycan layer and no outer cell membrane that stain purple in Gram-staining.

Gram-negative bacteria

Bacteria with a thin peptidoglycan layer and an outer cell membrane that stain pink in Gram-staining.

Cyanobacteria

Major group of bacteria that mostly exist as colonies and filaments and grow in various environments.

Mucilaginous sheath

Glycoprotein sheath surrounding cyanobacteria to protect them from being consumed.

Anabaena

Cyanobacterium that forms chains containing vegetative cells, heterocysts, and akinetes.

Vegetative cells

Metabolically active bacterial cells in cyanobacteria that grow and divide.

Heterocysts

Specialized cells in cyanobacteria such as Anabaena that have the ability to fix nitrogen.

Akinetes

Thick-walled cells in cyanobacteria such as Anabaena that aid in survival.

Merismopedia

Cyanobacteria forming spherical cells organized in grids with vegetative cells and a mucilaginous sheath.

Oscillatoria

Filamentous cyanobacteria composed of vegetative cells.

Aseptic technique

Procedure involving wiping the inoculating loop with alcohol and flaming it bright red to prevent contamination.

Heat fixing

Step in Gram-staining where bacteria are inoculated onto a slide and quickly passed over a flame.

Crystal Violet

Primary stain in Gram-staining applied to color all bacteria purple.

Gram's Iodine

Solution applied during Gram-staining that helps crystal violet pass through the thick peptidoglycan layer of gram-positive bacteria.

$95\%$ alcohol

Decolorizing agent applied for roughly $10\text{--}30\,\text{seconds}$ in Gram-staining to wash purple stain off gram-negative bacteria.

Safranin

Counterstain applied for $30\text{--}60\,\text{seconds}$ during Gram-staining that colors gram-negative bacteria pink.

Bibulous paper

Paper used to gently press and dry slides after completing the Gram-stain technique.

Protists

A non-monophyletic group of eukaryotic organisms that are often more closely related to plants, animals, or fungi than to each other.

Ciliates

Class of protists that primarily move using cilia.

Flagellates

Class of protists that primarily move using flagella.

Sarcodinids

Class of protists that primarily move using pseudopodia.

Eukaryotes

Organisms composed of cells containing a nuclear membrane surrounding the nucleus.

Primary Symbiosis

Endosymbiotic process where a bacterium is engulfed by a host cell and not destroyed.

Secondary Symbiosis

Endosymbiotic process where a product of primary symbiosis is engulfed by another cell.

Supergroup Excavata

Protist supergroup named for a feeding groove that looks like it was excavated from the cell.

Euglenoids

Freshwater flagellates in Supergroup Excavata equipped with a protein ribbon that makes them very flexible.

Kinetoplastids

Excavate protists possessing a single large mitochondrion containing a kinetoplast.

Kinetoplast

Structure containing circular mitochondrial DNA found in kinetoplastids.

Euglena

Photosynthetic genus of Euglenoid Excavate protists capable of saprophytic nutrition and phagocytosis.

Saprophytic nutrition

Method of obtaining nutrition by absorbing nutrients directly from the surrounding medium.

Pellicle

Unique flexible cell surface composed of proteins found in Euglena and dinoflagellates.

Stigma

Light-sensitive organelle in Euglena that grants it directional taxis to light.

Trypanosoma

Genus of eel-shaped Kinetoplastid Excavate protists featuring an undulating membrane.

Undulating membrane

Structure in Trypanosoma composed of flagella and the body wall.

Giardia lamblia

Parasitic excavate found in feces-contaminated water that causes Giardiasis.

Giardiasis

Infection caused by Giardia lamblia with symptoms including diarrhea, fever, and vomiting.

Supergroup SAR Clade

Protist supergroup containing the Stramenopila, Alveolata, and Rhizaria clades.

Stramenopila

Protist clade known for straw hair-like features, including diatoms and brown algae.

Diatoms

Unicellular algae with cell walls of silicon dioxide that perform $25\%$ of all carbon fixation on Earth.

Silicon dioxide

Chemical compound forming the hard cell walls of diatoms and structural components in some Rhizaria.

Brown algae

Multicellular seaweeds in Stramenopila that can reach large sizes and feature stipes, holdfasts, air bladders, and fronds.

Stipe

Stem-like structure present in brown algae.

Holdfast

Root-like structure serving as an anchor in brown algae or Stentor.

Air bladder

Gas-filled structure in brown algae providing buoyancy.

Fronds

Leaf-like structures of brown algae.

Alveolata

Clade in Supergroup SAR featuring sac-like vesicles used for ion transport and structural support.

Dinoflagellates

Photosynthetic or heterotrophic Alveolates characterized by two perpendicular flagella and heavy cellulose plates.

Red tide

Toxic algal bloom caused by excessive population growth of dinoflagellates.

Stentor

Alveolate protist characterized by a ciliated corona.

Paramecium

Alveolate protist that exhibits directional movement (taxis) in response to stimuli.

Rhizaria

Planktonic, heterotrophic SAR clade featuring narrow pseudopodia called axopodia made of silicon dioxide or calcium carbonate.

Axopodia

Very narrow pseudopodia characteristic of Rhizaria.

Supergroup Unikonta

Protist supergroup comprising Amoebozoans and Opisthokonts.

Opisthokonts

Clade in Unikonta containing Animals, Fungi, and Choanoflagellates.

Choanoflagellates

Non-amoeba protists that represent the most recent common ancestor for the entire Animal kingdom.

Phylum Amoebozoa

Clade united by phagocytosis for feeding and cytoplasmic streaming to form pseudopodia.

Cytoplasmic streaming

Process directed by motor proteins that moves cytoplasm forward to create temporary pseudopodia.

Amoeboid motion

Form of cellular movement generated by cytoplasmic streaming and pseudopodia formation.

Clade Mycetozoa

Amoebozoan subphylum known as slime molds that lack hyphae, external digestion, and chitin cell walls.

Plasmodial Slime Molds

Slime molds forming a multinucleated mass without intracellular cytoplasmic membranes separating nuclei.

Cellular Slime Molds

Slime molds composed of individual cells that aggregate under low food conditions to move together and form sporangia.

Sporangium

Structure formed by slime molds containing clusters of spores when environmental conditions are unfavorable.

Supergroup Archaeplastida

Protist supergroup containing red algae, green algae, and land plants, primarily derived via primary endosymbiosis.

Phylum Chlorophyta

Green algae phylum sharing features with land plants such as chlorophyll, starch storage, and cellulose cell walls.

Chlamydomonas

Unicellular haploid green alga reproducing asexually that can produce gametes under stressful conditions.

Spirogyra

Unicellular filamentous green alga.

Volvox

Colonial green alga forming spherical colonies with specialized cells and daughter colonies.

Caulerpa

Multicellular green alga common in marine environments.

Phylum Rhodophyta

Red algae phylum characterized by the presence of the photosynthetic pigment phycoerythrin.

Phycoerythrin

Red photosynthetic accessory pigment found in Phylum Rhodophyta.

Charophyceans

Ancestral group of green algae from which land plants descended.

Streptophytes

Group containing modern land plants and modern charophyceans.

Meristems

Plant regions of active cell division and growing tissue.

Alternation of Generations

Life cycle process where plants alternate between a haploid gametophyte and diploid sporophyte generation.

Cuticle

Waxy protective layer on land plants preventing desiccation.

Vascular Tissue

Plant transport system comprising xylem and phloem that moves water, minerals, and sugars.

Gametophyte

Haploid ($n$) plant generation that produces gametes through mitosis.

Sporophyte

Diploid ($2n$) plant generation that produces haploid spores through meiosis in sporangia.

Antheridia

Reproductive structures (gametangia) where sperm are produced.

Archegonia

Reproductive structures (gametangia) where eggs are produced.

Nonvascular plants

Gametophyte-dominant land plants lacking vascular tissue, such as mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.

Vascular plants

Sporophyte-dominant plants equipped with specialized xylem and phloem tissue.

Phylum Marchantiophyta

Nonvascular plant phylum comprising liverworts.

Gemmae cups

Structures on liverworts containing gemmae that splash out in rain for asexual reproduction.

Phylum Bryophyta

Nonvascular plant phylum comprising true mosses.

Phylum Anthocerotophyta

Nonvascular plant phylum comprising hornworts.

Xylem

Vascular plant tissue responsible for transporting water and minerals.

Phloem

Vascular plant tissue responsible for transporting sugars from leaves to the rest of the plant.

Stomata

Specialized surface pores that open when turgid to allow gas exchange and water regulation.

Phylum Monilophyta

Vascular plant phylum containing ferns and Equisetum (horsetails).

Homosporous

Producing a single type of spore that develops into a bisexual gametophyte.

Heterosporous

Producing two distinct types of spores: megaspores and microspores.

Equisetum

Genus of Monilophyta (horsetails) with sporangia arranged in strobili or cones at stem tips.

Prothallus

Heart-shaped haploid gametophyte stage of terrestrial ferns.

Phylum Lycophyta

Seedless vascular plant phylum comprising club mosses and spike mosses.

Gymnosperms

Seed-bearing plants with naked, visible seeds often borne on cones.