Microbiology, Fungi, Protists, and Animal Diversity Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from lecture review notes on prokaryote domains, nutrition, gene transfer, toxins, protist clades, fungal phyla and structures, animal characteristics, body cavity plans, and protostome vs. deuterostome development.

Peptidoglycan

The primary component of a bacterial cell wall, which is present in Domain Bacteria but absent in Domain Archaea and Domain Eukarya.

Gram-negative Bacteria

A group of bacteria possessing an outer membrane that contains toxic lipopolysaccharides, which provides protection against host defenses and many antibiotics.

Photoautotroph

A nutritional mode in which organisms use light for energy and $\text{CO}_2$ as a carbon source.

Chemoautotroph

A nutritional mode in which organisms use inorganic chemicals for energy and $\text{CO}_2$ as a carbon source.

Photoheterotroph

A nutritional mode in which organisms use light for energy and organic compounds as a carbon source.

Chemoheterotroph

A nutritional mode in which organisms use organic compounds for both energy and a carbon source.

Transformation

The uptake of naked DNA from the environment by prokaryotic cells.

Transduction

The process in which phages carry prokaryotic genes from one host cell to another.

Conjugation

The transfer of DNA directly between two prokaryotic cells.

Nitrogen Fixation

The biological process of converting atmospheric nitrogen ($\text{N}_2$) into ammonia ($\text{NH}_3$).

Exotoxins

Toxic proteins secreted by living prokaryotes.

Endotoxins

Toxic lipopolysaccharide components of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria that are released when the bacteria die.

Monophyletic

A phylogenetic group consisting of an ancestral species and ALL of its descendants (a true clade).

Paraphyletic

A phylogenetic group consisting of an ancestral species and SOME, but not all, of its descendants.

Excavata

A major protist group that includes organisms like Giardia and Trypanosoma, characterized by a crystalline rod in their flagella.

Stramenopila

A major protist group consisting of unicellular algae with glass-like cell walls that play a crucial role in the biological carbon pump.

Alveolata

A major protist group characterized by membrane-enclosed sacs (alveoli) located just under the plasma membrane; includes Paramecium.

Archaeaplastida

A major protist group including red and green algae whose plastids evolved from a cyanobacterial endosymbiont.

Plasmodium

The protist parasite that causes Malaria.

Trypanosoma brucei

The protist parasite that causes African Sleeping Sickness.

Trypanosoma cruzi

The protist parasite that causes Chagas Disease.

Mycelium

The network of hyphae that forms the main body of a fungus.

Exoenzymes

Powerful enzymes secreted by fungi to break down organic material prior to nutrient absorption.

Chitin

The primary structural component comprising fungal cell walls.

Plasmogamy

The stage of the fungal sexual life cycle involving the fusion of cytoplasm from two parent hyphae, while the nuclei remain separate.

Karyogamy

The stage of the fungal sexual life cycle in which two parent nuclei fuse together.

Zygomycota

The fungal phylum that includes black bread mold (Rhizopus stolonifera).

Ascomycota

The fungal phylum known as sac fungi, which produce sexual spores inside asci.

Basidiomycota

The fungal phylum that includes mushrooms, puffballs, and shelf fungi.

Chytridiomycota

The fungal phylum characterized by producing flagellated spores called zoospores.

Glomeromycota

The fungal phylum whose species form arbuscular mycorrhizae with plant roots.

Lichens

A symbiotic association between a fungus and a photosynthetic partner such as green algae or cyanobacteria.

Mycorrhizae

A mutualistic association between a fungus and plant roots.

Cambrian Explosion

A period about $535\text{-}525\text{ mya}$ when most major animal body plans appeared, likely driven by ecological, geologic, or genetic factors.

Choanoflagellates

The group of protists considered to be the closest living relatives to animals.

Parazoa

A clade of animals that lack true tissues, such as sponges.

Eumetazoa

A clade of animals that possess true tissues.

Radial Symmetry

Body symmetry where body parts are arranged around a central axis; typically found in sessile or drifting organisms.

Bilateral Symmetry

Body symmetry featuring distinct right and left sides, dorsal and ventral surfaces, and anterior and posterior ends; associated with cephalization.

Mesoderm

The third germ layer whose evolution in triploblastic animals enables the formation of a body cavity (coelom) and complex organ systems.

Triploblastic Body Cavities

Structural body cavity variations in triploblastic animals including Acoelomate (no coelom), Pseudocoelomate (cavity not completely lined by mesoderm), and Coelomate (true coelom fully lined with mesoderm).

Protostomes

Animals characterized by spiral and determinate cleavage, blastospore developing into the mouth, and coelom formation via schizocoely (e.g., Mollusks, Annelids, Arthropods).

Deuterostomes

Animals characterized by radial and indeterminate cleavage, blastospore developing into the anus, and coelom formation via enterocoely (e.g., Echinoderms, Chordates).

Schizocoely

The method of coelom formation in protostomes where mesoderm splits to form the body cavity.

Enterocoely

The method of coelom formation in deuterostomes where mesoderm buds from the archenteron.