marine bio vocab

microbe

a living organism too small to examine without using a microscope

virology

the study of viruses

viral replication

the manufacture and assembly of new viruses within a cell under the control of the infecting virus

pathogen

a microbe that causes disease and mortality

virion

the infective viral particle released by a host cell

capsid

the outer protein coating of a virion

envelope

an outer covering of a virion derived from the cell or nuclear membrane of the host

lytic cycle

a virus has no dormant phase in the host before initiating viral replication

lysis

the rupture of a host cell and release of its contents

lysogenic cell

a virus remains dormant in the host cell a while before initiating viral replication

binary fission

one cell splits in two after the original cell has duplicated its genetic material

bacillus

a rod shaped bacterium

coccus

a spherical bacterium

spirillum

a bacterium shaped like a corkscrew

cyanobacteria

photosynthetic prokaryotes that have chlorophyll a and release oxygen as a by product of their photosynthesis

alga

any photosynthetic organism, unicellular or multicellular, In which all cells are photosynthetic

beta-carotene

a yellow or orange carotenoid pigment

xanthophillis

a kind of carotenoid pigment that confer a yellow or brown hue to some organisms

phycoerythrin

a red phycobilin that absorbs green light

phycocyanin

a blue phycobilin that absorbs orange light

mucilage

a gelatinous secretion of algal cells for attachment of cells and for protection

stromatolite

a coral like community of microbes that form a thin layer of living cells and filaments over an accumulated mass of dad stony material

consolidation

the aggregation of suspended particles in seawater by bacteria

lithification

the conversion of consolidated particles into a solid mass with mineral cement

sedimentation

the settlement of particles from suspension in water