| A | B |
|---|
| prokaryote | single celled organisms that lack a nucleus |
| bacillus | rod shaped prokaryotes |
| coccus | spherical shaped prokaryotes |
| spirillum | spiral and cork shaped prokaryotes |
| flagellum | whiplike structures used to propel prokaryotes |
| photoautotroph | prokaryotes that carry out photosynthesis in a manner siimilar to green plants |
| chemoautotroph | obtain energy directly from inorganic molecules |
| photoheterotroph | organisms that are photosynthetic, they capture sunlight for energy, but they also need organic compounds for nutrition |
| binary fission | when a prokaryote has grown so that it has nearly doubled in size, it replicates its DNA and divides into two identical "daughter cells" |
| conjugation | a hollow bridge forms between two cells and genes move from one cell to the other |
| endospore | is formed when a bacterium produces a thick internal wall that encloses DNA and a portion of its cytoplasm |
| nitrogen fixation | the process of converting nitrogen into a form plants can use |
| pathogen | disease causing agents |
| antibiotic | compounds that block the growth and reproduction of bacteria |
| sterilization | destroys bacteria by subjecting them either to great heat or chemical action |
| virus | particles of nucleic acid, protein and in some cases lipids that can reproduce only by infecting living cells |
| capsid | a cirus's outer protein coat |
| bacteriophage | viruses that infect bacteria |
| lytic infection | a virus enters a cell, makes copies of itself and causes the cell to burst |
| lysogenic infection | a host cell makes copies of the virus indefinitely |
| retrovirus | some viruses that contain RNA as their genetic information |
| prion | protein infectious particles, they contain no dna and no rna, only protein, from mad cow disease |
