BIOL 1002 Lecture : Biology 1002 Notes
Document Summary
Viroids: simpler and smaller, fragments of single-stranded rna with no protein coat, hijack cells; infects primarily plant cells including citrus trees, potatoes, avocados. Prokaryotes: bacteria and archaea domains, 12000 species described, may be 100-1000x that number, 1st organisms to appear on earth, 3. 5 billion years ago, bacteria, cell wall- semi-rigid, permeable, made of peptidoglycan) carbohydrate with amino acids attached). Asexual in the form of binary fission (they don"t use mitosis or meiosis) Sexual in the form of conjugating using plasmids: energy sources: *microbes are microscopic, but very diverse and extremely abundant (bacteria on the tip of a pin) Ice bacteria and archaea: cave bacteria, sometimes reaching acidity of ph 0. 5 (low ph is acidic) Can we use bacteria to improve our quality of life: yes. Deinococcus radiodurans: survive 3000x more radiation than humans, tolerate extreme dehydration, heat, and cold, used to chew up toxic waste, exxon-valdez oil spill, super bacterium .
