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Viruses and Monerans
Patel/ Sandt/ Walz
Name: ______
Viruses
Traits of Viruses
- Neither living or non-living
- Made of a chromosome-like part surrounded by a protein coat.
- Chromosome like part: carries hereditary material
- Protein coat (capsid): responsible for different shapes
- Not made of cells and have no cell parts.
- Do not grow or respond to environment
- Can reproduce ONLY inside living cells
- Group viruses by the kind of cell they infect.
- Plants, animals, fungi, monerans, and protists are hosts that provide food for a parasite.
Viruses and Disease
- Viruses are spread by insects, air, water, food, and other people.
- Lytic Cycle: Some viruses reproduce rapidly and cause the cell to break open and release viruses. ****See diagram that was drawn in class
- Polio, mumps, rabies, and flu act this way in humans.
- Lysogenic Cycle: Some viruses remain hidden in a cell for a long time without reproducing. No symptoms appear until something like a fever or a sunburn cause the virus to become active. Examples: herpes, cold sores. ****See diagram that was drawn in class
Controlling Viruses
- Hard to treat or cure
- Antibodies: if a virus is not captured and destroyed by white blood cells, other white blood cells make chemicals called antibodies. The virus or bacterium may be destroyed directly by the antibody or it may be held captive by the antibody until white blood cells can surround and destroy it.
- Interferon: a chemical substance that interferes with the way viruses reproduce. Cells produce interferon to warn nearby cells that a viral infection is taking place.
- Vaccines: substances made from weakened or dead viruses. The body reacts to a vaccine by producing antibodies to protect against the disease. Examples: polio, rubella, measles, flu.
Bacteria: MoneraKingdom
Traits of Bacteria
- Bacteria: very small, one-celled monerans.
- Larger than viruses, but too small to bee seen without a microscope.
- Found almost everywhere.
- Three Groups: Coccus, bacillus, spirillium
- Colony: group of similar cells growing next to each other that do not depend on each other.
- Capsule: sticky outer layer of the cell that keeps the cell form drying out and helps the cell stick to other food or cells.
- Flagellum: long, whip-like thread that helps the bacteria move.
- Binary Fission: the process of one organism dividing into two organisms. Type of Asexual reproduction.
- Asexual reproduction: the reproducing of a living thing from only one parent.
- Endospore: a thick walled structure that forms inside the cell, enclosing all the nuclear material and some cytoplasm.
- Saprophytes: organisms that use dead material for food.
- Decomposers: living things that get their food from breaking down dead matter into simpler chemicals.
Helpful Bacteria
- Some bacteria grow in other living things and help them. Example: bacteria in the stomach of a cow help it break down grass and hay.
- Bacteria in your intestine make vitamins you need.
- Antibiotics: chemical substances that kill or slow the growth of bacteria.
Controlling Bacteria
- Pasteurization: process of heating milk to kill harmful bacteria.
- Cooling foods to a lower temperature. Keep food in a refrigerator.
- Freezing food.
- Take water out of food, dehydration.
- Antiseptics
- Disinfectants
Blue-green Bacteria
- Small, one-celled monerans that contain chlorophyll and can make their own food through photosynthesis.
- Found in ponds, lakes, swimming pools, and faucets.
- Occur as single cells, colonies, and long, threadlike chains.
- Blue-green bacteria serve as food for animals that live in water.
- Also they recycle nitrogen that can then be used by plants.
*****Please refer to all handouts, notes, and worksheets that were given in class to prepare for your test.