Biodiversity
the variety within and among living species
Domain Bacteria
- most bacteria are probably harmless to humans
- we are most familiar with the ones that cause disease
- many known bacteria obtain nutrients by decomposing dead organisms
- competition between bacteria has produced compounds that humans make use of
Antibiotics
- a chemical that kills or disables bacteria
- 50% of antibiotics are derived from bacterial sources
Domain Archaea
- superficially similar to bacteria
- differ in structure of cell membranes
- archaeans typically found in extreme environments (high temperature, high pressure, high salt concentration)
- taq polymerase comes from an archaean, thermophilus aquaticus
- archaeans are likely to be source of other interesting biomolecules
Domain Eukarya
- protists are the simplest of the eukaryotes
- oldest eukaryotic fossils are 2 billion years old; 1.5 billion years later than the first prokaryotic cells
Endosymbiotic Theory
explains the evolution of eukaryotes and their specialized structures
Cambrian Explosion
relatively rapid evolution of the modern forms of multicellular life that occurred approximately 550 million years ago
Spores
reproductive cell in plants and fungi that is capable of developing into an adult without fusing with another cell
Vascular Tissue
cells that transport water and other materials within a plant
Flowering Plants
member of the kingdom Plantae, which produces flowers and fruit
Biopiracy
when local knowledge is used without benefiting local people
