A Glossary of Terms from Lab 6:
autotrophs
An organism able to build all the complex organic molecules that it requires
as its own food source, using only simple inorganic compounds. Plants, and
some bacteria are autotrophs.
cap
The fleshy or leathery structure upon which the spore-bearing structures
occurs in a fungal fruit body.
cellulose
A type of unbranched polysaccharide carbohydrate that is composed of
glucose sugars.
chitin
A structural polysaccharide of an amino sugar found in many fungi and in
the exoskeletons of all Arthropods.
chloroplast
A subcellular organelle which contains chlorophyll and enzymes necessary to
perform photosynthesis. Has an inner and outer membrane, as well as a third
membrane bound sac, the thylakoid. Stacks of thylakoids are called grana,
where the Light Reaction occurs. The cytoplasm of the chlorplast is called
the stroma, and the Light Independant Reaction (carbon fixation) occurs
here.
columella
The sterile central column in the sporangia of mosses and liverworts.
conjugation
A recombination mechanism that results in the transfer of genetic, material
between two bacterial cells that are temporarily joined.
conjugation
tube
Connecting tube that allows two individuals to fuse together temporarily in
order to exchange micronuclear material
contractile vacuole
An organelle that pumps excess water out of many freshwater protist
cells.
fat
(triacylglycerol)
A biological compound consisting of three fatty acids linked to one glycerol
molecule.
flagellum
(pl. flagella)
A long cellular appendage specialized for locomotion, ensheathed in an extension of plasma membrane.
foliose
Leaf-like; made up of thin flat lobes, as are the thalli of certain types of
lichen.
gametangium (pl. gametangia)
The reproductive organ of bryophytes, consisting of the male antheridium
and female archegonium; a multichambered jacket of sterile cells in which
gametes are formed.
glycogen
An extensively branched glucose storage polysaccharide found in the liver
and muscle of animals; the animal equivalent of starch.
heterocyst
A specialized cell that undergoes nitrogen fixation on some filamentous cyanobacteria.
heterotroph
An organism dependent on obtaining organic food from the environment because
it is unable to synthesize organic material. They (animals, fungi, many bacteria,
and a few flowering plants) obtain almost all their organic material either
directly or indirectly from the activity of autotrophs.
hypha
(plural, hyphae)
A filament that collectively makes up the body of a fungus.
mitospores
Spores resulting from mitosis
mushroom
gills
A tissue of radiating strips found on the lower surface of the mushroom cap.
mycelium
The densely branched network of hyphae in a fungus.
papilla (pl. papillae)
A projection from the surface of a structure, such as tongue papillae, which
carry the taste buds.
paramylum
A starch-like substance that occurs as a food reserve in flagellate Protozoans
and algae, such as Euglena.
parasite
An organism that absorbs nutrients from the body fluids of living hosts.
pyrenoid
A region of starch formation found in the chloroplasts of various algae, for
example, Cosmarium.
rhizoid
A hair-like structure that functions as a root in lower organisms, such as
certain fungi and mosses. Rhizoids are important in penetrating a substance,
giving anchorage and absorbing nutrients.
saprophytes
Any plant of microorganism that obtains its nutrition from dead or decaying
organic materials in the form of organic substances in solution. Such
organisms are important in breaking down dead organic material.
septum
(pl. septa)
Any dividing wall or partition that occurs between structures or in
a cavity.
sporangiophore
A fungal hypha bearing one or more sporangia.
sporangium
(pl. sporangia)
A capsule in fungi and plants in which meiosis occurs and haploid spores
develop.
stalk
Holds up the cap of mushrooms.
starch
A polysaccharide carbohydrate consisting of two forms of glucose units,
amylose and amylopectin.
stipe
The fruiting body of a fungus.
stolon
A long slender stem running along the surface of the ground, arising
from the axil of a leaf, whose function is to enable rapid vegetative propagation
in an area. Runners are found, for example, in strawberries and creeping buttercup.
unicellular
Made up of one cell.
vacuole
A membrane-enclosed sac taking up most of the interior of a mature
plant cell and containing a variety of substances important in plant reproduction,
growth, and development.
zygospore
A thick-walled resting spore that is formed from the union of similar
gametes.
zygote
The diploid product of the union of haploid gametes in conception;
a fertilized egg.