Term | Definition |
classification | the group of the organ |
binomial nomenclature | the system of nomenclature in which two terms are used to denote a species of living organism, the first one indicating the genus and the second the specific epithet. |
prokaryote | a microscopic single-celled organism that has neither a distinct nucleus with a membrane nor other specialized organelles. Prokaryotes include the bacteria and cyanobacteria. |
eukaryote | an organism consisting of a cell or cells in which the genetic material is DNA in the form of chromosomes contained within a distinct nucleus. Eukaryotes include all living organisms other than the eubacteria and archaebacteria. |
Dichotomous key | A dichotomous key is a tool that allows the user to determine the identity of items in the natural world, such as trees, wildflowers, mammals, reptiles, rocks, and fish. |
Archaea bacteria | microorganisms that are similar to bacteria in size and simplicity of structure but radically different in molecular organization. They are now believed to constitute an ancient intermediate group between the bacteria and eukaryotes. |
virus | an infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat, is too small to be seen by light microscopy, and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host. |
host | an animal or plant on or in which a parasite or commensal organism lives.
a person or animal that has received transplanted tissue or a transplanted organ. |
parasite | an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense. |
flagellum | a slender threadlike structure, especially a microscopic whiplike appendage that enables many protozoa, bacteria |
binary fission | reproduction of a cell by division into two approximately equal parts |
conjugation | the formation or existence of a link or connection between things, in particular. |
endospore | a resistant asexual spore that develops inside some bacteria cells. |
decomposer | an organism, especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decomposes organic material. |
protist | In some biological taxonomy schemes, protists are a large and diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms, which belong to the kingdom Protista. There have been attempts to remove the kingdom from modern taxonomy but it is still very much in use. |
protozoan | a single-celled microscopic animal of a group of phyla of the kingdom Protista, such as an amoeba, flagellate, ciliate, or sporozoan. |
pseudopod | a temporary protrusion of the protoplasm, as of certain protozoans, usually serving as an organ of locomotion or prehension. |
cilia | minute hairlike organelles, identical in structure to flagella, that line the surfaces of certain cells and beat in rhythmic waves, providing locomotion to ciliate protozoans and moving liquids along internal epithelial tissue in animals. |
algae | a simple nonflowering plant of a large group that includes the seaweeds and many single-celled forms |
spore | a minute, typically one-celled, reproductive unit capable of giving rise to a new individual without sexual fusion, characteristic of lower plants, fungi, and protozoans. |
fungi | a taxonomic kingdom, or in some classification schemes a division of the kingdom Plantae, comprising all the fungus groups and sometimes also the slime molds. |
hyphae | each of the branching filaments that make up the mycelium of a fungus. |
fruiting body | the spore-producing organ of a fungus, often seen as a mushroom or toadstool. |
budding | (of a plant) having or developing buds. |
lichen | a simple slow-growing plant that typically forms a low crustlike, leaflike, or branching growth on rocks, walls, and trees. |