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numerical Study of the degree of relatedness between an unidentified organism and a known
taxonomy group through comparisons of traits. Used to classify prokaryotic species.
pathogen [Gk. pathos, suffering, + genes, origin] Any virus, bacterium, fungus, protistan, or
parasitic worm that can infect an organism, multiply in it, and cause disease.
phytoplankton [Gk. phyton, plant, + planktos, wandering] Aquatic community of floating or weakly
swimming photoautotrophs (e.g., pastures of the seas).
plankton [Gk. planktos, wandering] Of aquatic habitats, a community of suspended or
weakly swimming organisms, mostly microscopic.
prion Small infectious protein that causes rare, fatal degenerative diseases of the
nervous system.
prokaryotic
Cell division mechanism by which a bacterial cell reproduces.
fission
protistan [Gk. protistos, primal] Photoautotroph or heterotroph (or both) unlike bacteria;
some like earliest eukaryotic cells. Has a nucleus, larger ribosomes, mitochondria,
ER, Golgi bodies, chromosomes with numerous proteins, and cytoskeletal
microtubules. Range in size from microscopic algae to giant kelps.
protozoan Type of protistan that may be like the single-celled heterotrophs that gave rise to
animals. Amoeboid, animal-like, and ciliated protozoans are major categories.
red alga Type of photoautotrophic protistan; most are multicelled and aquatic; an
abundance of phycobilins masks their chlorophyll a.
sporozoan Type of parasitic protistan. Forms a motile infective stage inside specific host cells;
some form cysts. One end of the body has a complex of structures used to
penetrate hosts.
viroid Infectious particle of short, tightly folded strands or circles of RNA.
virus A noncellular infectious agent made of DNA or RNA, a protein coat and, in some,
an outer lipid envelope; it can be replicated only after its genetic material enters a
host cell and subverts the host's metabolic machinery