| Heterotrophic |
- capable of utilizing only organic materials as a source of food. |
Organism that must consume energy rich organic molecules for survival. Energy is released from these molecules through the chemical process respiration. |
| Autotrophic |
- Capable of utilizing inorganic carbon as the main source of carbon and of obtaining energy for life processes from the oxidation of inorganic elements (chemotrophic) or from radiant energy (phototrophic). |
An organism that produces food molecules inorganically by using a light or chemical based sources of external energy. This organism does not require outside sources of organic food energy for survival |
| Budding - a form of asexual reproduction. |
- In this form, an offspring grows out of the body of the parent. |
Budding yeast |
| Potassium Iodide stain |
Has an affinity for starch. |
The potato cells were stained really well as they are a storage device for plant starch. |
| Dikaryotic |
A series of the fungal life cycle in which cells have two nuclei.
Having two different and distinct nuclei per cell; found in the fungi. A dikaryotic individual is called a dikaryon. |
A dikaryotic cell or biological structure (there is some debate as to whether these structures are cells) is characterized by having two nuclei. An example of a dikaryotic organism is Dikaryomycota, a phylum of fungi which have an extended dikaryon period in their life cycle. This dikaryotic stage in fungi involves the formation of two haploid nuclei, which later merge into a single nucleus in a later state. These haploid nuclei are genetically distinct. The class of organisms known as Basidiomycetes, which includes both poisonous and edible mushrooms, is known to have a relatively short dikaryotic growth stage |
| Diploid |
Diploid cells (meaning double in Greek) have two copies (homologs) of each chromosome (both sex- and non-sex determining chromosomes), usually one from the mother and one from the father. Most somatic cells (body cells) of higher organisms are diploid. |
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| Haploid |
cells bear one copy of each chromosome.
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Most fungi, and a few algae exist as haploid organisms, male bees, wasps and ants are also haploid. For organisms that only ever have one set of chromosomes, the term monoploid can be used interchangeably with haploid. |
| Vacuole |
Vacuoles are bounded by a single membrane. Young plant cells often contain many small vacuoles, but as the cells mature, these unite to form a large central vacuole. Vacuoles serve several functions, such as
storing foods (e.g., proteins in seeds)
storing wastes
storing malic acid in CAM plants
maintaining turgor in the cell.
Plant cells avoid bursting in hypotonic surroundings by their strong cell walls. These allow the build-up of turgor within the cell. Loss of turgor causes wilting.
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What's most important?
Vacuoles have the simple structure of a sac, a single membrane surrounding solid or liquid contents.
There are a wide variety of vacuoles, containing a wide variety of substances.
Many plant cells contain a large central vacuole filled with water.
Structure
The structure of vacuoles is very simple. They consist of a single membrane surrounding the liquid or solid contents.
Function
The vacuole acts a container. A food vacuole in a single celled amoeba contains the food item that the amoeba has consumed. The central vacuole of a plant cell contains water and substances such as amino acids, sugars and other compounds tat the plant needs.
Details
The central vacuole of some plant cells may occupy 50-90% of the cell volume. |
| Chromoplasts |
Chromoplasts are found in many flower petals and fruits. These are the non-photosynthetic pigments (reds, oranges, purples, blues) known as carotenoids and xanthophylls. |
Red Pepper |
| Leucoplasts |
plastids that are basically colorless and may not have specific functions. |
Potato - starch storage |
| Chloroplasts |
are the most familiar plastids. These contain the green photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll, used by plants to harvest energy from the sun. |
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| Amyloplasts |
Storage organelles. Starch that is stored on a permanent basis, more than a few hours, is found in these plastids. |
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| Elaioplasts |
storage organelles of plants that produce oils. |
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| Etioplasts |
plastids that have developed when plants are grown in the dark and have no chlorophyll. When these plants are exposed to light the etioplasts become fully functional chlorplasts with chlorophyll. This is a good example of the interconvertible nature of plastids. |
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