Microbiology terms - V
- vaccination
- Artificial introduction of a killed or attenuated pathogen to promote
protective immunity. See vaccine.
- vaccine
- Material used to induce specific protective immunity against a pathogen.
- vector
- 1. A plasmid or virus used in genetic engineering to insert genes into a cell.
2. An agent, usually an insect or other animal, able to carry pathogens from
one host to another.
- vehicle
- Nonliving source of pathogens which infect large numbers of individuals;
common vehicles are food and water.
- viable
- Alive; able to reproduce.
- viable count
- Measurement of the concentration of live cells in a microbial population.
- vibrio
- 1. A curved, rod-shaped bacterial cell.
2. A bacterium of the genus Vibrio.
- virion
- A virus particle; the virus nucleic acid surrounded by protien coat and in
some cases other material.
- viroid
- A small RNA molecule with virus-like properties.
- virulence
- Degree of pathogenicity of a parasite.
- virus
- A genetic element containing either DNA or RNA that is able to alternate
between intracellular and extracellular states, the later being the infectious
state.
Compiled by Tsute Chen, Converted by Ben Hoyt