Immunization against endemic diseases is NOT necessary when traveling outside of
one’s home country or region.
Tetanus is highly contagious through person-to-person contact.
Magnesium is not considered a growth factor for microorganisms, because growth
factors are always organic compounds.
Iron-oxidizing bacteria grow better in alkaline environments where protons are less
likely to abiotically convert Fe2+ into Fe3+.
Most chemolithotrophic bacteria that oxidize sulfur are aerobes.
All microorganisms require molecular oxygen to carry on life functions.
Patients infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in environments where drug
resistance is expected or has already been identified usually have to take antibacterial
drugs for six months to ensure the infectious agent is completely killed.
The virus repressor protein provides immunity to infection by the same type of virus.
Knowing the genome of Mu bacteriophage now enables researchers to locate where it
incorporates into bacterial genomes.
Parasitic helminths only cause very rare tropical diseases.
Carotenoids are hydrophobic accessory pigments and vary widely in the color they can
absorb.
Infection with Legionella pneumophila is usually treated with intravenous
erythromycin.
Gammaproteobacteria can be used for biodegradation of hydrocarbons.
Symptoms of delayed-type hypersensitivity may appear several hours to days after
secondary exposure to the eliciting antigen.
Giardia cysts are found in MOST surface water sources in the United States.
The rates of exponential growth (in the exponential phase) vary greatly according to the
bacterial species as well as the bioavailable nutrients.
Mercury has both organic and inorganic forms that are neurotoxic.
To control a disease in a population, 100% immunization is necessary.
Based on the evolutionary tree shown below, RubisCO Form II and RLP beta are
orthologs.
The inducing antigens that react with an antibody are called heterologous antigens.
The MOST effective malarial control measure is to interrupt the life cycle of the
parasite by eliminating the obligate host, the Anopheles mosquito.
Chickenpox, caused by a herpesvirus, results in a systemic papular rash that quickly
heals.
When looking under a transmission electron microscope, you observe anammoxosomes
in one bacterium and pirellulosome in another bacterium. BOTH taxa are likely a part
of Planctomycetes.
The malarial parasite growing within erythrocytes is more resistant than the free
parasite to the drug chloroquine.
Syntrophic organisms cannot grow fermentatively without a hydrogen-consuming
partner organism.
In a global sense, ALL nutrient cycles are coupled together.
Leguminous plants such as alfalfa, beans, clover, peas, and soybeans all benefit from
symbiotic bacteria that leach vitamins into the plant roots.
Inhalation anthrax is the only form of anthrax for which there is no effective treatment.
Only high-risk individuals such as scientists working with the organism, livestock
workers, and military personnel are vaccinated for anthrax.
Escherichia coli is found naturally in the intestines of birds, humans, and animals.
A bacteriophage that lacks its proteinaceous capsid structure is also called a viroid.
Horizontally transferred genes typically encode essential metabolic functions such as
DNA replication, transcription, and translation.
When retinal in bacteriorhodopsin becomes excited, it directly catalyzes the formation
of ATP.
A bacterium that lacks an arginine biosynthetic pathway would still be able to make
proteins with arginine and grow only if arginine is supplemented into the growth
medium.
The reproductive systems of many insects can be manipulated by parasitic symbionts,
which are passed down to each generation and can skew the sex ratio of their progeny.
Allivibrio fischeri symbionts benefit the Hawaiian bobtail squid by
A) mimicking the light of the moon, which helps the squid avoid nocturnal predators.
B) providing essential amino acids missing from the squid’s diet.
C) degrading the cellulosic cell walls of the phytoplankton the squid eats.
D) providing essential amino acids missing from the squid’s diet and degrading the
cellulosic cell walls of the phytoplankton the squid eats.
Detecting a specific protein with an antibody is considered a(n) ________ method.
A) selection
B) screening
C) isolation
D) duplication
The causal agents of urinary tract diseases are often members of the normal flora.
The portion of an enzyme to which substrates bind is referred to as the
A) substrate complex.
B) active site.
C) catalytic site.
D) junction of van der Waals forces.
Replacing sodium with potassium can satisfy the requirement for sodium in the
halobacteria.
Pasteurization of milk is an example of a disease control measure aimed at
A) preventing host-to-host transmission.
B) controlling the disease vector.
C) preventing common source diseases.
D) eliminating the disease reservoir.
Which of the following is NOT important for the adherence of bacteria to other bacteria
as well as to host tissue?
A) adherence polymers
B) capsule
C) glycocalyx
D) slime layer
When two allelic variants are expressed equally, they are said to be
A) exclusive.
B) uncommitted.
C) repressed.
D) codominant.
The uptake of DNA released from a cell is ________, while transfer of DNA with
cell-to-cell contact would most likely result in ________.
A) transformation / conjugation
B) transduction / conjugation
C) conjugation / transformation
D) transformation / transduction
Which of the following is TRUE about the crenarchael genera Sulfolobus?
A) Sulfolobus grows in sulfur-rich hot alkaline springs.
B) Sulfolobus is an anaerobic chemolithotroph.
C) Sulfolobus can grow chemoorganotrophically.
D) Sulfolobus is a gram-positive rod.
Regarding early life on Earth,
A) microbial life existed for billions of years before plant and animal life.
B) microbial life existed long before animals but has been around for about the same
amount of time as plants.
C) microbial life, plant life, and animal life all appeared at about the same time.
D) it is impossible to determine which type of life first appeared.
Agricultural application of nitrogen fertilizer
A) reduces global warming by increasing the storage of carbon dioxide in plant
biomass.
B) increases global warming by increasing microbial respiration in agricultural soils.
C) increases global warming by increasing the production of nitrous oxide (N2O) by
denitrification in agricultural soils.
D) has little to no effect on the carbon cycle.
Which of the following prevents supercoiling of bacterial DNA?
A) macrolides
B) quinolones
C) penicillins
D) cephalosporins
Which of the following is NOT true of human gut microbes?
A) The population size is low, but diversity is high.
B) They produce and excrete amino acids.
C) They help catabolize polysaccharides.
D) They are involved in the “maturing” of the gastrointestinal tract.
________ defines the lowest quantity of an antigen that can be detected in a serological
test.
A) Specificity
B) Antigenic capacity
C) Minimal inhibitory concentration
D) Sensitivity
The lipids in the cytoplasmic membrane of Bacteria and ________ contain ester
linkages, while the cytoplasmic membrane of ________ contain ether linkages.
A) Archaea / Eukarya
B) Archaea / fungi
C) Eukarya / prokaryotes
D) Eukarya / Archaea
Multiple mechanisms for small RNA (sRNA)-mediated translational regulation exist
but all are unified by inactivating protein synthesis of the target mRNA.
The overall purpose of DGGE is to
A) separate genomes that are less than 95% similar.
B) measure activity of cells that use DGGE as an energy source.
C) detect cells that utilize a specific radiolabeled substrate.
D) separate genes of the same length that differ in their denaturing profile due to
sequence variation.
Which disease causes over 1.6 million deaths per year worldwide, which is
approximately 11% of all deaths related to infectious diseases?
A) diphtheria
B) whooping cough
C) pneumococcal pneumonia
D) tuberculosis
The chemokine CCL2
A) attracts basophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and dendritic cells.
B) stimulates production of inflammatory mediators.
C) organizes an antigen specific immune response.
D) attracts basophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and dendritic cells; stimulates production
of inflammatory mediators; and organizes an antigen specific immune response.
Determine which outcome is LEAST likely for a microorganism being motile.
A) avoidance of predation by bacteriovores
B) maintaining osmotic balance within a salt gradient
C) movement towards growth substrates
D) transfer of plasmids to progeny
The degree of susceptibility a food has to microbial activity is determined by its
A) chemical characteristics.
B) physical characteristics.
C) water content.
D) chemical characteristics, physical characteristics, and water content.
Cells within a biofilm excrete an adhesive matrix primarily composed of ________ but
can also contain nucleic acids as well as proteins.
A) lipids
B) fatty acids
C) monomers
D) polysaccharides
The functional unit of genetic information is the
A) nucleotide.
B) gene.
C) chromosome.
D) protein.
Nitrification and anammox both
A) create nitrogen gas, but nitrification is aerobic while anammox is anaerobic.
B) oxidize ammonia, but nitrification uses O2 and anammox uses NO2– for electron
acceptors.
C) are aerobic processes, but nitrification produces NO3– and annamox produces N2
gas.
D) occur in soils at neutral pH.
Which of the following is NOT an immunoglobin?
A) IgA
B) IgC
C) IgD
D) IgG
The designations Phe–, Leu–, and Ser+ refer to an organism’s
A) plasmid type.
B) genotype.
C) phenotype.
D) mutation type.
Mobile DNA elements are more common in the genomes of
A) Archaea.
B) hyperthermophiles.
C) rapidly evolving species.
D) pathogens.
Dissimilative iron-reducing bacteria couple the
A) reduction of ferric iron or manganese to the oxidation of sulfur.
B) reduction of ferric iron or manganese to the fermentation of sugars.
C) oxidation of H2 or organic compounds to the reduction of ferric iron or manganese.
D) reduction of ferric iron to photosynthesis.
Which of the following is NOT a member of the Eukarya?
A) protists
B) fungi
C) viruses
D) red algae
Compare and contrast the works of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch in terms of both
applied and basic science.
Explain the process of RNA transcription using the terms upstream, Pribnow box, and
consensus sequence.
Summarize the roles the proton motive force has in microbial metabolism.
Explain why a eukaryotic cell needs membrane-enclosed lysosomes and peroxisomes.
What happened in Australia when rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus was released to
control the rabbit population?
Justify why clinical medicine has an interest in understanding bacterial cell division at
the molecular level.
Why are diseases such as rabies that have a wild animal reservoir so difficult to
eradicate while other diseases such as brucellosis that reside in domestic animals have
been virtually eradicated.
You are trying to design a protein that will be expressed in Escherichia coli and
secreted outside of the cell for purification and use as a pharmaceutical. E. coli is a
gram-negative cell and the protein folds after it has exited the cell. Which secretion
system would work best for this project? Support your answer with evidence based on
the properties of E. coli, the protein, and the secretion system.
A child is stung by a bee at the beginning of the summer and has mild swelling and
itching at the site of the sting. In late summer, the child is stung again, but this time
rapidly develops anaphylaxis and is diagnosed with type I hypersensitivity to bee
venom. If the child is allergic to bee venom, why was there no reaction after the first
bee sting? What specifically happened after the first sting that led to the allergic
reaction?
Explain how a DNA library is created and how a particular vector is selected.
Describe the makeup of the phospholipid bilayer. Include molecular orientation and
proteins as well.
Describe how the influenza vaccine is made in the United States. Explain the strain
selection and vaccine production processes for the influenza vaccine.
How do Hawaiian bobtail squids prevent all bacteria except Allivibrio fischeri from
colonizing their light organ?
Compare and contrast the structure, life cycle, and host cell type of naked and
enveloped viruses.
Explain why biofilms are a concern in medicine.
Why do powerful antibiotics not always remove the cause of meningitis if the disease is
caused by Neisseria meningitidis?
Why do scientists believe that most of the unexplored genetic diversity on Earth resides
in viral genomes? Why is this genetic diversity important to human society?
Explain what an enzyme must accomplish to catalyze a specific reaction.
Relate the structure of bacteriophages and animal viruses to the structure of their
respective host cells and the steps of the viral life cycle.
The Black Plague has killed millions of humans over the course of history, yet we do
not vaccinate against this disease. Why is this and how is the disease controlled in
modern human populations?