The death phase applies to individual cells rather than populations.
Nitrogenases not only reduce N2 but also can act on acetylene (C2H2).
All TLR can react with only one specific PAMP.
TCRs recognize epitopes only after the immunogens have been partially degraded.
Eukaryotic human parasites are ALL respiratory aerobes.
Multiple sigma factors are essential to induce the biosynthesis of endospores, all of
which are encoded by genes, so a complex regulatory mechanism such as this likely has
a higher chance of mutations leading to incorrect functioning compared to a simple
repression mechanism.
The human leukocyte antigen spans about 4Mbp on human chromosome 6.
Typhoid fever has been virtually (although not completely) eliminated from developed
countries.
Arid soils are among the most extreme environments on earth.
Sporozoites observed in an insect’s body likely indicate infection by an apicomplexan.
Limiting nutrients in soils are generally organic compounds.
Clostridium botulinum are endospore-forming bacteria normally found in the soil.
Affinity maturation is one of the factors responsible for a stronger secondary immune
response.
Comparative genomics helps us to understand evolutionary relationships between
organisms.
TCRs are found exclusively on T cells.
Emerging diseases are a problem worldwide, even in highly developed regions of the
world.
Sulfur metabolism is a common trait in Deltaproteobacteria.
A disease that is transferred by direct intimate contact with a mortality rate over 90%
would be an effective biological weapon.
Hyphae are tubular cell walls that surround the cytoplasmic membrane.
Betaproteobacteria is a functionally diverse group that primarily uses anaerobic
metabolisms.
Metal-reducing Geobacter and Shewanella species are important in the microbial
mining of metals.
ALL mushrooms are basidiomycetes.
Infants acquire natural passive immunity from maternal antibodies transferred across
the placenta or in breast milk.
To date, no virus that infects Archaea is known to have an RNA genome.
The energy released from the hydrolysis of coenzyme A is conserved in the synthesis of
ATP.
The earliest nucleic acid was probably a simple DNA molecule.
Colds are the MOST infectious viral diseases.
Denitrifying bacteria are often facultative anaerobes, capable of performing other forms
of respiration or fermentation as well as nitrate reduction.
Photooxidation reactions can lead to the production of toxic forms of oxygen and the
destruction of the photosynthetic apparatus.
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase catalyzes the reaction between the appropriate amino acid
and ATP to form an activated amino acid: amino acid + ATP ↔ aminoacyl-AMP + P-P.
Proteins known as chaperones are found only in Bacteria.
ALL stratified lakes contain a thermocline.
Obligately symbiotic relationships generally do not foster horizontal gene transfer at a
higher rate than non-symbiotic relationships.
Abiotic oxidation of Fe2+ requires oxygen; no other chemicals can directly oxidize
Fe2+.
Developing vaccines for humans relies heavily on manipulating and engineering
vectors.
Which of the following are group A Streptococcus (GAS)?
A) Streptococcus aureus
B) Streptococcus pneumonia
C) Streptococcus pyogenes
D) Streptococcus viridans
Major classes of macromolecules present in all living microorganisms include
A) amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids.
B) cell wall, cytoplasmic membrane, nucleoid, and ribosomes.
C) genes, proteins, and vitamins.
D) inorganic and organic compounds.
Polycistronic transcription units are common in
A) Archaea.
B) Bacteria.
C) Eukarya.
D) both Archaea and Bacteria.
Anammox is an anaerobic process that generates energy from ________ and forms N2.
A) ammonia
B) ammonium
C) ammonia and nitrate
D) ammonia and nitrite
Potential candidates for biological warfare
A) are generally gram-negative rather than gram-positive.
B) can be virtually any pathogenic bacterium or virus.
C) are eukaryotic rather than prokaryotic.
D) must be genetically engineered to be effective.
To further reduce the possibility of biological contamination, MOST treatment plants
treat the effluent with
A) fluorine.
B) chlorine.
C) ozone.
D) extreme heat.
In the bacterial world, a gene located on which of the following would be the LEAST
likely to be transferred?
A) R factor
B) F+
C) the phage Mu
D) the chromosome
Phylogenetic stains, such as those used in FISH, hybridize with
A) ribosomal RNA.
B) mitochondrial DNA.
C) nuclear DNA.
D) RNA polymerase.
Which of the following is the name of the heavy chain constant domain of an antibody?
A) beta
B) delta
C) zeta
D) rho
The enzyme that covalently links both strands of a vector and inserted DNA in
molecular cloning is
A) DNA ligase.
B) DNA phosphatase.
C) DNA hydrolase.
D) DNA transferase.
________ are toxic proteins released from the pathogen as it grows.
A) Endotoxins
B) Exotoxins
C) Macrotoxins
D) Microtoxins
A process where different microbial taxa work in cooperation to degrade a compound
that neither can perform entirely on their own is called
A) allotrophy.
B) ammensalism.
C) commensalism.
D) syntrophy.
A moistened swab rubbed onto a person’s forearm then onto a nutrient agar plate with
7.5% NaCl would MOST likely result in the isolation of ________ spp.
A) Clostridium
B) Halobacterium
C) Sarcina
D) Staphylococcus
The Ti plasmid is best suited for genetically manipulating
A) Agrobacterium spp.
B) fish.
C) plants.
D) viruses.
The cytoplasmic membrane could best be described as
A) an impermeable barrier.
B) a passive conduit for intracellular transport.
C) a highly selective permeability barrier.
D) a rigid structure that protects the cell.
Athlete’s foot is an example of a
A) protozoal infection.
B) superficial fungal infection.
C) superficial parasitic infection.
D) hypersensitivity reaction.
An organism of the genus Staphylococcus is ________, while an organism of the genus
Spirochaeta is ________.
A) spherical / rod shaped
B) rod shaped / coiled
C) spherical / coiled
D) coiled / spherical
At some of the lowest light concentrations, ________ can still grow well due to their
________, which effectively harvest photons for energy.
A) green bacteria / antenna pigments
B) green bacteria / chlorosomes
C) purple bacteria / antenna pigments
D) purple bacteria / chlorosomes
Compare and contrast defined media and complex media. Use specific examples in
your answer.
Campylobacter and Helicobacter are two genera within the ________ class of
Proteobacteria.
A) Alphaproteobacteria
B) Betaproteobacteria
C) Deltaproteobacteria
D) Epsilonproteobacteria
The pan genome of a species is the genomic content that is
A) common to all strains of the same species.
B) present in one or more strains of the same species.
C) shared with all other prokaryotes.
D) hypothetical or uncharacterized genome content of a species.
Microenvironments of soil exist where ________ concentrations greatly vary.
A) oxygen
B) nitrate
C) sulfur
D) oxygen, nitrate, and sulfur
Based on your knowledge of hydrocarbon degradation, what factors most likely limited
the rate of petroleum degradation after the Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of
Alaska?
A) salt concentration
B) temperature
C) inorganic nutrient concentrations
D) temperature and inorganic nutrient concentrations
Hepatitis B and C are transmitted via the
A) oral route.
B) parenteral route.
C) dermal route.
D) ophthalmic route.
When damaged or single-stranded DNA activates the RecA protein, the RecA protein
stimulates the cleavage of LexA. This results in
A) repression of polymerase V and activation of endonuclease.
B) activation of the Hfr system.
C) derepression of the SOS system.
D) increased transduction and recombination.
Electron microscopy has greater ________ than light microscopy, because the
wavelengths of visible light are much larger than the wavelengths of electrons.
A) contrast
B) magnification
C) resolution
D) penetration
Some activated B cells are transformed into ________ cells that secrete antibodies, and
others remain as ________ cells.
A) plasma / memory B
B) lymphocytes / memory B
C) immunoglobulin / plasma
D) immunoglobulin / TH
How does the proton motive force lead to production of ATP?
A) ATPase requires one proton to make one ATP.
B) Protons must be pumped against a concentration gradient from outside of the cell
into the cell to rotate the F0 subunit of ATPase for the F1 subunit to make ATP.
C) Oxidative phosphorylation of ADP by ATP synthase requires protons as cofactors in
the reaction.
D) Translocation of three to four protons drives the F0 component of ATPase which in
turn phosphorylates one ADP into ATP.
Which of the following is TRUE about cytokines?
A) They are proteins.
B) They play an important role in immunity.
C) They play a role in the growth of stem cells.
D) They are proteins that play an important role in immunity and the growth of stem
cells.
A computer program recognizes an ORF by looking for ribosomal binding sites, start
codons, and stop codons with an appropriate number of nucleotides between each
element. What is a drawback of this approach?
A) Too many ORFS are identified, most of which are stretches on non-coding junk
DNA.
B) Codon bias causes incorrect annotations.
C) Unusual, but legitimate genes and non-coding RNA may be missed.
D) We lack the computing power to complete the analyses in a timely manner, thus
many genomes are only partially annotated.
Tuberculoid Hansen’s disease is caused by the pathogen
A) Listeria monocytogenes.
B) Mycobacterium leprae.
C) Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
D) either Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Where would it be best to isolate bacteria from to study the mechanism of the sodium
motive force?
A) human gut
B) hot springs
C) soda lakes
D) volcanoes
What is the difference between a coenzyme and a prosthetic group?
A) Coenzymes are essential for an enzyme’s function and prosthetic groups only
enhance its reaction rate.
B) Coenzymes are weakly bound whereas prosthetic groups are strongly bound to their
respective enzymes.
C) Coenzymes are organic cofactors and prosthetic groups are inorganic cofactors.
D) Coenzymes require additional ions to bind to enzymes but prosthetic groups are able
to directly interact with enzymes.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a
A) product of denitrification.
B) product of nitrification.
C) potent greenhouse gas.
D) potent greenhouse gas that is a product of denitrification.
A soil that lacks a dominate particle size is referred to as a(n)
A) aggregation.
B) bisequum.
C) loam.
D) mottled soil.
How are the Ca cycle and the C cycle linked in marine environments? How will
increased carbon dioxide from anthropogenic activity affect the Ca and C cycling in
marine environments?
What is the difference between food poisoning and food infection? Are antibiotics
useful in either of them?
Why are systemic fungal infections seen only in a subset of the population, even though
most people contact fungi and fungal spores in soil and dust all of the time? Contrast
the epidemiology of systemic fungal infections with giardiasis, which infects virtually
everyone that comes in contact with the pathogen.
Compare and contrast the most probable number (MPN) procedure and the membrane
filter (MF) procedure.
You isolate a piece of DNA from a microorganism you cultivated from your teeth. The
piece of DNA is 94 kbp is size and is circular. You sequence it and discover that it
contains genes for capsule formation, pili, and antibiotic resistance, as well as an origin
of replication. What is this piece of DNA and how is it related to the other genetic
elements found in prokaryotic cells?
Compare and contrast the functions microbes serve in the digestive systems of both
humans and rumens (e.g., cattle).
How did cyanobacteria, oxygen, and ozone impact the evolution of eukaryotic cells?
Explain how you would use Robert Koch’s postulates to determine that Streptococcus
pyogenes is the causative agent of streptococcal pharyngitis (‘strep throat”).
Compare and contrast a typical bacterial growth curve and a viral one-step growth
curve. Explain why the growth curves are different based on bacterial and viral
replication.
Explain how mass spectrometry (MS) has aided in the progression of the field of
metabolomics.
What are the five stages of a typical infectious disease? During which stage is the host
likely to infect others?
Explain why regulation of enzyme synthesis is more time consuming than regulation of
enzymatic activity.
List three contributions of Ferdinand Cohn to the development of microbiology.
In considering the function of heat shock proteins, why is it not a surprise that these
proteins are both highly conserved and very ancient? Provide your reasoning.
Describe the function and the functional components of the maltose regulon system.
How are symbiotic relationships important in agriculture and food production? Use at
least two different examples to support your answer and explain how understanding
these symbioses could help produce more food.
Given that multiple diverse phyla (e.g. diverse phylogenetic groups) of microorganisms
can perform similar functions in ecosystems, how we might predict the microbial
functions performed by a particular organism or in a particular environment without
relying on growing all of the microbes in the lab?