Microbiology: An Introduction, 13e (Tortora et al.)
Chapter 11 The Prokaryotes: Domains Bacteria and Archaea
11.1 Multiple-Choice Questions
1) Which of the following best describes the enterics, a bacterial group found primarily in the
intestines of humans?
A) gram-negative aerobic rods and cocci
B) aerobic, helical bacteria
C) facultatively anaerobic gram-negative rods
D) gram-positive cocci
E) endospore-forming rods
2) Figure 11.1
What is group “c.” in the key shown in Figure 11.1?
A) bacteroidetes
B) chlamydiae
C) fusobacteria
D) planctomycetes
E) spirochaetes
3) The characteristic most notable regarding the mycoplasmas is that they
A) are aerotolerant.
B) carry out fermentative metabolism.
C) produce endospores.
D) are nonpathogenic.
E) lack cell walls.
4) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Neisseria?
A) requires X and V factors
B) cocci
C) gram-negative
D) aerobic
E) Some species are human pathogens.
5) Staphylococcus and Streptococcus can usually be differentiated by microscope examination
because of
A) cell shape.
B) Gram stain reaction.
C) cell arrangement.
D) endospore formation.
E) acid-fast reaction.
6) Which of the following genera can be described as a non-motile aerobic gram negative rod?
A) Escherichia
B) Staphylococcus
C) Bordetella
D) Treponema
E) Neisseria
7) Which of the following do you expect to be MOST resistant to high temperatures?
A) Bacillus subtilis
B) Escherichia coli
C) Neisseria gonorrhoeae
D) Staphylococcus aureus
E) Streptococcus pyogenes
8) Which of the following is NOT an enteric?
A) Salmonella
B) Shigella
C) Escherichia
D) Enterobacter
E) Campylobacter
9) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of spirochetes?
A) possess an axial filament
B) gram-negative
C) helical shape
D) easily observed with brightfield microscopy
E) found in the human oral cavity
10) The genus of bacteria that are particularly problematic in hospital settings due to their ability
to grow in solutions with minute traces of unusual carbon sources is
A) Staphylococcus.
B) Pseudomonas.
C) Vibrio.
D) Campylobacter.
E) Legionella.
11) Which of the following can survive in phagocytic cells and grows in refrigeration
temperatures?
A) Borrelia burgdorferi
B) Mycoplasma hominis
C) Mycobacterium leprae
D) Clostridium botulinum
E) Listeria monocytogenes
12) Which of the following bacteria is gram-negative?
A) Treponema
B) Corynebacterium
C) Bacillus
D) Staphylococcus
E) Mycobacterium
13) Which of the following form conidiospores?
A) endospore-forming gram-positive rods and cocci
B) actinomycetes and related organisms
C) rickettsias
D) anaerobic gram-negative cocci
E) spiral and curved bacteria
14) Which of the following pairs is mismatched?
A) dissimilatory sulfate-reducing bacteria – produce H2S
B) archaea – extremophiles
C) chemoautotrophic bacteria – fix atmospheric nitrogen
D) actinomycetes – reproduce by fragmentation
E) Cytophaga – a gliding, nonfruiting bacterium
15) Rickettsias differ from chlamydias in that rickettsias
A) are gram-negative.
B) are intracellular parasites.
C) require an arthropod for transmission.
D) form elementary bodies.
E) are enterics.
16) Requirements for X and V factors are used to identify
A) Staphylococcus.
B) Escherichia.
C) Neisseria.
D) Haemophilus.
E) Pseudomonas.
17) You have isolated a bacterium that grows in a medium containing only inorganic nutrients.
Ammonia is oxidized to a nitrate ion. This bacterium is
A) gram-negative.
B) using anaerobic respiration.
C) a chemoautotroph.
D) a photoautotroph.
E) a photoheterotroph.
18) Which of the following bacteria is gram-positive?
A) Pseudomonas
B) Salmonella
C) Streptococcus
D) Bacteroides
E) Rickettsia
19) Escherichia coli belongs to the
A) proteobacteria.
B) gram-positive bacteria.
C) green sulfur bacteria.
D) spirochetes.
E) actinomycetes.
20) Which one of the following bacteria does NOT belong with the others?
A) Bacillus
B) Escherichia
C) Lactobacillus
D) Staphylococcus
E) Streptococcus
21) Which of the following statements about the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted
fever is FALSE?
A) It is an intracellular parasite.
B) It is transmitted by ticks.
C) It is in the genus Rickettsia.
D) It is gram-negative.
E) It is found in soil and water.
22) A primary difference between cyanobacteria and purple and green photosynthesizing
bacteria is
A) energy source.
B) cell wall type.
C) electron donor for CO2 reduction.
D) cell type.
E) color.
23) Which one of the following bacteria does NOT belong with the other betaproteobacteria?
A) Bordetella
B) Burkholderia
C) Neisseria
D) Acidithiobacillus
E) Salmonella
24) Which of the following bacteria are responsible for more infections and more different kinds
of infections?
A) Streptococcus
B) Staphylococcus
C) Salmonella
D) Pseudomonas
E) Neisseria
25) Both Beggiatoa and the purple sulfur bacteria use H2S. These bacteria differ in that
Beggiatoa
A) uses H2S for an energy source.
B) uses H2S for a carbon source.
C) uses light energy.
D) can photosynthesize.
E) is gram negative.
26) The nonsulfur photosynthetic bacteria use organic compounds as
A) carbon and energy sources.
B) electron donors to reduce CO2.
C) oxygen sources.
D) electron acceptors.
E) carbon and energy sources, and as electron donors to reduce CO2.
27) Which of the following is the best reason to classify Streptococcus in the Lactobacillales?
A) Gram reaction
B) morphology
C) fermentation of lactose
D) rRNA sequences
E) found in dairy products
28) Streptomyces differs from Actinomyces because Streptomyces
A) is an archaea.
B) produces conidia.
C) forms filaments.
D) is a strict aerobe.
E) is a bacterium.
29) All of the following bacteria are gram-positive. Which does NOT belong with the others?
A) Actinomyces
B) Gardnerella
C) Corynebacterium
D) Listeria
E) Mycobacterium
30) Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia, and Serratia are all
A) gram negative aerobes.
B) gram-negative facultatively anaerobic rods.
C) gram-positive aerobic cocci.
D) fermentative.
E) endospore-forming bacteria.
31) You have isolated a gram-positive rod. What should you do next?
A) Gram stain
B) lactose fermentation
C) endospore stain
D) flagella stain
E) enterotube
32) Borrelia is classified as a spirochete because it
A) is aerobic.
B) possesses an axial filament.
C) is a rod.
D) is a pathogen.
E) is transmitted by ticks.
33) Streptomyces are important because they
A) make antibiotics.
B) produce conidia.
C) are implicated in acne.
D) are strict aerobes.
E) fix nitrogen.
34) You have isolated and grown a pure culture of a prokaryotic cell type. The first step in
identification is a(n)
A) Gram stain.
B) lactose fermentation test.
C) endospore stain.
D) flagella stain.
E) DNA fingerprint.
35) Actinomycetes differ from fungi in that actinomycetes
A) are chemoheterotrophs.
B) lack a membrane-bounded nucleus.
C) require light.
D) are decomposers.
E) cause disease.
36) You have isolated an aerobic gram-positive, endospore-forming bacterium that grows well
on nutrient agar. To which of the following groups does it most likely belong?
A) phototrophic bacteria
B) gammaproteobacteria
C) deltaproteobacteria
D) bacillales
E) The answer cannot be determined based on the information provided.
37) Which of the following pairs is mismatched?
A) spirochete – axial filament
B) spirilum – aerobic, helical bacteria
C) enterics – gram-negative
D) mycobacteria – acid-fast
E) Pseudomonas – gram-positive
38) Which one of the following does NOT belong with the others?
A) Bartonella
B) Ehrlichia
C) Rickettsia
D) Staphylococcus
E) Wolbachia
39) Caulobacter are different from most bacteria in that they
A) are gram-negative.
B) are gram-positive.
C) have stalks.
D) lack cell walls.
E) are motile.
40) All of the following bacteria are motile. Which does NOT have flagella?
A) Escherichia
B) Spirillum
C) Pseudomonas
D) spirochetes
E) Salmonella
41) Bacteroides
A) are found in gingival crevices.
B) are found in the intestinal tract.
C) are strict aerobes.
D) are strict aerobes and found in gingival crevices.
E) are found in gingival crevices and in the intestinal tract.
42) Chlamydia differ from most other bacteria in that they
A) have a developmental cycle.
B) lack a cell wall.
C) are acid-fast.
D) produce endospores.
E) are photosynthetic.
43) Which of the following pairs is NOT correctly matched?
A) elementary body – Escherichia
B) endospore – Bacillus
C) endospore – Clostridium
D) heterocyst – cyanobacteria
E) myxospore – gliding bacteria
44) Burkholderia was reclassified from the gammaproteobacteria to the betaproteobacteria
because
A) it grows in disinfectants.
B) it is a gram-negative rod.
C) it causes infections in cystic fibrosis patients.
D) it causes melioidosis.
E) its rRNA sequence is similar to that of Neisseria.
45) A biological control method to reduce the reproductive success of mosquitoes involves the
use of
A) Acinetobacter.
B) Gemmata.
C) Neisseria.
D) Pelagibacter.
E) Wolbachia.
11.2 True/False Questions
1) Bacterial predators such as Bdellovibrio are members of the betaproteobacteria.
2) Two distinguishing factors of the epsilonproteobacteria that they are motile and
microaerophilic.
3) Myxobacteria are classified as actinobacteria due to fungal-like lifestyle.
4) The Gram stain is not suitable for identifying members of the Archaea.
5) The deinococci can be categorized as extremophiles.
6) All gram-negative bacteria are classified as proteobacteria.
7) The majority of bacterial species on Earth have not been successfully cultivated.
8) Photosynthetic organisms always produce oxygen gas as a metabolic byproduct.
9) Currently, no members of Archaea have been linked to human disease.
10) The human body is typically free of archaeal species.
11.3 Essay Questions
1) Explain the rationale for using molecular data for classification, in the place of morphology.
2) The use of culture-independent techniques has increased our understanding of microbial
diversity without cultivation. Therefore, do microbiologists still need to attempt to grow new
microbial species? Explain.
3) Bacteroides and Escherichia are both gram-negative rods found in the large intestine. Why are
they in different phyla?
4) A colleague proposes that the Archaea may be the oldest life forms currently inhabiting Earth.
Do you agree? Explain.
5) Describe two factors that contribute to the limits of our knowledge of microbial diversity.