Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for causing MOST foodborne diseases.
RNA acts at both the genetic and the functional levels.
Thermoplasma metabolizes organic compounds leached from hot coal refuse.
Rabies infection in humans leads to symptoms a few days after exposure.
In principle, the chemical composition of membranes in obligate acidophiles could be
distinguished from neutrophiles.
IgE is found in extremely small amounts in serum.
Tolerance is the acquired ability to make an adaptive immune response directed to
self-antigens.
Microbial symbionts are horizontally transferred by parental cells directly passing on
the symbionts during meiosis.
The Limulus amebocyte lysate assay is used to detect endotoxin in clinical samples such
as serum or cerebrospinal fluid.
The sensitivity of DNA and RNA is one major reason water activity can limit microbial
growth.
Pathogens that are transmitted via the fecal-oral route are the most common type of
pathogens that infect drinking water.
Most archaeal viruses identified appear to have DNA genomes.
Dinoflagellates have flagella that enable motility and occur in both freshwater and
marine waters.
In many marine systems, the carbon and oxygen cycles are directly proportional to each
other.
The hypothesis that H2 was a key electron donor for energy metabolism in primitive
organisms is supported by it being such a common trophic strategy in Aquificae.
Spirilla and spirochetes are closely related bacteria that exhibit a unique corkscrew
motility.
Reductive dechlorination involves chlorinated organic compounds serving as electron
donors and releasing the chloride in inorganic forms.
Interferons promote viral replication.
Monocytes and granulocytes are the two lineages of myeloid cells.
In transformation experiments using a variety of Bacteria, it has been noted that
essentially all of the cells in a population can become competent.
Yeasts are immature fungal spores.
Pseudopeptidoglycan (pseudomurein) is part of the cell wall of some methanogens.
The use of transposons to generate mutations is a convenient way to create bacterial
mutations in the laboratory.
Due to well developed molecular tools and careful screening designs, functional genes
can be isolated directly by isolation from the environment rather than cultivating the
diverse species in a microbial community.
One result of the oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds is a rise in the pH of the
medium.
In the adaptive immune response, effective immunity cannot be detected for several
days after the first contact with the pathogen.
Wastewater plants are usually constructed to handle both domestic and industrial
wastes.
Smaller prokaryotic cells generally grow faster than larger ones due to a higher
surface-area-to-volume ratio.
Dissimilatory nitrate reduction results in the production of gaseous products, while
assimilatory nitrate reduction results in the production of ammonia for biosynthesis.
Stramenopiles are phototrophic microorganisms.
For water to be considered safe to drink, it must be treated with four distinct methods.
The size and shape of viral particles is largely governed by the size and packaging of
the viral
A) envelope.
B) enzymes.
C) prophage.
D) genome.
Aphids that feed on carbohydrate-rich but nutrient-poor foods obtain________ from
their endosymbiotic bacterial partners.
A) ATP
B) amino acids
C) ammonium
D) volatile fatty acids
Ribotyping
A) bypasses sequencing and sequence alignments.
B) exploits unique DNA restriction patterns.
C) allows discrimination between species and different strains of a species.
D) bypasses sequencing and sequence alignments, exploits unique DNA restriction
patterns, and allows discrimination between species and different strains of a species.
Which bacterium contains a large Ti plasmid and causes crown gall disease in plants?
A) Agrobacterium rhizogenes
B) Agrobacterium tumefaciens
C) Aliivibrio fischeri
D) Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens
Another name for pertussis is
A) the kissing disease.
B) shingles.
C) whooping cough.
D) yellow fever.
Obligately anaerobic normal flora are found in ________, which is an/are anoxic
habitat(s) of the body.
A) the kidneys
B) the skin
C) portions of the oral cavity
D) the lungs
Growing bacteria that degrade an environmental pollutant, which is also toxic to the
cells at artificially high concentrations, might require ________ to obtain a sufficient
population for biochemistry studies.
A) a continuous batch culture
B) a second growth substrate to keep the culture in exponential growth phase
C) steady state growth kinetics
D) the use of a chemostat
In designing a drug to inhibit pox viruses, the compound should localize in the host’s
________ to be MOST effective.
A) nucleus
B) endoplasmic reticulum
C) cytoplasm
D) Golgi complex
Which of the following is NOT a member of the Deltaproteobacteria?
A) Campylobacter
B) Desulfovibrio
C) Geobacter
D) Syntrophobacter
Clonal anergy is a state of
A) antibody production.
B) high energy.
C) unresponsiveness.
D) high energy and antibody production.
Systemic fungal infections are often transmitted by ________; however, a recent
outbreak of fungal disease was traced to ________.
A) accidental inhalation of spores / contaminated injectable pharmaceuticals
B) ingestion of contaminated food / contaminated toilet seats
C) direct contact with skin lesions / sexual contact
D) sexual contact / contaminated toilet seats
In 2003, the majority of AIDS deaths occurred in
A) South America.
B) North America.
C) Europe.
D) Sub-Saharan Africa.
Which taxon is NOT gram-positive?
A) Actinobacteria
B) Firmicutes
C) Sphingobacteria
D) Streptococcus
Because DNA:DNA hybridization reveals subtle differences in genes, it is useful for
differentiating organisms from different
A) domains.
B) families.
C) orders.
D) strains or species.
Ascospores are produced in all of the following taxa EXCEPT
A) Aspergillus.
B) Candida.
C) Rhizopus.
D) Saccharomyces.
Five-carbon sugars are used in the
A) biosynthesis of DNA and RNA.
B) catabolic pentose phosphate pathway for carbon and energy.
C) biosynthesis of DNA and RNA as well as catabolic pentose phosphate pathway.
D) activation of pentoses to form glycogen for energy storage.
The disease whose symptoms are most closely related to the symptoms of chronic
syphilis is
A) Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
B) latent Lyme disease.
C) typhus.
D) HPS.
The addition of thioglycylate into a growth medium would NOT support the growth of
a(n)
A) aerotolerant anaerobe.
B) facultative aerobe.
C) microaerophilic aerobe.
D) obligate anaerobe.
Based on the table of average intron frequency given below, predict the relative order of
genome size for these four eukaryotic organisms.
A) Homo sapiens > Arabidopsis thaliana > Plasmodium falciparum > Cryptosporidium
parvum
B) Cryptosporidium parvum > Plasmodium falciparum > Arabidopsis thaliana > Homo
sapiens
C) Homo sapiens > Cryptosporidium parvum > Plasmodium falciparum > Arabidopsis
thaliana
D) Intron frequency cannot be used to predict genome size in eukaryotes.
Oxygen compounds toxic to pathogens include
A) hydrogen peroxide.
B) hypochlorus acid.
C) nitric oxide.
D) hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorus acid, and nitric oxide.
The blotting of proteins from polyacrylamide gels to nitrocellulose paper, and the
subsequent identification by specific antibodies, is called a(n) ________ blot.
A) Western
B) Eastern
C) Southern
D) Northern
When solutions of host cells and infectious virions are mixed and spread on an agar
plate, ________ form where viruses lyse the host cells.
A) insertion sequences
B) plaques
C) prophages
D) colonies
Which bacterial genus is LEAST related to the others listed?
A) Actinomyces
B) Mycobacterium
C) Nocardia
D) Streptomyces
An endotoxin is
A) the toxic portion of the LPS.
B) a toxin produced within archaeal cells.
C) a toxin known for its primary attack on the epidermis of mammals.
D) a toxin produced in the periplasm of most bacteria.
Influenza A virus can be identified by which of the following surface glycoproteins?
A) HA
B) NA
C) both HA and NA
D) M protein
Horizontal gene transfer
A) is so rare over evolutionary history that it is not considered when examining
microbial evolution.
B) occurs within bacterial species.
C) complicates the construction of phylogenetic trees and the interpretation of specific
traits in relation to evolution.
D) only affects the evolution of plasmids.
What are the primary regulator units that control endospore formation?
A) allosteric proteins
B) antisense RNAs
C) riboswitches
D) sigma factors
Which of the following is LEAST commonly associated with endospore-forming
bacteria?
A) coccus-shaped
B) defense
C) dormancy
D) saprophytic
A chemical that comes from outside the ecosystem is referred to as a(n) ________
chemical.
A) synthropic
B) lithotrophic
C) allochthonous
D) pleomorphic
The diphtheria component of the DTaP vaccine is a(n)
A) toxin.
B) toxoid.
C) antitoxin.
D) antitoxoid.
If an oxidation reaction occurs
A) simultaneous reduction of a different compound will also occur, because electrons
do not generally exist alone in solution.
B) another oxidation reaction will occur for a complete reaction, because one oxidation
event is considered a half reaction.
C) a cell is undergoing aerobic respiration, because oxygen is being used.
D) a reduction reaction would not occur, because they are opposite reaction
mechanisms.
Which of the following biomolecules interact with toll-like receptors (TLRs)?
A) bacterial LPS
B) immunoglobulins
C) major histocompatibility complex proteins
D) none of these
Phagocytes have a pathogen-recognition system known as ________ that leads to the
recognition, containment, and destruction of a pathogen.
A) collagen
B) fibrin
C) pattern recognition receptors (PRR)
D) pathogen associated molecular pattern (PAMP)
What is antigen presentation? Why is antigen presentation important for long-term
immunity?
Identify and define the categories of food perishability. Compare the perishability of
sugar, milk, and hard cheeses (such as parmesan).
Explain why it is unlikely an iron-oxidizing bacterium would thrive in a cold stream
with a neutral pH. Also propose an experiment that would test whether iron-oxidizing
bacteria are present in the stream.
The Human Microbiome Project is a large research program that aims to understand all
of the microorganisms on and in the human body. Which “-omic” methods could be
applied directly to a sample from the human body to study the microorganisms in the
sample? Propose a general experimental approach for analyzing a sample containing a
complex mixture of microorganisms.
During a camping and hiking expedition in the Ice Age National Scenic Trail at
Hartman Creek State Park (Waupaca, WI), an individual notices a small tick on his arm.
After removing the partially embedded deer tick, what symptoms should this individual
look for to indicate infection of Borrelia burgdorferi? Also, what should be done on
future hiking trips to decrease the likelihood of B. burgdorferi infection?
You have discovered a new bacterial strain that causes urinary tract infections. Closely
related bacterial species cannot cause infections. You compare the strains and find that
your new strain has structures composed of protein external to its cell wall. What
structures might your new strain have that the other strains do not? Why?
Trace the flow of raw water through a typical drinking water purification scheme.
Elaborate on why discovering endospores was important to microbiology.
Discuss three findings that support the theory of primary endosymbiosis.
Explain why coliforms are used to detect water contamination rather than directly
quantifying individual pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae or Salmonella spp.
How do NK cells discriminate between normal, healthy cells and virus-infected or
tumor cells?
Explain the relationship between the terms virus particle, virion, and virus genome.
Explain why the viral genome of the MS2 phage can be immediately translated. What
type of genome must it have for this to be the case?
Describe floc formation in the activated sludge process.
Would you expect a xerophilic organism to be halotolerant? Why or why not?
Explain the difference between an intrinsic terminator and a Rho-dependent termination
site.
What prior knowledge is required to use a phylochip to study the abundance of the
different microbes present within a microbial community? How does this cause bias
when using a phylochip to analyze microbial community structure?
Describe two mechanisms that Archaea use to avoid their DNA melting at temperatures
above 100C.
What are the potential advantages of lysogeny compared to lysis for a temperate virus?