The chlorophytes use both chlorophylls a and b for photosynthesis, which make them
appear green.
One important advantage of eukaryotic cells as hosts for cloning vectors is that they
already possess the complex RNA and posttranslational processing systems required for
the production of eukaryotic proteins.
The diversity of microorganisms in culture collections is representative of the diversity
of microorganisms found in nature.
Some viruses possess icosahedral heads and helical tails.
Antigen receptors can directly connect to signal transduction pathways because
immunoglobulins and TCRs have very small cytoplasmic domains.
Microbial life has been identified at depths of 3 km despite being anoxic.
With Clostridium perfringens, the enterotoxin is present in the endospores that
germinate under anoxic conditions.
Anticoagulants promote the clotting of blood.
By using simple microscopy techniques, it is possible to determine if a culture is
contaminated with another organism.
The evolutionary significance of phage conversion likely stems from an effective
alteration of host cells.
Halophilic Archaea are the only inhabitants of highly saline environments.
A typical mutation rate for a bacterium is in the range of 10-6 to 10-9 per kbp.
Each immunoglobulin or TCR interacts with a single antigen, but MHC proteins can
interact with more than one antigen.
Fluorescent antibodies can be used to separate mixtures of cells into relatively pure
populations with a fluorescence cytometer.
The key steps in cloning a foreign gene into a vector, regardless of the application,
involve isolating the insert fragment, ligating the insert into a vector, and transforming
it into a host.
High expression levels of a eukaryotic gene in a bacterium such as Escherichia coli
cannot be accomplished due to the presence of introns.
The enteric bacteria are a group classified within Proteobacteria that cause disease in
animals.
Because H2 levels in oxic environments are transient, it is likely that aerobic hydrogen
bacteria shift between chemoorganotrophy and chemolithotrophy depending on levels
of organic compounds and hydrogen in their habitats.
The formation of soil involves a combination of biological, chemical, and physical
processes.
Chromosomal rearrangements due to insertion sequences have apparently contributed to
the evolution of several human pathogens.
Due to the genetic diversity of viruses and their lack of ribosomal RNA,
nucleotide-based phylogeny studies are not applicable to virology.
A bacterium such as a snow alga that is able to survive a cold temperature is called a
psychrophile.
Phagocytes interact speedily and effectively with pathogens because they have evolved
specialized molecules called pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that interact directly
with PAMPs.
Nonfilamentous bacteriophage often can escape its host without lysing, whereas
filamentous phage normally induce cell lysis once replicated inside their host.
MOST wastewater treatment facilities employ methods designed to detect each
pathogenic organism that may be present in a given sample.
BOTH physical and chemical methods are used to treat and purify drinking water.
The cells within a biofilm can undergo intra-species signaling; however, inter-species
signaling does not occur.
Chemolithotrophs that obtain electrons from donors such as sulfide use the same
electron transport chains to obtain energy as chemoorganotrophs.
We are technically in the midst of a cholera pandemic.
In somatic hypermutation, the mutation of immunoglobulin genes occurs at much
higher rates than the mutation rates observed in other genes.
In the first few minutes after host cell infection, the virus undergoes an eclipse.
The presence of neutrophils in higher than normal numbers in the blood or at a site of
inflammation indicates an active response to a current infection.
Mercury-resistant bacteria detoxify mercury by producing Hg0.
An opportunistic pathogen causes disease ONLY in the presence of normal host
resistance.
While other types exist, Type II restriction endonucleases are by far the most commonly
used enzymes for genetic engineering.
Which of the following is MOST likely to cause an infection in HIV/AIDS patients?
A) Candida albicans
B) Giardia intestinalis
C) Leishmania tropica
D) Schistosoma mansoni
Some archaea have unique phospholipids in their cytoplasmic membrane that
A) form a monolayer due to the presence of diglycerol tetraethers.
B) form a bilayer due to the presence of sterols.
C) form a stable ring structure due to the presence of crenarchaeol.
D) form a bilayer due to the presence of phosphatidylethanolamine.
Extensive growth of the streptococci in a thick bacterial layer on acidic glycoproteins
on the teeth is called
A) dental plaque.
B) dental caries.
C) dental biofilm.
D) periodontitis.
Evolution is driven by
A) random mutation.
B) novel metabolic pathways.
C) selection pressure.
D) selection pressure applied to random mutation.
Which fluorescent molecule enables visualization of living microorganisms?
A) acridine orange
B) DAPI
C) GFP
D) SYBR Green
Which type of medium typically contains an indicator dye?
A) selective but not differential
B) differential but not selective
C) both selective and differential
D) neither selective nor differential
Cyanobacteria and purple bacteria both obtain energy from light. However, only the
________ are capable of releasing ________.
A) cyanobacteria / organic compounds
B) cyanobacteria / oxygen
C) purple bacteria / organic compounds
D) purple bacteria / oxygen
The metabolic process of denitrification
A) oxidizes N2.
B) oxidizes NO3-.
C) reduces N2.
D) reduces NO3-.
A yogurt, which had “contains live cultures” on its label, was transferred onto an acidic
carbohydrate-containing medium for selective enrichment. Eventually, isolates of the
________ genus were obtained.
A) Lactobacillus
B) Leuconostoc
C) Peptococcus
D) Streptococcus
The rickettsias are divided into groups based loosely on
A) the types of clinical disease they produce.
B) their insect vectors.
C) taxonomy.
D) their biochemical requirements.
The hepadnavirus DNA polymerase acts as which of the following?
A) DNA polymerase
B) reverse transcriptase
C) protein primer for synthesis of a strand of DNA
D) DNA polymerase, reverse transcriptase, and protein primer for DNA synthesis
An antigen must be at least ________ amino acids long to be effective in a vaccine.
A) 10
B) 25
C) 50
D) 100
The methodology of microbial ecology includes
A) enrichment and isolation of specific microbes.
B) cell-staining methods.
C) gene, transcript, and protein characterization.
D) enrichment and isolation of specific microbes, cell-staining, and gene, transcript, and
protein characterization.
How are trypanosome diseases similar to malaria?
A) They are transmitted by insect vectors.
B) They cause intermittent fevers.
C) They are acute, self-limiting diseases.
D) They are all endemic to Africa.
The Calvin cycle
A) is responsible for the fixation of CO2 into cell material.
B) utilizes both NAD(P)H and ATP.
C) requires both ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase and phosphoribulokinase.
D) uses CO2, NAD(P)H, and ATP to make biomass with ribulose bisphosphate
carboxylase and phosphoribulokinase.
The unusual ability for ________ being flagellated and motile enables ________.
A) ascospores / dispersal in aquatic systems
B) ascospores / spreading of pathogens in blood
C) zoospores / dispersal in aquatic systems
D) zoospores / spreading of pathogens in blood
The abundance of cyanobacterial mats has greatly declined due to the evolution of
A) antimicrobial-producing fungi.
B) bacteriophages.
C) metazoan grazers.
D) Proteobacteria.
Which of the following is a common energy storage polymer in microorganisms?
A) acetyl~S-CoA
B) glycogen
C) adenosine triphosphate
D) H2
Fermentation has a relatively low ATP yield compared to aerobic respiration because
A) more reducing equivalents are used for anaerobic catabolism.
B) less ATP is consumed during the first stage of aerobic catabolism.
C) oxidative phosphorylation yields a lot of ATP.
D) substrate-level phosphorylation yields a lot of ATP.
Which of the following is/are characteristic of ALL cellular organisms?
A) communication
B) evolution
C) motility
D) communication, evolution, and motility
Diatoms are
A) an ancient group of algae.
B) more closely related to slime molds than to algae.
C) morphologically symmetric.
D) multicellular phototrophs.
Which statement is TRUE of two separate regulators controlling one individual operon?
A) The two regulators themselves must respond to different signals, which enables both
to control the operon differently.
B) One regulator will likely control the transcription of one section of the operon,
whereas the other regulator will control the other component.
C) One regulator will bind to the operator region whereas the other will bind to the
promoter region so they can co-occur and co-regulate the operon.
D) Two regulators trying to control the same operon will likely result in only one being
maintained after several generations.
Martinus Beijerinck was the first to isolate
A) green algae.
B) certain nitrogen-fixing root nodule bacteria.
C) certain sulfate-reducing bacteria.
D) green algae, certain nitrogen-fixing root nodule bacteria, and certain
sulfate-reducing bacteria.
What metabolism would be favored when there is a lack of electron acceptors?
A) anaerobic fermentation
B) anoxygenic photosynthesis
C) anoxic ammonia oxidation
D) acetogenesis
Which disease(s) has/have been mistakenly diagnosed as measles or scarlet fever due to
similarities in rash appearance?
A) Lyme disease
B) Q fever
C) rickettsial diseases
D) typhus
Blood agar is an example of a(n) ________ medium.
A) selective
B) general-purpose
C) enrichment
D) differential
Which of the following terms is used to describe a synthetic DNA fragment?
A) DNA cassette
B) DNA hybrid
C) recombinant DNA
D) artificial chromosome
Control of certain diseases is nearly impossible, because we cannot
A) control vector animals.
B) control reservoir animals.
C) eradicate organisms from the soil.
D) control vector and reservoir animals or eradicate organisms from the soil.
In mycorrhizal mutualisms between plants roots and fungi,
A) the plant supplies carbohydrates to the fungus and the fungus supplies phosphorus
and nitrogen to the plant.
B) the plant supplies water to the fungus and the fungus supplies essential amino acids
to the plant.
C) the plant protects the fungus from predation and the fungus supplies carbohydrates
to the plant.
D) the fungus infects the plant roots, stimulating plant growth through myc factors that
act as growth hormones in the plant.
Alternative autotrophic routes to the Calvin cycle such as the reverse citric acid cycle
and the hydroxypropionate pathway are unified in their requirement for
A) CO2.
B) coenzyme A.
C) NAD(P)H.
D) organic compound(s) formed.
Describe how syntrophy helps explain why certain enrichments yield consortia and
never an individual species.
We know that that there are over 50 major phyla in Bacteria; however, only about 25 of
these phyla have cultured representatives. Why is this? How are scientists attempting to
culture representative from the 25 phyla that do not currently have any organisms in
culture?
Defend why the discovery of prions and viroids changes our view on what it takes to be
an infectious particle. Be sure to explain the feature of each that distinguishes them
from traditional viruses.
How might climate change impact the incidence of a disease? Use a specific example to
illustrate your answer.
Describe the procedure used for colony hybridization and why it is useful.
Predict the consequence for an individual of a deleterious genetic mutation in the gene
for TLR-4.
Explain the principle difference between direct agglutination and passive agglutination.
Why is the secondary immune response stronger in regard to antibodies?
Explain the difference between transcription and translation and how the processes
differ in bacteriaand eukaryotes.
Compare how the process of cloning differs when a vector with sticky ends is used and
when a vector with blunt ends is used.
Detail the mechanism by which halophilic Archaea obtain energy from light.
As a visitor to a country in which cholera is an endemic disease, what specific steps
would you take to reduce your risk of cholera exposure? Will these precautions also
prevent you from contracting other waterborne diseases? If so, which ones? Identify
waterborne diseases for which your precautions may not prevent infection.
Describe the three main steps to clone a gene into an organism.
You are bitten by a venomous snake at a nature center. A snake handler is also bitten.
You are rushed to the emergency room and given an antiserum. The snake handler does
not receive treatment because he said he was exposed to venom so many times that he
is immune. What is antiserum and will you have long-lasting immunity to snake venom
after this? Is what the snake handler said possible or should he also receive treatment?
If he does not receive treatment and is not affected, what is protecting him?
What advantage do proteorhodopsin-containing organisms have over other
heterotrophic microbes in the open ocean?