BIOLOGY 4501                                 GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY

Final Examination - PRACTICE


MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (3 points each) Note: More than one answer can be correct. Circle all correct answers.

1. Who first developed solid media culture techniques using agar as a solidifying agent?

2. Identify which statements are correct.

3. The site of ATP synthesis in microorganisms includes:

4. Which of the following characteristics does not occur in prokaryotic cells?

5. The membrane of gas vesicles is composed of:

6. The oxidation-reduction pairs X/XH2 and Y/YH2 have reduction potentials of -50 and +75 millivolts, respectively. This means that electrons would most likely be removed from _____ to reduce _____.

7. Identify the correct statement(s). In eukaryotic microorganisms:

8. Rolling circle replication refers to:

9. Hfr strains of bacteria:

10. When comparing the types of viruses that infect bacteria, plants, and vertebrate animals, what trends appear from bacterial to vertebrate viral groups?

11. Plaques are:

12. Which group of eukaryotic algae has a representative that can grow to tens of feet tall?

13. Which factor is primarily responsible for the division of bacterial populations into specific zones within sediments?

14. Which compounds produced by microorganisms can cause fever in humans and can withstand autoclaving?

15. In order to grow, all microorganisms require:

16. Superoxide dismutase is an enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of oxygen radicals to peroxides. Which groups of organisms do not have this enzyme?

17. The RNA molecule differs from DNA by:

18. Identify the correct statement(s). In prokaryotes:

19. Which group(s) of microorganisms is (are) thought to be the oldest living organisms?

20. A small molecule that combines with a specific allosteric protein so that both prevent RNA polymerase activity is called a(n):

21. Based on studies of 16s ribosomal RNA and cell wall composition, which of the following bacteria are classified as archaebacteria?

22. Which of these are a type of mutation?

23. Which of these pathways are amphibolic pathways?

24. Which group(s) of fungi do not generally produce sexual reproductive structures and are also sometimes known as imperfect fungi?

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (5-10 points each)

1. Give two other names for bacterial capsule and list five functions proposed for it.


2. Diagram and name four mechanisms bacteria use to transport materials across the cytoplasmic membrane. Note when energy and additional compounds are necessary for any of these mechanisms to operate.


3. Give four lines of evidence that support the Endosymbiotic Theory of the origin of eukaryotic cells.


4. Explain the differences in the curves resulting from the growth of eubacterial and viral populations.


5. Demonstrate how the activities of biofilm communities result in the pitting and corrosion of iron and steel pipes.

6. You have inserted a single DNA fragment into a cloning vector. Describe two methods you could use to determine which host bacterial cells will eventually contain the clonal insert.


7. Carl Woese suggested a phylogenetic classification scheme in 1980 which contained how many kingdoms? Name these kingdoms and explain how the relationships in his universal phylogenetic tree were determined.

8. Explain how attenuation regulates protein synthesis in prokaryotic cells.


9. Is DNA replication a conservative or semi-conservative process? Explain how this question was answered.


I. ESSAY QUESTION (20 points) Answer all parts of one of the following questions completely.

1. (A) Give the equation, carbon source, electron donors, and electron acceptors for methanogenesis. (B) Is this a type of chemoautotrophy, phototrophy, fermentation, or respiration? (C) What groups of microorganisms are responsible for methanogenesis? (D) From what ecosystems in Minnesota do we observe the greatest production of methane?

OR

2. (A) Explain the ways in which aerobic respiration and fermentation processes are different. (B) Name the two phases of fermentation, give the starting materials and end products of each phase, and state what is recycled. (C) Describe a difference in the glycolysis pathways of eubacteria and eukaryotic microorganisms. (D) Draw a diagram that explains how a bacterium uses an electrochemical (eg., H+) gradient to generate ATP.


OR

3. (A) Name, diagram, and (B) explain the mechanisms for three ways that DNA can be transferred from one prokaryotic cell to another. (C) Which two types of DNA transfer are commonly used in genetic engineering? (D) Describe three ways that genetic engineering is different from natural genetic mechanisms.


II. ESSAY QUESTION (20 points) Answer all parts of one of the following questions completely.

1. (A) Name the two basic modes of immune response. (B) What are the two types of acquired immunity? (C) Diagram and explain how the Complement System operates. (D) Which compounds first interact with the Complement System?

OR

2. (A) Give two reactions conducted by microorganisms that are important in the biomagnification and toxicity of mercury. (B) Diagram where we observe the greatest rates of these reactions in aquatic environments. (C) When considering the mercury cycle, why should we be concerned about the effects of acid rain?