Microbial Ecology Practice Exam
Course Introduction
Microbial Ecology explores the diversity, function, and interactions of microorganisms within natural environments. The course covers topics such as microbial community structure, symbiotic relationships, microbial roles in biogeochemical cycles, and the methods used to study microbes in their habitats. Students will examine how environmental factors shape microbial populations and consider the impact of microorganisms on ecosystem health, climate change, and human activities. Through a combination of lectures, case studies, and practical investigations, learners will gain a comprehensive understanding of how microbes influence and sustain life on Earth.
Recommended Textbook
Living in a Microbial World 1st Edition by Bruce Hofkin
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16 Chapters
208 Verified Questions
208 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Living in a Microbial World
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements about model organisms is true?
A) They tend to be slow growing.
B) They tend to have unique biological properties, very different from other organisms.
C) They tend to reproduce quickly.
D) They tend to be more complex and harder to study than other living things.
E) They are used regularly in applied science, but not in basic science.
Answer: C
Q2) Which typical characteristics of living things are not observed in viruses?
Answer: Viruses are not composed of cells. They are unable to replicate outside the cells of other organisms and they have little if any independent metabolism.
Q3) Metabolism refers to:
A) the transfer of genetic information from generation to generation.
B) the changes in the characteristics of living things over time.
C) the response of living things to chemical signals in their environment.
D) the ability to reproduce.
E) the ability to assimilate and use energy.
Answer: E
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3
Chapter 2: The Chemistry of Life
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is a mismatched pair?
A) electrons: negative charge
B) neutrons: no charge
C) protons: positive charge
D) atomic mass number: protons plus electrons
E) uncharged atom: the number of electrons = the number of protons
Answer: D
Q2) When one atom donates electrons and another atom accepts those electrons, a(n) ________ bond forms.
A) polar covalent
B) hydrogen bond
C) nonpolar covalent
D) ionic
Answer: D
Q3) Describe the relationship between an atom's stability and its energy. How does this impact an atom's reactivity?
Answer: There is an inverse relationship between an atom's stability and its energy level. They are more likely to interact with other atoms (they are more reactive) when their energy is greater and their stability is lower.
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Page 4
Chapter 3: The Cell: Where Life Begins
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Sample Questions
Q1) Membrane phospholipids:
A) are highly hydrophobic.
B) are highly hydrophilic.
C) have hydrophobic phosphate heads and hydrophilic fatty acid tails.
D) have hydrophilic phosphate heads and hydrophobic fatty acid tails.
E) are found in prokaryotic, but not eukaryotic, cells.
Answer: D
Q2) Penicillin:
A) prevents the linkage between N-acetyl-glucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid.
B) breaks the bonds between N-acetyl-glucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid.
C) prevents the formation of pentaglycine bridges.
D) breaks pentaglycine bridges.
E) perforates the plasma membrane of Gram-positive bacteria.
Answer: C
Q3) What is taxis as it applies to bacteria? What structure does bacteria that are capable of taxis possess?
Answer: Taxis refers to the ability of many bacteria to move toward favorable conditions (positive taxis) or away from unfavorable conditions (negative taxis). Only motile bacteria are capable of taxis. In an almost all cases, motile bacteria rely on flagella.
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Page 5
Chapter 4: A Field Guide to the Microorganisms
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true about photosynthetic bacteria?
A) They are the most primitive of all bacteria.
B) Photosynthesis appears to have evolved several separate times.
C) Photosynthetic bacteria all appear to be closely related.
D) A comparison of rRNA genes in different lineages of photosynthetic bacteria would reveal that the genes are almost identical in all lineages.
E) All photosynthetic bacteria appear to have evolved relatively recently.
Q2) Viruses go through a series of defined steps in their replicative cycle. In which of the following are these steps listed in proper order?
A) attachment » uncoating » penetration » synthesis » release » assembly
B) penetration » attachment » uncoating » assembly » synthesis » release
C) uncoating » attachment » penetration » synthesis » assembly » release
D) attachment » penetration » uncoating » synthesis » assembly » release
E) penetration » synthesis » assembly » attachment » release » uncoating
Q3) What is different about the synthesis stage in a plus- and a minus-strand RNA virus?
Q4) What are mycorrhizial relationships? Provide an example.
Q5) How are rRNA genes used to deduce evolutionary relationships?
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Chapter 5: The Microbiology of History and the History of Microbiology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why is a large population of hosts more important for the maintenance of a "crowd disease" than it is for other types of diseases?
Q2) Which of the following diseases played the biggest part in defeating Napoleon in his attempt to conquer Russia?
A) typhus
B) typhoid
C) bubonic plague
D) malaria
E) smallpox
Q3) What is the danger associated with agricultural monocultures?
Q4) What are Koch's Postulates? Explain how they are used to determine the cause of a particular disease.
Q5) Which of the following is not a vector-borne disease?
A) bubonic plague
B) yellow fever
C) malaria
D) typhus
E) anthrax
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Chapter 6: Microbial Genetics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following components is not normally found as part of a DNA nucleotide?
A) a nitrogenous base
B) a phosphate group
C) uracil
D) a deoxyribose sugar
Q2) Which of the following statements is true?
A) Individuals of the same species have the same genes, but may have different alleles of those genes.
B) Individuals of the same species have different genes but the same alleles.
C) Individuals of the same species have the same genes and alleles as each other.
D) Individuals of the same species have different genes and alleles from each other.
Q3) The term used to describe the orientation of the two strands of DNA is:
A) polarity.
B) complementary.
C) antiparallel.
D) 5<sup>' </sup>to 3.<sup>' </sup>
E) forked.
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8
Chapter 7: Metabolism and Growth
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Sample Questions
Q1) A bacterial species never uses oxygen as a final electron acceptor. However, it has the enzymes necessary to degrade toxic forms of oxygen. Such a bacterial species is an example of:
A) an obligate aerobe.
B) an obligate anaerobe.
C) a facultative anaerobe.
D) an aerotolerant anaerobe.
E) a microaerophile.
Q2) A chemically defined medium is often required to grow ________ bacteria in the laboratory.
A) fastidious
B) non-fastidious
C) acidophilic
D) halophilic
E) microaerophilic
Q3) Describe differences that would be seen in the growth curve of a facultative anaerobe that is grown in the presence of oxygen, and the same facultative anaerobe grown in the absence of oxygen.
Q4) Describe how ATP is produced in electron transport.
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Chapter 8: Microbial Evolution: the Origin and Diversity of Life
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Sample Questions
Q1) An experiment by Stanley Miller in the 1950s demonstrated that abiotic synthesis of organic molecules could occur:
A) in a reducing environment.
B) in an oxidizing environment.
C) on the ocean floor.
D) at extremely high temperatures.
E) at extremely low temperatures.
Q2) One hypothesis of viral origin suggests that viruses began as parasitic prokaryotes that gradually lost most of their genetic information and ultimately became completely dependent on host cells. This hypothesis is called:
A) the regressive hypothesis.
B) the escaped gene hypothesis.
C) the coevolved hypothesis.
D) the transposon hypothesis.
E) the parasitic hypothesis.
Q3) It is believed that mitochondria were acquired by primitive eukaryotic cells before chloroplasts were. What is the evidence for this?
Q4) Explain the rationale for the "RNA world" hypothesis.
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Chapter 9: An Ecologists Guide to Microbiology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which process in the nitrogen cycle, carried out by certain microorganisms, converts atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which can then be utilized by plants?
A) nitrogen fixation
B) ammonification
C) nitrification
D) denitrification
Q2) Describe why decomposers are so important in ecosystems.
Q3) Which of the following represents a producer in a food web?
A) a fungus that is parasitic on plants
B) a herbivore
C) a carnivore
D) bacteria that break down organic material and return inorganic nutrients to the environment
E) photosynthetic cyanobacteria
Q4) Why does the addition of extra nutrients into a lake often result in a die-off of fish and other animals?
Q5) What exactly is a biofilm? Where are biofilms found?
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11
Chapter 10: The Nature of Disease: a Pathogens Perspective
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the difference between biological vector transmission and mechanical vector transmission?
Q2) Which of the following is false about exotoxins?
A) Part of the exotoxin called the "A subunit" binds to receptors on the surface of certain host cells.
B) The combined exotoxin (both the A & B subunits) enter the host cell by endocytosis.
C) They may be produced by either Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria.
D) They are generally more toxic than endotoxins at low concentration.
E) They are composed of protein.
Q3) In terms of how a pathogen might affect a host, which of the following is the correct sequence of events?
A) contamination » disease » infection
B) disease » contamination » infection
C) infection » contamination » disease
D) infection » disease » contamination
E) contamination » infection » disease
Q4) How does our normal flora protect us from some infections by pathogens?
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Chapter 11: Host Defense
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a correct and necessary step in the generation of a cell-mediated response?
A) Antigen presenting cells are activated by pattern recognition.
B) Antigen presenting cells present antigen to helper T cells.
C) Antigen presenting cells activate cytotoxic T cells.
D) Helper T cells release cytokines that stimulate activate cytotoxic T cells.
E) Cytotoxic T cells recognize their specific antigen on the surface of infected cells.
Q2) B-cells are able to recognize antigens because they have specific receptors on their surfaces that bind specific antigens. These receptors are called ________.
A) toll-like receptors
B) pattern recognition receptors
C) MHC
D) IgG
E) IgM
Q3) In what way can the fever response be used to illustrate the point that response to pathogens can both be protective and harmful?
Q4) How does HIV reduce immune function?
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13
Chapter 12: Control of Microbial Growth
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why are antibiotics often added to animal feed?
A) to reduce disease transmission among domestic animals
B) to increase the growth rate of domestic animals
C) to reduce the likelihood of drug resistance
D) All of the above are correct.
E) Both "a" and "b" are correct.
Q2) How does stopping an antibiotic prescription prematurely contribute to the development of drug resistance?
Q3) In which of the following situations might a broad spectrum drug be preferable to a narrow spectrum drug?
A) when the patient is infected with an unknown pathogen
B) when the patient is immunocompromised
C) when Gram-negative bacteria have infected an ordinarily sterile region of the body
D) in a well-oxygenated region of the body
E) when the patient is in danger of going into shock from endotoxin poisoning
Q4) In what situations would UV radiation be an appropriate method for microbial control?
Q5) What are some of the problems associated with the development of antiviral drugs?
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Epidemiology: Who,
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Sample Questions
Q1) Into which category of emergent diseases would dengue be placed?
A) Category 1: invasion of a new host population by a known pathogen
B) Category 2: appearance of a completely new, previously unknown pathogen
C) Category 3: association of a well-known disease with a new pathogen
D) Category 4: increased virulence, or a renewed problem, with a well-known but previously less virulent or well-controlled pathogen
Q2) In which of the following types of viruses is antigenic shift most likely?
A) RNA viruses
B) DNA viruses
C) enveloped viruses
D) non-enveloped viruses
E) viruses with a segmented genome
Q3) Which of the following pathogens would most likely be used as a bioterrorism agent?
A) Pathogen A: an obligate anaerobe
B) Pathogen B: an obligate aerobe
C) Pathogen C: a Gram-positive bacterial species
D) Pathogen D: a RNA virus
E) Pathogen E: a spore-former
Q4) How can a vaccine program prevent epidemics?
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Chapter 14: The Future Is Here: Microorganisms and Biotechnology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Southern blotting can be used to:
A) insert donor DNA into recipient DNA.
B) determine if a specific gene is present in a DNA molecule.
C) separate DNA fragments based on size.
D) make many copies of a particular gene.
E) determine the exact nucleotide sequence in a DNA molecule.
Q2) What is the polymerase chain reaction? Briefly state how it works.
Q3) A foreign gene is incorporated into a virus, creating a recombinant virus. The virus is now allowed to infect certain cells, with the hope that the foreign gene carried by the virus will be incorporated into the DNA of the cells. Which of the following is true?
A) The virus is the cloning vector.
B) The cells are the cloning vectors.
C) The virus is the cloning host.
D) Both "a" and "c" are correct.
E) Both "b" and "c" are correct.
Q4) One of the concerns about genetically modified plants is how they might affect wild plants. In what way? Why is this worrisome?
Q5) What exactly is a DNA library? What is a genomic library?
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Chapter 15: Guess Whos Coming to Dinner: Microorganisms and
Food
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Sample Questions
Q1) Microbial fermentation only occurs under certain environmental conditions. Why, in terms of metabolism, do these organisms ferment under such conditions?
Q2) Which of the following is an example of single-cell protein?
A) yogurt
B) cheese
C) Spirulina
D) beer
E) summer sausage
Q3) When baking bread, all of the following steps occur. In which answer are the steps presented in the correct order?
A) yeast is kneaded into dough » loaf is baked » yeast ferments » bread rises
B) loaf is baked » yeast is kneaded into dough » yeast ferments » bread rises
C) yeast is kneaded into dough » yeast ferments » loaf is baked » bread rises
D) loaf is baked » bread rises » yeast is kneaded into dough » yeast ferments
E) yeast is kneaded into dough » yeast ferments » bread rises » loaf is baked
Q4) Provide a biochemical explanation for why bread rises during its production.
Q5) In what way is the production of vinegar different from the production of the fermented food products discussed in this chapter?
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Chapter 16: Better Living With Microorganisms: Industrial and Applied Microbiology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why does compost tend to heat up over time? Why is it beneficial to periodically turn the compost?
Q2) What exactly is the biopesticide Bt? Why is this product, which kills garden pests, not a danger to humans, pets, or other animals?
Q3) Which of the following is an example of an extremozyme?
A) a microorganism that is isolated from a very hot, thermal pool of water
B) the Taq polymerase, isolated from Thermus aquaticus, which is used in PCR
C) a cellulase enzyme, which can digest cellulose, used in a stain remover
D) a biopesticide used to control insect pests in the garden
E) a microorganism used in nanotechnology
Q4) Metabolites are:
A) the substrate that is converted into a useful product by microorganisms.
B) an intermediate compound in a biochemical pathway, the final product of which is a useful product.
C) the final product in a biochemical pathway.
D) either "a" or "c" above
E) either "b" or "c" above
Q5) In what way does metabolite production by a microorganism often depend on other microorganisms that may be found in the same environment?
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