All organisms require the following macronutrients:
Potassium, magnesium, zinc
Phosphorus, cobalt, manganese
Calcium, potassium, zinc
Phosphorus, potassium, magnesium
Which of the following forms of oxygen are generally toxic to living organisms?
Superoxide anion
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydroxyl radical
All of the above
Carrier mediated transport is necessary when:
Diffusion will not allow adequate amounts of a substance to enter the cell
Movement into the cell is against a concentration gradient
The level of nutrients in nature is very low
The size (as determined by the sedimentation factor) of the most useful RNA molecule for prokaryotic evolutionary studies is:
5S
16S
18S
23S
Which of these environmental factors influence microbial growth?
pH
Water potential
Oxygen
The signature sequence is used extensively in the:
Cultivation of microorganisms
Reclassification of misclassified organisms
Defining of a specific group within a domain
Which one of the following sentences correctly describes the science of Metagenomics?
Metagenomics is a genome level study of the whole microbial community
Metagenomics is a genomics of industrially and medically important bacteria
Metagenomics is a study of gene expression
Metagenomics is a comparative analysis of the sequenced microbial genomes
With regards to bacterial plasmids which statement is the correct one?
A plasmid is a regulatory gene
A plasmid is a short RNA molecule
A plasmid is an extra chromosomal DNA molecule
A plasmid is a non coding region found in some bacterial genomes
Virus particles:
Are always smaller than bacterial cells
Can replicate independently of a host cell if provided with a nutrient medium
Can use some of the enzymes expressed in the host cell to aid their replication
Are always eliminated by the host immune system
Tobacco mosaic virus:
Has an icosahedral capsid
Has a helical capsid
Has multiple copies of each of four proteins making up the capsid
Has multiple copies of two proteins making up the capsid
The symptom ‘hyperpalsia’ in plants caused by a fungal infection is due to:
Abnormal cell enlargement
Downward growth of petioles
Uncontrolled cell division
Restriction of water transport
Asexual reproduction in the Mastigomycotina (e.g. Phytophthora spp.) results in the formation of:
Sporangia
Oospores
Zygospores
Conidia
Which one of the following diseases is NOT caused by an infectious agent?
Stomach ulcer
Cystic fibrosis
Cervical cancer
Liver cancer
Which of the following is a bacterial infection?
Whooping cough
Polio
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
Malaria
Pasteur is attributed with which one of the following discoveries?
Was the first to see microorganisms under a microscope
First to discover and use agar
That there could be life without air
The first chemical antibiotics
The length of a typical E. coli cell is approximately?
20 μm
2 μm
200 nm
20 nm
With respect to differences between members of the archaeal and bacterial domains/kingdoms, which is the CORRECT statement?
Both have peptidoglycan in their cell walls
Only some Archaea are capable of methanogenesis
Archaea are sensitive to β-lactam antibiotics
Bacteria have similar RNA polymerase to that of Archaea
Which statement is correct with respect to the E.coli chromosome?
It is negatively supercoiled
It is positively supercoiled
There are typically several origins of replication
It consists of over 50 million base pairs
A culture of E. coli is diluted by a factor of 10-6 and, after plating out 100 μl on an agar plate, 63 colonies grew after incubation at 37oC overnight. The original culture therefore contained how many viable E coli cells per ml?
6.3 x 10(7)
6.3 x 10(8)
6.3 x 10(6)
6.3 x 10(5)
Bacterial flagella bring about cell motion by which mechanism?
Wave-like movement of the flagellum
Rotation of the cell
Rotation of the flagellum in one direction only
Rotation of the flagellum that is reversible
Systems biology approaches to the study of fungal cells do NOT necessarily involve:
Generation of data from biological experiments
Mathematical quantification of changes in cell components
Creation of a model of the cellular system in silico
Creation of a conceptual model based on philosophical techniques
Which of these statements is UNTRUE?
Some species of yeast are highly tolerant to ethanol stress
Some species of fungi are extremely xerophilic
Many fungi are more tolerant to water stress than any bacterial species
Fungi can grow over the entire pH range from 0 to 14
An extremophilic microbe is one which:
Can survive dry conditions
Can grow only when there is a mixture of stress parameters (e.g. high temperatures and low pH)
Can grow optimally under extreme conditions
Becomes dormant under extreme conditions
Fungal growth and cell division is NOT normally accompanied by:
Biomass acquisition
Reduced vitality
Nucleic acid replication
Enhanced ability to compete with other microbial species
One factor that is NOT used to prevent or reduce fungal spoilage of processed foods is:
Addition of benzene
Low water-activity
Refrigeration
Heat-sterilization
