TOPICS FOR EXAMINATION II - Biology 2420, Talaro 6th
Bring a NUMERICAL ONLY calculator to the exam, capable of performing exponents. DO NOT
BRING ANY DEVICE CAPABLE OF DISPLAYING WORDS OR LETTERS!!!! YOU WILL
NOT BE ALLOWED TO USE IT!!!! IF YOU FORGET TO BRING A CALCULATOR, YOU
WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO BORROW ONE DURING THE EXAM!!!!
Chapter 7
Know the definition of chemoheterotrophs, photoheterotrophs, chemoautotrophs, photoautotrophs. Which
of these are involved in human disease? Know the terms for the various preferences for oxygen, CO2, salt
(osmotic pressure), temperature, and pH. Which of these terms pertain most to microorganisms found on
or in human beings? What do obligate and facultative mean? Know specific terms most likely to describe
the environmental preferences of bacteria prevalent in human disease. Know the bacterial growth curve lag, exponential (log), stationary and death phases - and the identifying characteristics of each phase. In
particular, know the importance of the log phase versus the death phase for the accurate identification of
pathogens. Know that in the log phase, increase in cell numbers is logarithmic. What does the term
generation time mean? Be able to work with generation times in a problem.
Chapter 8
What is fermentation, and how do microorganisms perform fermentation? What is cellular respiration, and
how do microorganisms perform cellular respiration? How do these metabolic strategies differ?
Chapter 9
Know what an operon is and where it is found. What do mutations do to an organism's genotype? to its
phenotype? Know what a plasmid is. Know what transformation, transduction, and conjugation are. Know
that in transduction and transformation only small amounts of DNA are transferred. Know about bacterial
conjugation - a large amount of DNA is transferred - know the order in which this sequential transfer of
DNA happens. Know about the F plasmid, about Hfr bacteria. WHAT IS THE MEDICAL
IMPORTANCE OF R PLASMIDS? WHAT ARE THE RTF AND R - DETERMINANT
REGIONS? HOW DO THEY WORK AND HOW ARE THEY TRANSFERRED BY
CONJUGATION? BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE AN R+ x R- CROSS.
PRINT THE R PLASMID HANDOUT FOUND ON THIS WEBSITE AND BRING IT TO THE
CHAPTER 9 LECTURE!
Chapter 10
WHAT IS BIOTECHNOLOGY? KNOW, IN DETAIL, AT LEAST FIVE DIFFERENT USES
FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY. What are restriction endonucleases? What is special about the way they
cleave DNA? From which kind of microorganisms are all restriction endonucleases obtained? How will
DNA fragments of different sizes migrate through agarose gels, and how will they sort themselves by
size? How is DNA transferred from the agarose gel to a special filter membrane? What is a Southern blot?
Is bacterial probe DNA able to distinguish human target DNA from bacterial target DNA? Know that this
specificity is due to base sequences which have unique homologies, preventing attachment of probe DNA
from different kinds of bacteria to human target DNA, and vice versa. How is this property used to detect
the presence of acid fast bacteria in human samples? Can this property be used in the identification of
viral pathogens as well? Know that DNA technology can now be used to identify virus DNA, without the
difficulties associated with the interpretation of CPE. What is polymerase chain reaction - PCR? Why is it
an important technique in biotechnology? How does PCR work? Be able to calculate the number of copies
of DNA produced by successive PCR cycles.
Chapter 11
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS ON CELL COMPONENTS BY WHICH MICROORGANISMS
ARE KILLED OR INHIBITED USING PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL OR ANTIMICROBIC
AGENTS? Is boiling at 100 degrees C. a reliable method of sterilization? Why or why not? How does
autoclaving kill microorganisms? What are the standard conditions of time, temperature, and pressure for
autoclave sterilization? How does flaming your inoculating loop work to kill microorganisms on it? Why
is it more difficult to sterilize bodily discharges compared to other materials? What is an iodophor? How
does radiation kill microorganisms? What is the best way to sterilize plastic ware? What is the best way to
sterilize heat sensitive liquids? WHAT ARE SOME ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS WHICH
INFLUENCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USE OF ANTIMICROBIAL CHEMICALS SUCH AS
DISINFECTANTS AND ANTISEPTICS? Know the identity of the gas most commonly used for
sterilization. Know the definitions of: (anything)cidal, (anything)static, sterilization, sanitization,
disinfection, antiseptic, surfactant, desiccation, lyophilization, ionizing radiation, non-ionizing radiation,
iodophor, tincture, pasteurization. Know uses where appropriate.
Chapter 12
What are antibiotics? How are they made and by which organisms? What are broad spectrum antibiotics?
narrow spectrum antibiotics? Know the mode of action of all antimicrobial agents covered in class. Know
the chemical classes of all protein synthetic inhibitors covered in class. Know the preventable errors
which can lead to emerging drug resistance in microorganisms. Know the definitions of: synergistic,
chemotherapy, antagonistic, antimetabolite. Know how antimicrobials are tested and used in a clinical
setting.