Qualified Examination for Environmental Microbiology and Ecology
1.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
Term explanation (5 score per term)
Spontaneous generation
Resolution
Gram stain
Acid-fast stain
Fluorochromes
Hypotonic
Glycocalyx
Fimbriae
(9) Chemotaxis
(10) Ribosome
(11) Endospore
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18)
Cytoskeleton
Endocytosis
Lysosome
Proteasome
Nucleolus
Plastid
Cilia
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
(24)
(25)
(26)
(27)
Photolithotrophic autotrophy
Chemoorganotrophic heterotrophy
Growth factor
Siderophore
Sporulation
Pure culture
Selective media
Generation time
Chemostat
(28)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(33)
(34)
(35)
Psychrophile
Thermophile
Alkalophile
Barophile
Facultative anaerobe
GasPak anaerobic system
Sterilization
Disinfection
(36) Bacteriostatic
(37)
(38)
(39)
(40)
(41)
(42)
(43)
(44)
(45)
(46)
Decimal reduction time
HEPA filter
Phenol coefficient test
Apoenzyme
Cofactor
Prosthetic group
Induced fit model
Noncompetitive inhibitor
Allosteric enzyme
Allosteric regulation
(47) Catabolism
(48) Anabolism
(49) Substrate-level phosphorylation
(50)
(51)
(52)
(53)
(54)
Oxidative phosphorylation
Chemiosmotic hypothesis
Dissimilatory nitrate reduction
Assimilatory nitrate reduction
β-oxidation
(55) Nitrogenase
(56) Nitrification
(57)
(58)
(59)
(60)
(61)
(62)
(63)
(64)
(65)
Denitrification
Rhizosphere
Ex-situ study
Anoxic
Composite sample
Glomalin
Ergosterol
Taxon richness
Taxon evenness
(66)
(67)
(68)
(69)
(70)
(71)
(72)
(73)
DNA reassociation
Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)
Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA)
Stable isotope probing (SIP)
Clone library construction
16S rDNA
nifH gene
nod gene
(74) amoA gene
(75)
(76)
(77)
(78)
(79)
(80)
(81)
(82)
(83)
(84)
nirS gene
luxAB gene
gfp gene
Decomposition
Autochthonous
Disturbance
Succession
Spatial heterogeneity
Community
Competitive exclusion principle
(85) Ecological species pool
(86) Mutualism
(87) Indeterminate nodule
(88)
(89)
(90)
(91)
(92)
(93)
(94)
Mycorrhiza
Carbon sequestration
Net ecosystem production
Root exudates
Plant secondary compounds
Oligotrophs
Methanogens
(95) Methanotrophs
(96) Diazotrophs
(97) Denitrifier
(98) N immobilization
(99) Ammonification
(100) Anaerobic ammonium oxidation
2. Question and Answer (10 score per question)
(1) Describe Koch’s postulates (purpose and 4 steps).
(2) Describe the differences of the cell wall structure between gram-positive and
gram-negative bacteria.
(3) Describe the fluid mosaic model of plasma membrane.
(4) Illustrate two examples of inclusion body and their functions in prokaryote.
(5) Describe growth curve of bacteria.
(6) Describe the differences between chemostat and turbidostat.
(7) What does Shelford’s Law of Tolerance state?
(8) Describe the differences between aerobic respiration, anaerobic respiration,
fermentation and chemolithotrophy (electron donor, electron acceptor, ETC is
present or absent, ATP production through substrate-level phosphorylation or
oxidative phosphorylation).
(9) Describe the differences between moist heat sterilization and dry heat
sterilization (condition and mechanism).
(10) Describe the differences between competitive and noncompetitive inhibition.
(11) Describe the situation of the mouse under the following condition:
Smooth (S) colonies
Mouse is dead
Rough (R) colonies
Mouse is alive
Heat-killed S strain
Mouse is alive
Heat-killed S strain + live R strain
__________
Heat-killed R strain + live S strain
__________
R cells + purified S cell polysaccharide
__________
R cells + purified S cell protein
__________
R cells + purified S cell RNA
__________
R cells + purified S cell DNA
__________
S cell extract + protease + R cells
__________
S cell extract + RNase + R cells
__________
S cell extract + DNase + R cells
__________
R cell extract + DNase + S cells
__________
(12) Central dogma:
__________ (self replication)
__________
__________
______
______
(13) DNA sequence: TACGGTATGACC
mRNA sequence: ____________
(14) Bacterium which cannot grow on the lysine lacking medium called ________
(lysine auxotroph or prototroph), recorded as ________ (Lys+ or Lys-)
(15) Describe the type of mutation under the following condition:
Mutation type: Transition, transversion, silent mutation, neutral mutation,
missense mutation, nonsense mutation
(1) AT
CG ________
(2) AT
GC ________
(3) CAG (Gln)
UAG (stop) ________
(4) AAA (Lys)
AGA (Arg) ________
(5) AGG (Arg)
CGG (Arg) ________
(6) AAA (Lys)
CAG (Gln) ________
(16) Factor involved in the initiation of DNA transcription and helps RNA polymerase
recognize the start of gene is ________ (ρ or σ)
Factor involved in the termination of DNA transcription is ________ (ρ or σ)
(17) Describe the situation of the gene expression under the following condition:
a. Negative control of an inducible gene
In the presence of repressor protein
________
In the presence of repressor protein and inducer
________
b. Negative control of a repressible gene
In the presence of repressor protein (aporepressor)
________
In the presence of repressor protein and corepressor
________
c. Positive control of an inducible gene
In the presence of activator protein
________
In the presence of activator protein and inducer
________
d. Positive control of a repressible gene
In the presence of activator protein
________
In the presence of activator protein and inhibitor
________
(18) Describe the relative taxonomic resolution of various molecular techniques
include genome sequencing, 16S rDNA sequencing, Mol% G+C, DNA-DNA
hybridization, multilocus sequence typing, whole cell protein profiling, genomic
fingerprinting.
a. From family to strain: ________
b. From family to genus: ________
c. From genus to subspecies: ________
d. From species to strain: ________
(19) Explain the principle and procedure of chloroform fumigation incubation (CFI)
method and substrate-induced respiration (SIR) method.
(20) Explain the principle and procedure of community-level physiological profiles
(CLPP) analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method.
(21) Explain the principle and procedure of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis
(DGGE) method and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP)
analysis.
(22) Explain the principle and procedure of microarray, illustrate the genes used in
microarray detection and their possible application.
(23) Describe the differences between K-selected species and r-selected species
based on their resource type, efficiency in converting resources to offspring,
carrying capacity, stability, variability of population size, maturation rate, body
size, life span, productivity, intra- or inter-specific competition.
(24) Explain why species concept adopted by plant and animal biologists does not
apply in bacteria and what is the major criterion in defining bacterial species?
(25) Explain hierarchical community assembly rules.
(26) Describe the process of the formation of mycorrhizal symbioses and the benefits
derived by plant and fungus.
(27) Describe the relationship between C:N ratio and organic matter decomposition.
(28) Why the organic matter quality (the availability of C in the material relative to its
available N) controls the balance between N mineralization and N
immobilization?
(29) Describe a mechanism of the formation of humic substances.
(30) Describe the differences between autotrophic nitrification and heterotrophic
nitrification.
(31) Describe interactions between various soil organisms.
(32) Why is the rhizosphere a zone of increased microbial activity?
(33) How to compare microbial activity among the rhizosphere, rhizoplane, and soil?
(34) By what mechanisms can bacterial populations be beneficial, detrimental, or
neutral to plant growth?
(35) What criteria must be satisfied for bioremediation to be considered a viable
option for cleanup of a contaminated site?
(36) What are some limitations to the successful application of bioremediation?
(37) Why can extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) and cellulase secreted by soil
microorganisms contribute to rhizosphere competence?
(38) What successional changes in microbial populations occur during composting?
(39) If a waste material were added to soil that had a C/N/P ration of 500/20/1,
would phosphorus likely be mineralized from the waste or immobilized from the
soil solution? Why?
(40) How might a microorganism facilitate the solubilization of both iron and
phosphorus simultaneously?