Biology 2201 Microbiology
Final Study Guide
Comprehensive Material
1. Who are the major figures in the History of Microbiology and what did they contribute to
the science?
2. Explain the relationships among the domains and kingdoms as we discussed in lecture.
What are their evolutionary relationships? How do they differ morphologically,
physiologically, and in distribution? Define: taxonomy, phylogeny, classification,
nomenclature.
3.
Identify three non-living agents in the microbial world. What properties do they share
with living organisms? What properties separate them from living organisms?
4. What are the four chemical elements that comprise the bulk of all living organisms?
Which of these are made available to humans (and most eukaryotes) primarily through
metabolic processes of microbes? Define the metabolic processes that generate the
elements.
5. What major classes of macromolecules are found in bacteria cells? …in viruses? …in
viroids? …in prions?
6. Draw a prokaryotic cell and a eukaryotic cell. Label all parts and note differences.
7. Draw and label the structure of a Gram negative and a Gram positive cell wall. Make
note of differences? How does a gram stain work?
8. How are environmental and nutritional factors that influence microbial growth replicated
in a lab? How do these factors influence the growth of microbes? How can you estimate
bacterial growth?
9. What is a CFU and in what ways is it useful? Describe the similar technique used to
quantify viruses.
10. Draw and explain the pattern followed by microbial growth.
11. Identify methods (we discussed in class) used to control microbial growth. In what
situation(s) is each method used appropriately. Identify potential infectious agents (what
type of bacteria, virus, etc.) that would be controlled in each situation you describe. (Use
your classification table)
12. What should be considered when choosing an antimicrobial procedure?
13. Catabolism and anabolism, exergonic and endergonic. How are these related?
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14. Describe oxidation and reduction in relation to: NAD+, FAD, NADP+. How do these
types of reactions lead to the production of ATP?
15. Diagram an overview of each of the following: glycolysis, transition step, TCA cycle,
electron transport, light dependent reactions, light independent reactions, lactic acid
fermentation, ethanol fermentation, pentose phosphate pathway (keep track of start
materials, end materials, energy, reducing power and location of all the processes).
16. Describe the processes of substrate-level phosphorylation, photophosphorylation, and
oxidative phosphorylation and identify how efficiently each produces ATP.
17. Identify all types of nucleic acids found in the following groups, eukaryotes (even
organelles), prokaryotes, and viruses. Describe the structure, location and function of the
nucleic acids in all three groups. Of the nucleic acids you describe, which is most useful
for identification? Why?
18. How and when is DNA synthesized? …RNA synthesized? Where does the energy for
these processes come from? What types of mutations can occur during the synthesis of
these molecules? What are the results of those mutations?
19. The lac operon is one process that controls gene expression. How are genes turned on
and off by the lac operon in response to the presence or absence of glucose and lactose.
What types of organisms use the lac operon in their genome?
20. Describe the general categories of mutagens and the mutations they can cause.
21. Describe five types of DNA repair, indicating the effectiveness of each.
22. Compare and contrast types of genetic recombination that increase bacterial genetic
variability (include subcategories). How are viruses involved? What type of virus is
involved? What are the general characteristics of that type of virus?
23. What factors lead to rapid evolution in bacteria? …in viruses?
24. Use the following terms to describe one way the over-use of antibiotics can lead to a
successful pathogen: R plasmid, antibiotics, resistance, reservoir, normal body flora,
pathogens.
25. How are metabolic differences used to classify bacteria? What categories are based on
carbon source and energy source – Identify each (e.g. chemolithoautotroph)
26. List all possible methods that could be used to help identify and classify a microbe.
Using E. coli as an example, what results would you expect from each technique?
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27. Make a chart comparing and contrasting the following general groups: Archaea, Bacteria,
Fungi, Algae, and Viruses. Use the following criteria: Habitat, reproduction (be
specific), general ecological significance, general medical significance. Draw a
phylogenetic tree that shows the evolutionary relationships among the above groups.
Include animals in your tree.
New Material (Chapters 13, 14, and 19)
28. Define:
virion
lytic
bacteriophage
oncogene
avirulence
mutualism
capsid
lysogenic
provirus
metastasis
antitoxin
parasitism
capsomeres
virulent
titer
symbiosis
toxoid
commensalism
productive infection
lysozyme
obligate intracellular parasite
hemagglutination
superantigen
pathogenesis
29. Describe viral structural variations, including variations in capsids, genetic material,
attachment proteins, envelope, and matrix proteins.
30. Some viruses have their own enzymes. Why are they required? Give three examples and
describe their function.
31. Diagram the general viral replication cycle. Describe the diagram in a short paragraph.
Include the following events: attachment, penetration, replication, assembly, maturation,
and release
32. Compare and contrast the lytic cycle of a T4 bacteriophage to the lysogenic cycle of a
lambda phage.
33. Compare and contrast generalized and specialized transduction.
34. What is lysogenic conversion? What are the effects of lysogenic conversion?
35. How can a bacterial cell protect itself from a phage? Describe the process. How is this
related to biotechnology?
36. How do animal viruses differ from bacteriophages?
37. What characteristics are used to classify viruses?
38. Describe the similarities and differences between bacterial classification and taxonomy
and animal virus classification and taxonomy.
39. Based on transmission route, define four informal groupings of animal viruses.
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40. Describe three methods that can be used to cultivate animal viruses in a lab?
41. What is a quantal assay? How is it performed? What are ID50 and LD50?
42. Describe the general pattern of virus-host coevolution. What is meant by balanced
pathogenicity?
43. Describe ten stages of an animal virus life cycle (attachment, entry, targeting, uncoating,
protein replication, nucleic acid replication, maturation, release, shedding, transmission)
44. How can a virus lead to a tumor in an animal?
45. What limits the host range of a virus? Describe two ways by which a virus host range can
be altered.
46. How do plant viruses get into plant cells? What are three sources of plant viruses? Give
an example of a desirable effect of a plant virus.
47. Compare and contrast viroids and prions. Why is the term assimilation appropriate to
describe how prions increase their numbers?
Chapter 19
48. Describe the dynamic nature of normal flora of the human body. How does the normal
flora on a human body benefit the human?
49. What factors are used to determine virulence of a pathogen?
50. How do toxins (produced by bacteria) get into the human body? (four general
mechanisms)
51. Make a table comparing exotoxins to endotoxins using the following criteria:
location in bacterial cell, usefulness as toxoids, stability in heat, general structure, general
effects of exposure of human cells to the toxin, general method of exposure to human
cells.
52. In what situation is an endotoxin beneficial to a host?
53. List and describe all subcategories of exotoxins.
54. What were Koch’s Postulates developed to establish? Identify the problems with Koch’s
Postulates. How do the Molecular Postulates overcome these problems?
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