Question 1

Once a putative pure culture has been obtained from the environment, it is no longer necessary to check its purity.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Thirty organisms containing the same phylogenetic marker, with identical or similar orthologous genes, are all considered to be within the same

Accepted Answer

A)  phylotype. 
B)  species. 
C)  functional group. 
D)  phylogenetic tree. 
A)  phylotype. 
B)  species. 
C)  functional group. 
D)  phylogenetic tree.

Question 3

Culture-independent approaches avoid issues associated with

Accepted Answer

A)  detecting very rare phylotypes. 
B)  conflating phylogenetic and functional diversity. 
C)  growing organisms in the lab. 
D)  next generation sequencing. 
A)  detecting very rare phylotypes. 
B)  conflating phylogenetic and functional diversity. 
C)  growing organisms in the lab. 
D)  next generation sequencing.

Question 4

Transcription of various genes under particular environmental conditions in natural populations can be studied using

Accepted Answer

A)  CARD-FISH. 
B)  stable isotope analysis. 
C)  T-RFLP. 
D)  green fluorescent protein (GFP). 
A)  CARD-FISH. 
B)  stable isotope analysis. 
C)  T-RFLP. 
D)  green fluorescent protein (GFP).

Question 5

In microbial ecology studies, the FISH technique identifies organisms based on

Accepted Answer

A)  the presence of green fluorescent protein. 
B)  fluorescence of unique cofactors or pigments under certain wavelengths of UV light. 
C)  hybridization of a fluorescent probe to specific ribosomal RNA sequences. 
D)  the presence of luciferase. 
A)  the presence of green fluorescent protein. 
B)  fluorescence of unique cofactors or pigments under certain wavelengths of UV light. 
C)  hybridization of a fluorescent probe to specific ribosomal RNA sequences. 
D)  the presence of luciferase.

Question 6

Genes encoding ________ are widely used as target genes in molecular biodiversity studies.

Accepted Answer

A)  ATPases 
B)  DNA polymerase III 
C)  16S rRNA 
D)  RNA polymerase 
A)  ATPases 
B)  DNA polymerase III 
C)  16S rRNA 
D)  RNA polymerase

Question 7

The element(s) that have proven most useful for stable isotope studies are

Accepted Answer

A)  carbon only. 
B)  nitrogen only. 
C)  sulfur only. 
D)  carbon, sulfur, and sometimes nitrogen. 
A)  carbon only. 
B)  nitrogen only. 
C)  sulfur only. 
D)  carbon, sulfur, and sometimes nitrogen.

Question 8

Single-cell genomics may help us

Accepted Answer

A)  predict which microbes will be abundant based on the environmental conditions. 
B)  understand the physiology of uncultured microbes. 
C)  develop better enrichment culture methods. 
D)  understand the physiology of uncultured microbes and develop better enrichment culture methods. 
A)  predict which microbes will be abundant based on the environmental conditions. 
B)  understand the physiology of uncultured microbes. 
C)  develop better enrichment culture methods. 
D)  understand the physiology of uncultured microbes and develop better enrichment culture methods.

Question 9

One way to study a microbial ecosystem is to isolate microorganisms from it and study their properties in laboratory culture.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Strict anaerobic organisms are not suited for GFP reporters due to the protein requiring oxygen to fluoresce.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

For what purpose would a microbial ecologist use a microsensor?

Accepted Answer

A)  to determine the concentration of cells in small increments in a sediment or water column 
B)  to determine the expression of a particular gene in a microbial community 
C)  to quantify the uptake of a radioactive material 
D)  to determine the concentration of O₂, N₂O, or other chemical species in small increments in a sediment or water column 
A)  to determine the concentration of cells in small increments in a sediment or water column 
B)  to determine the expression of a particular gene in a microbial community 
C)  to quantify the uptake of a radioactive material 
D)  to determine the concentration of O₂, N₂O, or other chemical species in small increments in a sediment or water column

Question 12

How would you label and separate the DNA of unknown methylotrophs in a sample?

Accepted Answer

A)  Incubate the sample with ¹³C-methane. 
B)  Hybridize the DNA to FISH probes. 
C)  Use DGGE to separate the strands of DNA in the sample. 
D)  Use T-RFLP to identify the methylotroph DNA in the sample. 
A)  Incubate the sample with ¹³C-methane. 
B)  Hybridize the DNA to FISH probes. 
C)  Use DGGE to separate the strands of DNA in the sample. 
D)  Use T-RFLP to identify the methylotroph DNA in the sample.

Question 13

Combined with autofluoresence or fluorescent DNA probes, flow cytometry can separate or count populations of cells from aquatic environments.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

The MPN technique is rarely applied in the food industry because any microbial presence in food is unsafe.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

The term used when an organism is studied in its natural environment is

Accepted Answer

A)  au naturale. 
B)  in vitro. 
C)  in situ. 
D)  in toto. 
A)  au naturale. 
B)  in vitro. 
C)  in situ. 
D)  in toto.

Question 16

Phototrophic organisms in SIP experiments are often observed releasing ¹⁴CO₂ as a way of measuring photosynthetic activity.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Fluorogenic dyes, autofluorescence, and genetically engineered autofluorescence can be used to identify cells.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

Staining methods are suitable for obtaining

Accepted Answer

A)  information about physiology from natural samples. 
B)  quantitative information from natural samples. 
C)  phylogenetic information from natural samples. 
D)  neither qualitative nor quantitative information from natural samples. 
A)  information about physiology from natural samples. 
B)  quantitative information from natural samples. 
C)  phylogenetic information from natural samples. 
D)  neither qualitative nor quantitative information from natural samples.

Question 19

Which fluorescent molecule enables visualization of living microorganisms?

Accepted Answer

A)  acridine orange 
B)  DAPI 
C)  GFP 
D)  SYBR Green 
A)  acridine orange 
B)  DAPI 
C)  GFP 
D)  SYBR Green

Question 20

Robotic systems used to quickly test the response of microbes in microtiter plates to thousands of combinations of nutrients is an example of a(n) ________ technology.

Accepted Answer

A)  next generation sequencing 
B)  stable isotope 
C)  genomic 
D)  high-throughput 
A)  next generation sequencing 
B)  stable isotope 
C)  genomic 
D)  high-throughput

Exam 19: Taking the Measure of Microbial Systems

Once a putative pure culture has been obtained from the environment, it is no longer necessary to check its purity.

Thirty organisms containing the same phylogenetic marker, with identical or similar orthologous genes, are all considered to be within the same

Culture-independent approaches avoid issues associated with

Transcription of various genes under particular environmental conditions in natural populations can be studied using

In microbial ecology studies, the FISH technique identifies organisms based on

Genes encoding ________ are widely used as target genes in molecular biodiversity studies.

The element(s) that have proven most useful for stable isotope studies are

Single-cell genomics may help us

One way to study a microbial ecosystem is to isolate microorganisms from it and study their properties in laboratory culture.

Strict anaerobic organisms are not suited for GFP reporters due to the protein requiring oxygen to fluoresce.

For what purpose would a microbial ecologist use a microsensor?

How would you label and separate the DNA of unknown methylotrophs in a sample?

Combined with autofluoresence or fluorescent DNA probes, flow cytometry can separate or count populations of cells from aquatic environments.

The MPN technique is rarely applied in the food industry because any microbial presence in food is unsafe.

The term used when an organism is studied in its natural environment is

Phototrophic organisms in SIP experiments are often observed releasing ¹⁴CO₂ as a way of measuring photosynthetic activity.

Fluorogenic dyes, autofluorescence, and genetically engineered autofluorescence can be used to identify cells.

Staining methods are suitable for obtaining

Which fluorescent molecule enables visualization of living microorganisms?

Robotic systems used to quickly test the response of microbes in microtiter plates to thousands of combinations of nutrients is an example of a(n) ________ technology.

The Microbial World

Microbial Cell Structure and Function

Microbial Metabolism

Molecular Information Flow and Protein Processing

Microbial Growth and Its Control

Microbial Regulatory Systems

Molecular Biology of Microbial Growth

Viruses and Their Replication

Microbial Systems Biology

Viral Genomics, Diversity, and Ecology

Genetics of Bacteria and Archaea

Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology

Microbial Evolution and Systematics

Metabolic Diversity of Microorganisms

Functional Diversity of Microorganisms

Diversity of Bacteria

Diversity of Archaea

Diversity of Microbial Eukarya

Microbial Ecosystems

Nutrient Cycles

Microbiology of the Built Environment

Microbial Symbioses

Microbial Symbioses with Humans

Microbial Infection and Pathogenesis

Innate Immunity: Broadly Specific Host Defenses

Adaptive Immunity: Highly Specific Host Defenses

Clinical Microbiology and Immunology

Epidemiology

Person-to-Person Bacterial and Viral Diseases

Vectorborne and Soilborne Bacterial and Viral Diseases

Waterborne and Foodborne Bacterial and Viral Diseases

Eukaryotic Pathogens: Fungi, Protozoans, and Helminths

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