In the scientific name Escherichia coli, the word coli is known as the

Species
Which of the following classes of microorganism is most likely to be studied by a
parasitologist?
Protozoa
Which of the following classes of organisms does not have a cell wall?
Animals
Into which group would you place a photosynthetic cell that lacks a nucleus?
Bacteria
A multicellular organism that has a mouth and lives inside an animal host would most
likely be?
Helminth
Mycology is the study of
Fungi
Which microscope is used to observe a specimen that emits light when illuminated with
an ultraviolet light?
Fluorescence Microscope
In the following figure, the item labeled c is the microscope's
Condenser

What would bet the total magnification of the sample viewed through a microscope
using a combination of 10x ocular and 40x objective lens?
400x
A virus measures 100nm in length. What is its length in um?
0.1um
In which microscope does the observer NOT look directly at an image through a lens?
Scanning Electron Microscope
After completing, the Gram stain procedure, what color are the gram positive and gram
negative cells?
Purple and red

Which of the following organelles most closely resembles a prokaryotic cell?

Mitochondria
Which structure would you find in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
Plasma membrane
In figure 2, which drawing depicts a bacillus?
A

In figure 2, which drawing depicts a spirochete?

C

In figure 2, which drawing represents the microscopic appearance of staphylococcus

species?
G

Which of the following structures are NOT found in prokaryotic cells?

Cilia
Which type of stain is most useful in helping clinicians to decide which antibiotic to
prescribe for a bacterial infection?
Gram stain
Which of the following statements about the bacterial chromosome is correct?
It is circular in structure
Some viruses have an external lipid envelope. At which stage of their life-cycle is it
acquired?
Release
A student is looking at a bacterial specimen using the oil immersion lens, but has
forgotten to put immersion oil on the slide. The specimen will appear
somewhat fuzzy and poor resolution
Which of the following represents a classic example of a latent viral infection?
cold cores
Which of the following represents a classic example of a persistent viral infection?
HIV/AIDS
Which of the above drawings represents an example of a complex virus?
C

What do the coats (external structures) of all the viruses shown in figure 3 contain?
Proteins
Which of the following can NOT be used to culture/propagate viruses?
Simple Growth Media
Which of the following features is NOT routinely examined in the clinical testing
laboratory to establish the identity of a pathogenic bacterium in a patient sample?
All of the above
Many scientists do not consider viruses to be living organisms. Why is this?
Because they are dependent on their host cell's metabolic machinery in order to
replicate
What is the correct definition of commensalism
Type of symbiosis in which one organism benefits but the other is unaffected
What is the infectious agent of prion based diseases such as kuru or made cow disease
(BSE)?
Protein
In which of the following lists are the microbes correctly placed in their order of size,
from smallest to largest?
Virus, bacterium, protozoan, tapeworm
Protozoan and fungal diseases are more difficult to treat than bacterial infections
because
Their cells are structurally and functionally more similar to human cells than bacterial
cells
In parasitic infections, the definitive host harbors which stage of the parasite life-cycle?
Adult
Which microscope uses a laser as the light source and can be used to capture images
of multiple planes (also called a z-stack) within a living specimen in order to produce a
3-D image?
Confocal microscope
What scientist was the first to observe microorganisms with a microscope?
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek "Father of Microbiology"
Regarding Louis Pasteur's experiments using the 5-neck flask to disprove the theory of
spontaneous generation which of the following statements is true?
All of the above
What was the major discovery made by Edward Jenner during his development of the
first vaccination process?
Exposure to a milder disease form can produce immunity to a related but more
dangerous form
What organism is NOT typically included in the study of microbiology?
Insects
What are the primary macromolecules making up the genetic material of cells?
Nucleic acids
Which molecules are generally used as the primary source of energy and energy
storage in cells?
Carbohydrates
What are the primary macromolecules that make up the plasma membrane of the cell?
Lipids

Practically all enzymes are composed of which type of macromolecule?

Proteins
Most human insulin used in hospitals is now purified from E.Coli. Why is this possible?
The human insulin gene was cloned and inserted into E.coli
Stationary Phase
The number of cells dying equal are about the same as the number of living cells.
Most bacteria grow best at which pH?
7
If bacterial growth experiment began with 4 cells and ended with 256 cells how many
times did the cells divide?
6
If bacterial growth experiment began with 4 cells and ended with 128 cells how many
times did the cells divide?
5
In which group of microorganisms would you find almost all disease causing microbes?
Mesophiles
Which group of microorganisms is most likely to spoil food stored in a refrigerator?
Psychrophiles
Obligate anaerobes grow sediment
c) (At the bottom of the tube)

Facultative anaerobe grow

B) (organisms all throughout but with a lot at the top)

A culture medium containing agar, human blood and beef heart extract is an example of
a?
Complex medium
A culture medium on which only gram positive organisms grow and a yellow halo
surrounds staphylococcus aureus colonies but not colonies produced by other
staphylococcus species is called a?
Selective and differential medium
Which of the following is NOT a direct method to measure microbial cell numbers?
Turbidity readings with a spectrophotometer
The biosafety level (BSL) for a clinical microbiology laboratory working with potentially
airborne pathogen that can infect healthy (non-compromised) individuals, such as
tuberculosis bacteria, is?
BSL-3
In a DNA molecule, each-molecule on one strand is joined to its partner on the other
strand by?
Hydrogen bonds
Which of the following is an advantage of the direct microscopic count?
It requires no incubation time
Which of the following is the best description of transcription?
An RNA molecule is made from a DNA template
Which of the following is NOT a type of RNA molecule?
Passenger RNA
Which nucleotide base present in DNA molecules is not found in RNA molecules?
Thymine
The RNA molecules produced in eukaryotes often have non-coding sections which have
to be cut (spliced) out before the mRNA leaves the nucleus. What are these non-coding
pieces called?
Introns
Which of the following statements about the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is false?
DNA polymerase from any bacterial species can be used
Which enzyme is responsible for forming the covalent bonds between the Okazaki
fragments produced as the lagging strand is replicated?
DNA ligase
Genetic change in bacteria (which are asexual) can be brought about by?
All of the above
An enzyme produced in response to the presence of a substrate is called a(n)?
Inducible enzyme
What is the process by which the information in mRNA is used to make proteins?
Translation
What methods is not a viable option to insert foreign DNA into cells?
Boiling the cells in the presence of foreign DNA
The enzyme reverse transcriptase is naturally found in which class of organisms?
Viruses
Which of the following mutations is likely to have the biggest on the final polypeptide
produced?
Frameshifting
The reaction catalyzed by the enzyme reverse transcriptase is?
mRNA → cDNA
How does a nonsense mutation in DNA alter the final protein product?
it changes the affected codon into a stop signal thereby truncating (shortening) the final
products

Most bacteria reproduce by?

binary fission
All adhesive first aid dressings such as band aids now allow air to pass through them
(they are breathable). Which disease infection is this feature primarily designed to
prevent?
Tetanus
In which of these processes is a plasmid passed from one bacterial cell to another
through a hair-like structure called a pilus?
Conjugation
Noncompetitive inhibitor vs. Competitive inhibitor
It would bind to B
What type of medium suppresses the growth of unwanted bacteria and enables growth
of the desired species?
Selective medium
What was the first compound truly characterized as an antibiotic?
Penicillin
The removal or destruction of ALL forms of microbial life is called
sterilization
Infections caused by which type of microorganism are the easiest to treat with drugs
bacteria
Against which class of organisms do we have the largest number of drug treatment
options?
bacteria
During DNA replication, which enzyme is responsible for adding the new nucleotides to
the growing DNA strand?
DNA polymerase
Bacteria can obtain genetic variation through all of the following processes except
sexual reproduction
Symptoms of disease differ from signs of disease in that symptoms
are changes felt by the patient.
Which of the following statements about the anti-microbial drug resistance is FALSE?
It only occurs in gram negative bacteria
Which of the following can serve as a reservoir of infection?
All of these
Cytopathic effects observed in host cells are used as an indicator of what type of
infection?
Viral
Which is the most common type of nosocomial (hospital acquired) infection?
UTI
Which of the following can contribute to postoperative infection?
All of the above
Which of the following statements about nosocomial infections is FALSE?
The patient was infected before hospitalization
Which of the following is NOT a communicable disease?
Tetanus
Which of the following definitions is INCORRECT?
Epidemic --- a small fraction of the population having a disease at a specified time

Which of the following definitions is INCORRECT?

secondary infection: a long-lasting illness

The graph below shoes the incidence during a typical year. Which letter indicates the
portion of the graph representing the endemic level of the disease?
D (Dotted bottom line)

nfluenza transmitted by an unprotected sneeze is an example of

Droplet transmission
Most human insulin used in hospitals is now purified from E. coli. Why is this possible?
The human insulin gene was cloned and inserted into E. coli
A group of people acquiring Legionnaire's disease from bacteria carried through air
conditioning ducts is an example of
Common vehicle transmission
Which of the following is NOT a predisposing factor of disease?
None of the above
Which of the following methods is not a viable option to insert foreign DNA into cells?
Boiling the cells in the presence of the foreign DNA
Which of the following is not a type of RNA molecule?
passenger RNA
Which of the following statements about bacterial endotoxin is true?
It is pyrogenic (induces a fever)
What is the correct order of the 5 steps listed below in the process of pathogenesis?
1. Microbes enter the host
2. Cause damage
3. Adhere to host tissues
4. Avoid destruction by host defenses
5. Exit host to continue chain of transmission
1, 3, 4, 2, 5
Which of the following is a biological vector?
Mosquito
Which of the following statements about exotoxins is FALSE?
They cannot be denatured or inactivated by heat
Symptoms of intense inflammation and shock occur in some gram-positive bacterial
infections due to
Superantigens
What is the name of the science that deals with when diseases and how they are
transmitted?
Epidemiology
In seminal studies in London in the mid-1800s, John Snow discovered that the
causative agent of which disease was being transmitted through the water supply?
Cholera
Which is the most frequently used portal of entry for human pathogens outside of the
hospital setting?
Mucous membranes of the respiratory tract
To which US government entity must physicians and medical professionals report every
case of a patient with certain notifiable disease they encounter?
CDC
In clinical trials , one of the key experiments performed to determine the effectiveness of
the new drug is a double-bind study. Which of the following statements best describes a
double-blind study?
Neither participants nor researchers know who is receiving the treatment
Many bacterial species organize genes encoding enzymes involved in the same
metabolic pathway in a back to back cluster with a single promoter sequence. What is
the correct scientific term for such a cluster of genes?
Operon
Blood may serve as a liquid vehicle for which of these pathogens?
HIV
Disease caused by which of the following classes of organisms are typically the most
difficult to treat with antimicrobial drugs
Viruses
Penicillin and cephalosporins interfere with the synthesis of which bacterial structure?
cell wall
Although amphotericin B (fungal) and polymyxin B (bacterial) are used to treat
completely different types of infection, they have similar mechanisms of action in that
they both target which cellular component?
Plasma membrane
Which of the following antimicrobial agents is recommended for us against fungal
infections?
Amphotericin B
Drug resistance occurs
when antibiotics are used indiscriminately
The antibiotic actinomycin D binds between adjacent G-C pairs on DNA, thus interfering
with which cellular process?
transcription
When two antibiotics used in combination have a greater therapeutic effect than either
of them used on their own this is known as...
Drug synergy
The antibiotic chloramphenicol binds to 70S ribosomes as shown in the following figure
Preventing translation in prokaryotes
The antibiotic cycloheximide binds to 80S ribosomes as shown in the following figure
(the cycloheximide molecule is represented by the black rectangle). It functions by...
preventing polypeptide elongation in eukaryotes
Niclosamide prevents ATP generation in mitochondria. Which of the following microbes
would you expect this drug to be effective against?
Helminths
Which of the following statement about anti-microbial drug resistance is FALSE?
It is found only gram-negative bacteria
Which of the following can be used to sterilize a box of plastic dishes in a plastic
sleeves?
Gamma radiation
How are protein-containing solutions such as antisera or some vaccines typically
sterilized?
filtration
Which disinfectant is the most effective at stopping bacterial growth
doom
Which disinfectant was bactericidal
Mortum
Which of the following concentrations of ethanol is the most effective bactericide?
70 percent
The method of using RFLPs to identify bacterial and viral pathogens is more commonly
called
DNA fingerprinting
Which of the following is NOT a method for inserting foreign DNA into cells?
Microinjection
Septic shock can result from using antibiotics to treat which type of infection
gram negative bacterial infections
Arthropods provide a portal of exit for microbes in which location
Blood
The ciliary escalator functions by
moving microbes towards the throat
Several fungal species are capable of causing serious infections of the lower respiratory
system mainly because fungi
produce spores
Typical pneumonia is usually caused by which bacterial species
streptococcus pneumoniae
The skin's normal microbiota contains large numbers of which class of organisms
gram positive bacteria
For drugs to able to cross the blood-brain barrier they typically need to be
lipid soluble
Which of the following group of patients is the most susceptible to fungal infections such
as Cryptococcosis
Immunocompromised individuals
The anopheles mosquito is the vector for which of the following diseases?
malaria
The microorganisms that grow in the large intestine are mostly
obligate anaerobes and facultative anaerobes
The treatment for an episode of viral gastroenteritis such as a norovirus infection is
oral rehydration
Kuru
is caused by cannibalism
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
appears in individuals over 65
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD)
eating contaminated beef
Clinical features of acute meningitis include
fever.
severe headache.
stiff neck.
All of these choices are correct.
Classic symptoms of mononucleosis occur only in
young adults age 15 to 25 years.
Which of the following forms of anthrax infection is almost always 100% fatal?
pulmonary anthrax
What is the greatest barrier that pathogens must overcome in order to cause disease in
the GI Tract?
surviving high acidity of the stomach
The process that leads to tooth decay includes
Streptococci and other bacteria ferment sugars with resulting acid by-products.
acid by-products slowly dissolve hard enamel.
destruction of enamel allows means for bacteria to penetrate into living pulp.
All of these are correct.
Commonly, diarrheal disease
goes unidentified as far as the pathogen causing it.
may have complications such as fever, bloody stools, vomiting and abdominal pain.
resolves within several days with no further problems.
All of these are correct.