Download TOPICS FOR EXAMINATION II – Biology 1406

TOPICS FOR EXAMINATION II - Biology 2320, Talaro 9th
You may 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? What
do mutations do to an organism's 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? How are R plasmids transferred by
conjugation?
PRINT THE R PLASMID HANDOUT FOUND ON THIS WEBSITE AND BRING IT TO THE
CHAPTER 9 LECTURE!
Chapter 10
What is 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? What are 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.