Download Exam #1

MICRB 201
Study Guide for Exam 1
Content found in Textbook Chapters: 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8
Jeopardy questions and answers are attached. These will help, especially for picking up some bonus
points on the history of microbiology found (see Ch 1)
Bonus Topics on the History of Microbiology:
Early developments in microscopy that lead to observations of microbes (Hooke;
van Leeuwenhoek)
Spontaneous generation (Vitalism vs Mechanism) (Redi, Needham, Pasteur)
Early epidemiological studies (Semmelweis and Snow)
The Germ Theory of Disease (Pasteur and Koch)
Koch’s Postulates
Early immunological studies (Jenner, Pasteur, Metchnikoff, and von Behring)
Early environmental microbiology (Winogradsky and Beijerinck)
Know the types of organisms that are studied in microbiology (bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists, algae,
animal parasites) and their general differences.
Offer some reasons as to why study microbes.
Size, shape and arrangement of prokaryote cells.
Know the “what?” and “where?” for Prokaryote cell structures.
Know the composition and function of Glycocalyx (capsule and slime layer) and S-layer.
How are fimbriae different than pili?
Locations and structure of flagella.
Chemostaxis and flagella motility.
Role of cell wall for cells placed in hypoosmotic conditions. What’s this called. What happens to a
cell placed in hyperosmotic conditions.
General difference between Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial cell wall types.
Peptidoglycan structure differences for Gram positive versus Gram negative cell wall types (thickness,
side chain linkage with or without cross-bridge peptide, techoic acid, Braun’s lipoprotein, outer
membrane, lipopolysaccharide (LPS).
Plasma membrane: lipid structure; factors influencing fluidity and stability; general functions.
General function of internal membranes; understand that their high surface area provided space for a
larger number of membrane bound metabolic functions (i.e. photosynthesis or chemosynthesis).
Cell inclusions (name recognition to general function; i.e be able to match)
Ribosome general structure and function
Nucleoid structure.
Binary fission
Endospore conditions of formation and cell location.
Sporulation process (structures and composition) & germination (3 steps)
What are the resources necessary for life? (energy, elections, macro- and micro- nutrients). What kind
of work is cellular energy used for? What’s a growth factor?
Explain the four major physiological categories (Nutrition Types) based on energy, electrons and
carbon sources.
How does Shelford’s Law of Tolerance apply to physical and chemical conditions for microbial
growth?
State the meaning of Liebig’s Law of the Minimum. What is meant by that growth limiting nutrient?
Understand how we describe culture media and which type may be used for a particular application.
(e.g. Selective and differential media is good for attempts to isolate a particular group of bacteria from
a soil sample with thousands of bacterial species).
What is meant by open versus closed culture systems?
What are the four phases of growth in a batch (closed) culture? Understand what is happening in each
phases of the “growth curve”. When growth is balanced versus unbalanced; what’s that mean?
Exponential (log) growth phase is used to calculate growth rate constant (k). How is this done? If you
know the value of k, how do you determine the generation (doubling) time, g?
How does nutrient concentration affect growth dynamics (rate and total biomass) in a batch culture?
What is the difference in a chemostat versus a turbidostat, consider function and application of each.
Know temperature classes based on approximate optima growth temperatures.
How can a hyperthermophile maintain stables membranes (lipids), proteins, and DNA given the high
temperature of their environment; know the opposite for psychrophiles.
What’s water activity, an osmotolerant microbe (which is more bacteria or fungi), and a halophile?
How can pH negatively affect cells? What are acidophiles, nuetrophiles and alkalophiles.
Define the 5 oxygen requirement classes of microbes. Which enzymes prevent O2 damage? Explain.
Barophiles have adapted to barometric pressure in what way(s)? What is a barotolerant microbe?
Electromagnetic Radiation: What are the risks and/or benefits of ionizing, ultraviolet, and visible
spectra radiation?
Know the difference between passive and facilitated transport and how rate of transport is affected by
concentration of the nutrient (substrate) transported.
How is active transport different from the two diffusive transport mechanisms? Know the difference in
energy source for primary, secondary, and group translocation active transport. How are antiport and
symport secondary transporters different? What’s a siderophore and why are they needed?