Question 1

The first disease to be identified as being caused by a virus was tobacco mosaic disease.

Accepted Answer

Tobacco mosaic disease was the first plant disease to be identified as being caused by a virus in 1898 by Russian botanist Dmitri Ivanovsky.

Question 2

Who is credited with developing a vaccine against chicken cholera?

Accepted Answer

Louis Pasteur is credited with developing a vaccine against chicken cholera in 1879.

Question 3

Studies by Emil von Behring and Shibasaburo Kitasato demonstrated that inactivated toxins can induce the synthesis of antitoxins in the blood of rabbits.These antitoxins (antibodies)are the basis of

Accepted Answer

The production of antitoxins in response to inactivated toxins is a classic example of humoral immunity. Antibodies are produced by B cells in response to the presence of specific antigens (in this case, the inactivated toxin). These antibodies are then able to recognize and neutralize the toxin, thereby protecting the host. Cell-mediated immunity, on the other hand, involves the activation of T cells to directly attack infected or abnormal cells. Antibiotic immunity is not a recognized form of immunity, and phagocyte-mediated immunity is a component of innate immunity that involves the ingestion and destruction of foreign pathogens by white blood cells called phagocytes.

Question 4

Edward Jenner's work in preventing rabies led to the use of the term vaccination to describe a type of procedure used in the prevention of disease.

Accepted Answer

Edward Jenner's work was focused on preventing smallpox, not rabies, leading to the development and use of the term vaccination.

Question 5

Antiseptic surgery was pioneered by

Accepted Answer

Antiseptic surgery was pioneered by Joseph Lister, who developed the use of carbolic acid (phenol) as a disinfectant during surgery. Pasteur was a microbiologist who developed the germ theory of disease, Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine, and Kitasato was a bacteriologist who contributed to the study of tetanus toxoid.

Question 6

Who of the following first discovered that some blood leukocytes could engulf disease-causing bacteria?

Accepted Answer

Élie Metchnikoff, a Russian zoologist, is credited with discovering phagocytosis in 1882. He observed that certain cells in the starfish larvae could engulf and digest foreign particles, including bacteria. This discovery revolutionized the study of immunology and opened up new avenues for understanding the body's defenses against infection.

Question 7

M.J.Berkeley demonstrated that the great potato blight of Ireland was caused by a fungus.

Accepted Answer

M.J. Berkeley, a botanist, was the first to identify the fungus Phytophthora infestans as the cause of the potato blight in Ireland in 1845.

Question 8

Although developed over 100 years ago,Koch's postulates continue to be used successfully in all known human infectious diseases.

Accepted Answer

Koch's postulates have limitations, especially with diseases caused by viruses and prions, or when the bacterium cannot be cultured in pure form outside the human body.

Question 9

Invisible living creatures were thought to exist and cause disease long before they were ever observed.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Beliefs in invisible living creatures causing disease date back centuries before the invention of microscopes, which allowed scientists to finally observe and identify microorganisms as the cause of many diseases.

Question 10

Koch's postulates were instrumental in establishing that Mycobacterium leprae is the cause of leprosy.

Accepted Answer

Koch's postulates could not be fully applied to Mycobacterium leprae because it cannot be grown in pure culture in the laboratory, which is one of the requirements of the postulates.

Question 11

Old cultures of bacteria that have lost their ability to cause disease are said to be

Accepted Answer

Old cultures of bacteria that have lost their ability to cause disease are referred to as attenuated. Attenuation can occur naturally over time or through deliberate methods such as culturing the bacteria under specific conditions or exposure to environmental stressors. Attenuated bacteria can still be useful in medicine for vaccine development or in bioremediation to break down pollutants.

Question 12

Who is credited with developing and documenting the first vaccination procedure against smallpox?

Accepted Answer

The first vaccination procedure against smallpox was developed and documented by Edward Jenner in the late 18th century. He discovered that milkmaids who had contracted cowpox, a less severe disease than smallpox, were immune to smallpox. He used this knowledge to develop the first smallpox vaccine by injecting a boy with cowpox, and then exposing the boy to smallpox, which he did not contract. This discovery led to the eradication of smallpox globally. Koch discovered the tuberculosis bacterium, Pasteur developed methods for preventing diseases such as anthrax and rabies through vaccination, and Lister is credited with introducing antiseptic practices in surgery.

Question 13

John Tyndall demonstrated that microorganisms present in the air are carried on dust particles.

Accepted Answer

John Tyndall's experiments showed that dust particles in the air were carriers of microorganisms.

Question 14

Whose work on spontaneous generation first demonstrated the existence of a very heat-resistant form of bacteria that are called endospores?

Accepted Answer

Tyndall's work on spontaneous generation involved the use of a specialized apparatus designed to filter out all living organisms from the air. He observed that even after repeated sterilization of the apparatus and the materials used in it, certain types of bacteria were still able to grow. He identified these bacteria as endospores, which are highly heat-resistant and capable of surviving even under extreme conditions. This work laid the foundation for future studies of bacterial spores and their resistance to heat and other environmental stresses.

Question 15

The use of enrichment cultures and selective media was pioneered by

Accepted Answer

Enrichment cultures and selective media were first developed by Martinus Beijerinck, a Dutch microbiologist, in the late 19th and early 20th century. Beijerinck is known as one of the founders of modern virology and environmental microbiology.

Question 16

The first surgical antiseptic to be used was

Accepted Answer

Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, was the first surgical antiseptic to be used. It was first introduced by Joseph Lister in the 1860s and proved to be effective in reducing surgical infections.

Question 17

Charles Chamberland developed porcelain filters that allowed other scientists to demonstrate that viruses are smaller than bacteria.

Accepted Answer

Charles Chamberland did indeed develop porcelain filters that allowed other scientists to demonstrate that viruses are smaller than bacteria.

Question 18

Viruses and bacteria were first cultured in the laboratory at about the same time.

Accepted Answer

Bacteria were first successfully cultured in 1885 by Robert Koch, while viruses were not successfully cultured until 1931 by Ernest William Goodpasture.

Question 19

Fanny Hesse first suggested that agar be used to solidify microbiological media.

Accepted Answer

Fanny Hesse, the wife of scientist Richard Hesse, first suggested using agar as a solidifying agent for microbiological media in 1882. This discovery revolutionized microbiology and paved the way for the development of many important laboratory techniques.

Question 20

Agastino Bassi demonstrated that a type of silkworm disease was caused by a fungus and proposed that many diseases are caused by microorganisms.

Accepted Answer

Agastino Bassi's work on silkworm disease and microorganisms helped to establish the field of microbiology and the understanding of how diseases can be caused by microscopic organisms such as bacteria and fungi.

Quiz 1: The Evolution of Microorganisms and Microbiology