Deck 12: Microbial Biotechnology

Question 1

How do fed batch reactors maximize cell density,and therefore product yield?

A)By providing a growth-limiting nutrient over time.
B)By maximizing cell growth rate.
C)By supplying excess essential vitamins.
D)By providing excess oxygen for growth.
E)By maintaining an anaerobic environment.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Why is a beta galactosidase fusion protein produced as part of recombinant insulin production?

A)To increase the biological activity of the protein.
B)To increase overall expression of the cloned gene.
C)To facilitate the purification of the A chain recombinant protein.
D)To facilitate the purification of the B chain recombinant protein.
E)To facilitate the purification of theA and B chain recombinant proteins.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Statins work to reduce cholesterol levels in humans by:

A)competitively inhibiting HMG-coA reductaseenzyme
B)non-competitively inhibiting HMG-coA reductaseenzyme
C)preventing transcription of HMG-coA reductasemRNA
D)preventing translation of HMG-coA reductaseenzyme
E)activating HMG-coA reductaseenzyme

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What essential principle of PCR appears to have been overlooked in the figure depicting Part B (PCR-based site directed mutagenesis)?

A)Single stranded DNA production is essential for PCR to proceed
B)Plasmids must contain a resistance marker
C)Plasmids must possess an origin of replication
D)Phage activity could methylate both DNA strands
E)None is relevant to the figure shown

Question 5

Which was the first recombinant human protein produced and marketed commercially?

A)insulin
B)human growth hormone
C)recombinant factor VIII
D)cytochrome c oxidase
E)thyroid hormone

Question 6

You aim to isolate insulin from a recombinant E.coli strain.During which phase of growth should its production be induced?

A)lag
B)log
C)stationary
D)death
E)all phases are equivalent

Question 7

Why is an affinity tag fusion protein produced?

A)To increase the biological activity of the protein.
B)To increase overall expression of the cloned gene.
C)To facilitate the purification of the recombinant protein.
D)To ensure correct transcription termination.
E)To ensure that translation starts correctly.

Question 8

Eukaryal proteins that are expressed in bacteria frequently have low biological activity.Why?

A)The introns were not removed from the mRNA.
B)The protein was not modified by glycosylation..
C)Eukaryotic proteins are only partly translated by bacteria.
D)The eukaryal genetic code is different from bacterial genetic code.
E)The translation termination rarely occurs correctly.

Question 9

Medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology innovations belong to the grouping sometimes referred to as

A)white biotechnology
B)green biotechnology
C)red biotechnology
D)yellow biotechnology
E)blue biotechnology

Question 10

Under what condition would directed enzyme evolution be more appropriate that site-directed mutagenesis?

A)When attempting to produce an altered enzyme.
B)When you want the enzyme to catalyze a different type of reaction.
C)If very little is known about the enzyme structure.
D)If you want to permanently disable the enzyme.
E)If you want the enzyme expressed in a different organism.

Question 11

For optimal expression of a eukaryal gene in bacteria,the expression vector must contain all of the following except one.Which would it NOT include?

A)a bacterial promoter
B)a bacterial termination sequence
C)a bacterial ribosomal binding site
D)a protein to remove the introns
E)a regulatable promoter

Question 12

Which of the following methods have been used to increase product production by an industrial microbial strain?

A)site-directed mutagenesis
B)random mutagenesis
C)transformation
D)transduction
E)all of these choices have been used.

Question 13

For optimal expression of a eukaryal gene in a eukaryal cell,the expression vector must contain all of the following except one.Which would it NOT include?

A)a eukaryal promoter
B)a eukaryal termination sequence
C)a eukaryal Shine Dalgarno sequence
D)a protein to remove the introns
E)a regulatable promoter

Question 14

A fed-batch reactor is different from a chemostat because a chemostat culture:

A)promotes density with a limiting nutrient.
B)replaces spent media with fresh medium.
C)has very high cell densities.
D)uses excess nutrients.
E)is aerated while a fed-batch culture is anaerobic.

Question 15

Expression vectors are used for which of these processes?

A)site-directed mutagenesis
B)directed enzyme evolution
C)recombinant protein production
D)random mutagenesis
E)DNA shuffling experiments

Question 16

Which of these would be an example of a "primary metabolite" fermentation product?

A)ethanol
B)penicillin
C)streptomycin
D)bacitracin
E)erythromycin.

Question 17

What does the term "fermentation" refer to in an industrial microbiology setting?

A)The anaerobic growth of microbes.
B)The production of acids and alcohols.
C)The production of all fermentation-based products.
D)The mass culturing of microbes for the production of a valuable product.
E)A low energy yielding catabolic process.

Question 18

Which of these utilizes "error-prone polymerase chain reaction"?

A)site-directed mutagenesis
B)directed enzyme evolution
C)random mutagenesis of the genome
D)gene linkage experiments
E)gene regulation experiments

Question 19

You aim to isolate pyruvate from an overproducing E.coli strain.During which phase of growth should its production be maximal?

A)lag
B)log
C)stationary
D)death
E)all phases are equivalent

Question 20

Which of these would be an example of a "secondary metabolite" fermentation product?

A)ethanol
B)acetone
C)butanol
D)penicillin
E)propanol

Question 21

Although plant biomass is plentiful for use as biofuel,which major problem needs to be overcome?

A)Increasing the efficiency of breakdown of cellulose into glucose.
B)Decreasing the cost of production of plant biomass.
C)Increasing the production of cars that can run on ethanol.
D)Polluting by-products of the conversion of glucose to ethanol.
E)Increasing use of biofuels may drive crop prices down.

Question 22

Why might butanol be a better biofuel than ethanol?

A)Butanol has a higher octane rating.
B)Butanol is easier to produce.
C)Butanol contains more energy per unit volume.
D)Butanol can be produced from cheaper feedstocks.
E)Butanol costs less to produce.

Question 23

Most motor vehicles sold in this country burn ethanol rather than gasoline.

A)United States
B)Canada
C)Mexico
D)Russia
E)Brazil

Question 24

Millions of tons of this amino acid,commonly used as a flavor enhancer,are produced annually.

A)methionine
B)glycine
C)glutamate
D)valine
E)leucine

Question 25

Which primary fraction of plant biomass is used as feedstock for biofuels production?

A)disaccharides
B)cellulose
C)pectin
D)chitin
E)protein

Question 26

The EPSP (5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate)gene that permitted crop plants to develop Roundup tolerance originated in:

A)petunias
B)bacteria
C)lepidoptera
D)chrysids
E)viruses

Question 27

Amylase enzymes followed by glucose isomerase are used to make which sweetener?

A)NutraSweet™ (aspartame)
B)high fructose corn syrup
C)saccharin.
D)sucrose
E)Splenda™ (sucralose)

Question 28

Current biofuel research is focused on the use of microalgae for the production of this material.

A)ethanol
B)methanol
C)biodiesel.
D)cellulase
E)methane

Question 29

What vitamin is used to treat pernicious anemia?

A)C
B)B₁
C)B₁₂
D)niacin
E)B₆

Question 30

Which of these is NOT considered a biofuel?

A)ethanol
B)methane
C)solar cells
D)algal lipids
E)butanol

Question 31

In creating Roundup- ready transgenic plants,the petunia EPSP gene product provided:

A)gene sequences to assist in homologous recombination events
B)a leader sequence likely to facilitate organellar transport of the desired gene product
C)genetic material to be inserted into the Ti plasmid
D)the first transgenic crop plant DNA donor
E)none is a correct choice

Question 32

Microbes used for the production of amino acids are regulatory mutants for overproduction of the amino acid.The regulatory mutants are selected for by growing the microbe in the presence what material?

A)an antibiotic
B)a mutagen
C)an amino acid analog
D)the amino acid of interest
E)an excess of glucose

Question 33

Why do microorganisms accumulate polyhydroxyalkanoates?

A)It is a waste product of metabolism.
B)It is used for cell wall synthesis.
C)It is a form of stored energy..
D)It acts as an outer capsule.
E)For osmotic protection.

Question 34

Why are bioplastics often preferred over conventional plastics?

A)Bioplastics are stronger.
B)Bioplastics are less dense.
C)Bioplastics are biodegradable.
D)Bioplastics are cheaper to produce.
E)Bioplastics are more pliable.

Question 35

Which of these amino acids are commonly used as supplements in animal feed to promote growth?

A)glycine and glutamate
B)methionine and lysine
C)proline and valine
D)tryptophan and tyrosine
E)aspartate and histidine

Question 36

Polyhydroxyalkanoates are associated with the production of this material.

A)ethanol
B)methane
C)biodiesel
D)butanol
E)bioplastics

Question 37

The main advantage of using microorganisms for the production of amino acids over chemical synthesis is …

A)cost.
B)stereospecificity.
C)increased production yield.
D)ease of purification.
E)a single microbe will produce all 20 amino acids.

Question 38

Why is the use of cyanobacteria for the production of bioplastics an attractive commercial investment?

A)Their PHA are stronger than those found in other bacteria.
B)The cost of production is less.
C)Their bioplastics are lighter than other types.
D)Their bioplastics are more pliable.
E)The PHA produced are easier to work with than other types.

Question 39

Which of these amino acids are used for the production of the sweetener aspartame?

A)glycine and asparagine
B)glutamate and asparagine
C)aspartate and phenylalanine
D)aspartate and glycine
E)tryptophan and proline

Question 40

The introduction of DNA into plants for the creation of transgenic plants often uses a plasmid mediated process from which bacterium?

A)Rhizobium legmuninosarum
B)Pseudomonas syringae
C)Corynebacterium glutamicum
D)Xanthomonas campestris
E)Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Question 41

Why are the opine synthesis genes considered expendible in a pTi vector for transgenic plant creation? (Select all that apply)

A)bacterial reproduction will not be essential in the transgenic plant
B)plant anabolism is not opine-dependent
C)their removal enables larger recombinant gene fragments to be introduced into the recipient plant
D)Their contribution to virulence is offset by dual plasmid transfers
E)None is a correct choice

Question 42

The CRISPR-Cas DNA editing system relies upon: (Select all that apply)

A)DNA sequence recognition through homologous DNA pairing
B)DNA sequence recognition through homologous RNA pairing
C)DNA sequence recognition through DNA binding protein specificity
D)Cas endonuclease avtivity
E)CRISPR endonuclease activity

Question 43

The EPSP (5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate)gene that permitted crop plants to develop Roundup tolerance was first introduced into:

A)petunias
B)bacteria
C)soybeans
D)chrysids
E)viruses

Question 44

You are isolating a recombinant gene product from yeast cells.You observe that its production level and growth rate seem tied together .What terms would correctly describe the product? (Select all that apply)

A)industrial fermentation product
B)biochemical fermentation product
C)primary metabolite
D)secondary metabolite
E)tertiary metabolite

Question 45

Why are the phytohormone genes considered expendible in a pTi vector for transgenic plant creation? (Select all that apply)

A)bacterial reproduction will not be essential in the transgenic plant
B)plant anabolism is not phytohormone-dependent
C)their removal enables larger recombinant gene fragments to be introduced into the recipient plant
D)Formation of a tumorous cell mass favoring bacterial growth is not desirable in future transgenic plants
E)None is a correct choice

Question 46

Use of the Ti plasmid (pTi)binary vector system to create recombinant pants requires retention in the T-DNA of: (Select all that apply)

A)opine synthesis genes
B)plant hormone genes
C)plasmid transfer genes
D)bacterial origin of replication
E)none of the choices

Question 47

Tolerance to Roundup in crop plants relies on:

A)resistance to antibiotics
B)acquisition of an enzyme which inhibits EPSP (5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate)activity
C)acquisition of an enzyme which provides EPSP (5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate)activity
D)resistance to EPSP
E)applying Roundup to crops once seedlings emerge

Question 48

Which of these proteins could theoretically be mutated in order to create novel site specific DNA binding proteins with double strand endonuclease activity? (Select all that apply)

A)Restriction endonucleases
B)Zinc finger nucleases
C)Repressor proteins
D)Inducer molecules
E)Transcription activator-like effector nucleases

Question 49

Which modification might best produce cloned thermostable enzymes for industrial applications?

A)increasing the number of cysteine residues in the recombinant protein
B)expression in a eukaryal vector to increase protein methylation
C)expression in a eukaryal vector to increase protein acetylation
D)expression in a bacterial vector to increase protein methylation
E)modifying UGA stop codons to increase peptide length

Question 50

Random mutagenesis is often used in industry to produce microbial strains that have increased production ability.

Question 51

Why are microbial enzymes for the production of many pharmaceutical drugs sometimes favored over chemical synthesis? (Select all that apply)

A)Microbial enzymes catalyze stereospecific reactions.
B)Microbial enzymes are easier to obtain.
C)Microbial production may be cheaper.
D)Microbial enzymes are more temperature sensitive.
E)Microbial enzymes catalyze the reactions at faster rates.

Question 52

Why may an affinity tag fusion protein be produced? (Select all that apply)

A)To increase the biological activity of the protein.
B)To facilitate location intracellularly or intra-organismally of the recombinant protein.
C)To facilitate the purification of the recombinant protein.
D)To ensure correct transcription termination.
E)To ensure that translation starts correctly.

Question 53

Use of the Ti plasmid (pTi)binary vector system to create recombinant pants requires retention in the T-DNA of: (Select all that apply)

A)an antibiotic resistance gene
B)plant hormone genes
C)a chromogenic selectable marker
D)bacterial origin of replication
E)none of the choices

Question 54

Which of these proteins would be useful in experiments designed to use a DNA shuffling approach for directed evolution?

A)Restriction endonucleases
B)Zinc finger nucleases
C)Repressor proteins
D)Inducer molecules
E)Transcription activator-like effector nucleases

Question 55

Insect resistant transgenic plants are produced by the insertion of a gene into the plant genome from which insect toxin-producing bacterium?

A)Agrobacterium tumefaciens
B)Bacillus thuringiensis
C)Corynebacterium glutamicum
D Pseudomonas syringae
E)Xanthomonas campestris

Question 56

Roundup Ready™ transgenic plants were created by inserting a glyphosate resistant gene from ___________________ into the plant chloroplast genome.

A)Rhizobium
B)Agrobacterium
C)Pseudomonas
D)Xanthomonas
E)Corynebacterium

Question 57

Which of these proteins could theoretically be mutated in order to create novel site specific DNA binding proteins with single strand endonuclease activity? (Select all that apply)

A)Restriction endonucleases
B)Zinc finger nucleases
C)Repressor proteins
D)Inducer molecules
E)Transcription activator-like effector nucleases

Question 58

Which chemostat type is most likely to produce large quantities of a secondary metabolite? (Select all that apply)

A)a chemostat reactor
B)a fed-batch reactor
C)one allowing cells to reach stationary phase
D)one maintaining exponential growth
E)one where cells are in the death phase

Question 59

To what are the yellow regions of pTi analogous?

A)IS repeats from transposable elements
B)Origin of replication sites
C)Strong promoters
D)Restriction enzyme recognition sites
E)None is a correct possibility

Question 60

What purposes may secondary metabolites serve? (Select all that apply)

A)Active ingredient in alcoholic beverages
B)Antibacterial agents
C)Antiviral agents
D)Cholesterol synthesis enhancing agents
E)Protein therapy for diabetics

Question 61

The bacterium Bacillus megaterium naturally accumulates the storage granule poly-β-hydroxybutyrate.This storage product is used to make _________.

Question 62

PCR can be used to introduce mutations into a microbial genome.

Question 63

Cyanobacteria are known to accumulate polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA).

Question 64

The preferred fuel of choice for the original Model T Ford was gasoline.

Question 65

Some types of anti-cholesterol drugs,such as the statins,are produced by microbes.

Question 66

Expression of eukaryal DNA in bacterial cells requires the insertion of _______ into the plasmid expression vector as the structural component of the gene.