Deck 11: Characterizing and Classifying Prokaryotes

Question 1

Which of the following statements regarding mycoplasmas is FALSE?

A) They are pleomorphic.
B) They exhibit a "fried egg" appearance on solid media.
C) They are low G + C content bacteria.
D) They stain Gram positive.
E) They are the smallest free- living cells.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following diseases is NOT associated with bacteria that form endospores?

A) botulism
B) gangrene
C) tetanus
D) toxic shock syndrome
E) anthrax

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Gram- negative nitrogen- fixing bacteria found in association with plant roots are

A) betaproteobacteria.
B) deeply branching bacteria.
C) gammaproteobacteria.
D) alphaproteobacteria.
E) cyanobacteria.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The are the largest known group of archaea.

A) hyperthermophiles
B) methanogens
C) halophiles
D) cyanobacteria
E) thermophiles

Question 5

Which of the following groups of bacteria lives in environments similar to those that may have existed on the early Earth?

A) cyanobacteria
B) deeply branching bacteria
C) proteobacteria
D) mycoplasmas
E) thermophiles

Question 6

Endospores

A) are resistant to everything except radiation.
B) can last for only about 10 years.
C) are bacterial reproductive structures.
D) are produced by bacteria, algae, and fungi.
E) may be produced when nutrients are scarce.

Question 7

Which of the following bacterial genera is used for the degradation of environmental pollutants?

A) Rhizobium
B) Streptomyces
C) Corynebacterium
D) Nocardia
E) Actinomyces

Question 8

A microbiologist observes what appears to be a pink- staining long rod within the periplasmic space of a Gram- negative bacillus. What is this structure likely to be?

A) Rickettsia
B) a heterocyst
C) Bdellovibrio
D) an endospore
E) Chlamydia

Question 9

A large number of Gram- negative human pathogens are members of the

A) epsilonproteobacteria.
B) deltaproteobacteria.
C) gammaproteobacteria.
D) betaproteobacteria.
E) alphaproteobacteria.

Question 10

The archaea known as halophiles

A) require temperatures above 45○C to survive.
B) are members of the phylum Euryarchaeota.
C) are members of the Euryarchaeota and require salt concentrations above 9%.
D) are members of the Euryarchaeota and require temperatures above 45○C.
E) require salt concentrations of 9% or greater to survive.

Question 11

Which of the following bacterial genera is useful for sewage treatment?

A) Thiobacillus
B) Burkholderia
C) Nitrosomonas
D) Neisseria
E) Zoogloea

Question 12

Which of the following bacteria oxidize ammonia (NH3) to produce nitrate (NO3)?

A) Rhizobium
B) Cyanobacter
C) Nitrobacter
D) Azospirillum
E) Nocardia

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT associated with bacteria in the genus Streptomyces?

A) microbial antagonism
B) antibiotic production
C) nutrient recycling in soil
D) protection of plants against caterpillars
E) the "musty" smell of soil

Question 14

Which of the following types of microbes might be found in a boiling hot spring?

A) methanogens
B) hyperthermophiles
C) actinomycetes
D) phototrophic bacteria
E) halophiles

Question 15

Low G + C content Gram- positive bacteria are

A) in the phylum Firmicutes and include Clostridia and Mycoplasma.
B) Clostridia.
C) in the phylum Actinobacteria.
D) Mycoplasma.
E) in the phylum Firmicutes.

Question 16

A species of the genus Streptococcus is the leading cause of

A) contaminated milk and meat.
B) food poisoning from rice.
C) "flesh- eating" bacterial infections.
D) tuberculosis.
E) urinary tract infections.

Question 17

Mycoplasmas are pleomorphic because they

A) have sterols in their cytoplasmic membranes.
B) exhibit snapping division.
C) are low G + C content Gram- positive bacteria.
D) produce endospores.
E) have no cell walls.

Question 18

What bacterial structure is responsible for separating the daughter DNA molecules after replication?

A) cytoplasmic membrane
B) cytoskeleton
C) cross wall
D) spindle
E) fimbria

Question 19

Which of the following bacterial genera produce(s) endospores?

A) Lactobacillus
B) Bacillus
C) Clostridium
D) both Bacillus and Lactobacillus
E) both Bacillus and Clostridium

Question 20

A Gram- positive psychrotrophic rod is a frequent contaminant of milk and meat and an opportunistic pathogen of the immunocompromised.

A) Bacillus thuringiensis
B) Listeria monocytogenes
C) Clostridium perfringens
D) Escherichia coli
E) Helicobacter pylori

Question 21

The arrangement represented in the figure is typical of which of the following genera of bacteria?

A) Escherichia
B) Corynebacterium
C) Bacillus
D) Streptococcus
E) Actinomyces

Question 22

Which of the following bacterial genera plays an important role in environmental nitrogen cycles?

A) Rhizobium
B) Nitrobacter
C) Azospirillum
D) both Nitrobacter and Rhizobium
E) Nitrobacter, Rhizobium, and Azospirillum

Question 23

Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology contains

A) recipes for bacterial growth media.
B) treatments for bacterial diseases.
C) genetic sequences of prokaryotes.
D) rules for naming new bacterial species.
E) classification schemes for prokaryotes.

Question 24

Members of the genus Chlamydia are

A) intracellular parasites.
B) Gram- positive bacteria.
C) classified with the deeply branching bacteria.
D) endospore- formers.
E) thermophiles.

Question 25

Which of the following bacterial arrangements is the result of snapping division?

A) palisades
B) sarcinae
C) strepto-
D) tetrads
E) staphylo-

Question 26

Heterocysts are found in

A) chlamydias.
B) myxobacteria.
C) cyanobacteria.
D) alphaproteobacteria.
E) mycoplasmas.

Question 27

The include the genus Aquifex.

A) proteobacteria
B) high G + C Gram- positive bacteria
C) deeply branching bacteria
D) clostridia
E) archaea

Question 28

Members of which of the following genera are the most common sexually transmitted bacteria in the United States?

A) Chlamydia
B) Treponema
C) Rickettsia
D) Bacteroides
E) Helicobacter

Question 29

Prokaryotes of the genus Pyrodictium are

A) thermophiles.
B) intracellular parasites.
C) halophiles.
D) endospore formers.
E) members of the deeply branching bacteria.

Question 30

Many cyanobacteria carry out both oxygenic photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation, but oxygen inhibits nitrogen fixation. How do these cyanobacteria manage both processes?

A) Nitrogen fixation is sequestered in special cells called heterocysts.
B) The processes are seasonal; photosynthesis occurs in summer and nitrogen fixation takes place in winter.
C) They trap the oxygen in special cells called heterocysts.
D) They have special membranous structures like chloroplasts to separate the processes within the cell.
E) They produce cells called akinetes for photosynthesis.

Question 31

Unusual cellular extensions called prosthecae are associated with which of the following groups of proteobacteria?

A) alpha
B) gamma
C) beta
D) epsilon
E) delta

Question 32

The genus Mycobacterium includes species responsible for

A) food poisoning from contaminated dairy products.
B) urinary tract infections.
C) gastric ulcers.
D) tuberculosis.
E) food poisoning from rice.

Question 33

Classification of bacteria into different phyla is based on comparisons involving which of the following?

A) protein sequences
B) DNA sequences
C) cell wall composition
D) both DNA and protein sequences
E) DNA and protein sequences, as well as cell wall composition

Question 34

Which of the following groups of bacteria is named for its resemblance to fungi?

A) Staphylococcus
B) Lactobacillus
C) Clostridium
D) Corynebacterium
E) Actinomyces

Question 35

Gram negative facultative anaerobes that metabolize carbohydrates via glycolysis are members of the

A) deltaproteobacteria.
B) gammaproteobacteria.
C) betaproteobacteria.
D) alphaproteobacteria.
E) epsilonproteobacteria.

Question 36

Which of the following bacterial genera includes species that protect areas of the body such as the intestinal tract and the vagina from invasion by pathogens?

A) Lactobacillus
B) Mycobacterium
C) Corynebacterium
D) Listeria
E) Staphylococcus

Question 37

Pseudomonas species are occasional causes of

A) food poisoning from dairy products.
B) food poisoning from rice.
C) food poisoning from contaminated meat.
D) urinary tract infections.
E) "flesh- eating" bacterial infection.

Question 38

Which of the following statements regarding pseudomonads is FALSE?

A) They cause urinary tract infections.
B) They are Gram- negative rods.
C) They are symbiotic with plants for nitrogen fixation.
D) They include Pseudomonas and Azotobacter.
E) They often contaminate food products.

Question 39

The "giant" bacterium Epulopiscium reproduces by means of

A) budding.
B) snapping division.
C) sexual reproduction.
D) viviparity.
E) binary fission.

Question 40

The anaerobic Clostridium species are troublesome pathogens largely because of their capacity for

A) oxygen production.
B) endospore production.
C) rapid reproduction.
D) biofilm production.
E) high salt tolerance.

Question 41

Some members of the alphaproteobacteria produce a structure called a (prosthecae/pilus/filament) to produce extra surface area for nutrient absorption.

Question 42

The (bacilli/Lactobacilli/bacteroids) are a group of Gram- negative bacteria that include obligate anaerobes normally found in the intestinal tracts of animals and humans.

Question 43

The most common form of reproduction among prokaryotes is (snapping/budding/binary) fission.

Question 44

What feature of mycobacteria is responsible for the unusually slow growth of these bacteria?

A) They have limited numbers of ribosomes so protein production is slow.
B) The mycolic acid in their cell walls requires signification metabolic investment.
C) They lack a cell wall and are extremely fragile.
D) Their low tolerance for oxygen retards their growth.
E) They cannot fully metabolize carbohydrates and must rely on fermentation.

Question 45

Slow- growing bacteria in the genus (Mycoplasma/Mycobacterium) are able to withstand long exposure to air because of the presence of mycolic acid in their cell wall structure.

Question 46

A field biologist finds what might be a new species of prokaryote in sewage sludge. It is an obligate anaerobe that metabolizes organic acids and requires hydrogen gas. It lacks a peptidoglycan cell wall. The new find may be a

A) mycoplasma.
B) methanogen.
C) cyanobacterium.
D) clostridium.
E) bacteroides.

Question 47

The process by which a bacterial cell produces an endospore is called (endosporing/sporulation/vegetation).

Question 48

A flexible, spiral- shaped bacterium is called a

A) spirochete.
B) spirillum.
C) vibrio.
D) coccobacillus.
E) sarcina.

Question 49

Which of the following characteristics distinguish the archaea from the bacteria?

A) cytoplasmic membrane lipids
B) 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequences
C) cell wall composition
D) cell wall composition, cytoplasmic membrane lipids, and 16S rRNA sequences
E) the deoxyribonucleotides in the DNA

Question 50

Pleomorphic bacteria

A) are flexible.
B) reproduce by snapping division.
C) vary in size and shape.
D) are roughly spherical.
E) have a slightly curved rod shape.

Question 51

Burkholderia is a common (true/opportunistic) pathogen of patients with cystic fibrosis.

Question 52

The G + C content is a(n) (RNA/structural/genetic) determination used in classifying the different taxa of Gram- positive bacteria.

Question 53

The members of the (alphaproteobacteria/gammaproteobacteria/actinomycetes) may alternate between a flagellated motile stage and a nonmotile stage attached by means of a prosthecae.

Question 54

Plant tumors caused by Agrobacterium infections are called (galls/heterocysts).

Question 55

The infective stage of chlamydia is called the (elementary/initial) body.

Question 56

The rod- shaped (rickettsias/chlamydias/brucella) are intracellular parasitic members of the alphaproteobacteria.

Question 57

This bacterial shape is called (bacillus/vibrio/rod).

Question 58

The (streptobacilli/actinomycetes/mycoplasmas) are a group of Gram- positive bacteria that form branching filaments resembling those of fungi.

Question 59

The reduction of nitrogen gas to ammonia is called nitrogen (fixation/cycling).

Question 60

The genus of pathogenic cocci responsible for a wide range of human disease and whose members grow in chains is (Staphylococcus/Streptococcus/Enterococcus).

Question 61

Myxobacteria exhibit traits, such as cooperation and differentiation, not normally observed in prokaryotes.

Question 62

Some strains of Staphylococcus aureus can invade the body and cause diseases such as pneumonia and bacteremia.

Question 63

Mycoplasmas are named for the large quantities of mycolic acid in their cell walls.

Question 64

Members of the Streptomyces are environmentally important because they can degrade a wide range of compounds including lignin from trees, chitin and keratin from animals, and latex.

Question 65

Describe the similarities and differences observed among phototrophic bacteria.

Question 66

Describe the major taxonomic divisions of prokaryotic organisms.

Question 67

Most of the methane produced by methanogens is oxidized by other types of bacteria before it affects the Earth's climate.

Question 68

The majority of archaea are extremophiles.

Question 69

Cocci can be spherical as well as kidney- shaped.

Question 70

Compare and contrast methanogens and methane oxidizers, including their roles in the environment.

Question 71

Explain the significance of endospores.

Question 72

Will is a graduate student working in a microbiology lab. He is given the task of characterizing a newly discovered nitrogen fixing bacterium. What type of tests or observations will help him determine whether it is a member of the Cyanobacteria, alphaproteobacteria or gammaproteobacteria?

Question 73

When an endospore germinates, it gives rise to two daughter cells called vegetative cells.

Question 74

All taxonomists are in agreement about the taxonomic scheme set forth in Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology.

Question 75

Halophiles grow equally well in the presence or absence of high salt concentrations.