EXAM REVIEW

for

MICROBIOLOGY EXAM #2

MICROBIAL GROWTH and NUTRITION

Understand and be able to interpret a bacterial growth curve : what do each of the different phases tell us about the physiological state of the bacteria.

What is generation time?

How is it obtained?

What is meant by exponential growth?

What is meant by binary fission?

How do environmental factors affect cell growth and why?

Why are some bacteria anaerobic? What do they lack? Why is this important?

Know the difference between macro and micro nutrients and be able to give examples of each.

Be able to describe the four nutritional categories of bacteria  e.g.: photoautotrophs, chemoheterotrophs,etc

Know the various descriptions of bacteria based on their response to environmental factors:

Oxygen concentration               Salt concentration

Temperature                             pH 

Be able to label and describe the various stages in a growth curve

Be able to determine from a growth curve the generation time of a bacterium.

Be able to describe the various ways by which microbes can be counted.

GENETICS and BIOTECHNOLOGY

replication                                 transcription

translation                                 nucleotide

RNA                                        DNA

Know the differences between DNA and RNA.

Know what happens in transcription

Know what happens in translation

Be able to explain  (and compare) the workings of an inducible operon and a repressible operon

Explain the concept of catabolite repression

Know the different types of extra-chromosomal DNA and what each does

Know how DNA can enter a cell and be changed during its replication

Know the different types of mutations and how they might affect the cell

Know the ways in which humans can manipulate DNA : cloning, recombination, PCR

VIRUSES

What is a virus?

Explain the generalized life cycle of a virus

Explain the differences between the various types of viruses based on nucleic acid composition

Be able to give a sample description of a various viral diseases and their causative agents

PROTISTS and PROTOZOAN DISEASES

PROTISTS and DISEASES    

Know the general characteristics that define the protists ( esp. the protozoans)

Know the characteristics of the protist diseases discussed in class:

Amoebic dysentery

Giardiasis

African sleeping sickness

Chagas’ disease

Trichomonas

Malaria

toxoplasmosis

Mycoses:         

            Know the name of the disease, the area affected and the entire name of the pathogen

Dermatomycoses (dermatophytes) : tineas, blastomycosis, candidiasis

Respiratory mycoses: histoplasmosis, coccidiodomycosis

Helminthic diseases  :

Be familiar with general characteristics of the helminthes described in class: where found and the diseases they cause