Question 1

Staining methods are suitable for obtaining ________ information about the number of cells in natural samples.

Accepted Answer

A)   qualitative
B)   quantitative
C)   both qualitative and quantitative
D)   neither qualitative nor quantitativeE) A) and B)
F) B) and C)

Question 2

Describe what an ITS region is in the context of prokaryotes,and explain the significance of the ITS region for microbial ecology.

Accepted Answer

The ITS region is the nucleotides betwee...

Question 3

How do viability stains usually distinguish between living cells and dead cells?

Accepted Answer

A)   The chemical fluoresces only when bound to ribosomes that are actively synthesizing proteins.
B)   The chemical stain is taken up by living cells and once metabolized becomes fluorescent.
C)   The dye specifically targets intact cytoplasmic membranes.
D)   The dye's fluorescence is quenched by dead cells.E) All of the above
F) B) and C)

Question 4

Thirty organisms containing the same phylogenetic marker are all considered to be within the same

Accepted Answer

A)   phylotype.
B)   species.
C)   functional group.
D)   phylogenetic tree.E) None of the above
F) A) and B)

Question 5

Laser tweezers are used for

Accepted Answer

A)   testing the purity of a culture.
B)   isolating individual cells.
C)   separating aerobes from anaerobes.
D)   enhancing the growth of fastidious organisms.E) C) and D)
F) None of the above

Question 6

Combined with autofluoresence or fluorescent DNA probes,flow cytometry can separate or count populations of cells from aquatic environments.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning enrichment bias?

Accepted Answer

A)   Dilution of the inoculum may help to avoid enrichment bias in some cases.
B)   Enrichment bias is impossible to overcome in some oligotrophic environments.
C)   Enrichment bias resulted in the underestimation of prokaryotic diversity.
D)   Enrichment bias favors organisms that grow quickly.E) All of the above
F) B) and C)

Question 8

Describe how FISH can be used to determine which cells within a microbial community are actively degrading toluene.Assume the genes involved in the metabolic pathway have been sequenced from several microorganisms and vary only slightly from one another.

Accepted Answer

A conserved gene sequence would need to ...

Question 9

The science of microbial ecology deals with

Accepted Answer

A)   how microbial communities interact with each other and their environment.
B)   microbial activity and biodiversity.
C)   microbial gene regulation mechanisms in response to environmental change.
D)   how the activity and biodiversity of microbial communities affect microbial interactions with each other and the environment.E) None of the above
F) B) and D)

Question 10

Which molecular method allows for the detection of a specific organism within a diverse microbial community?

Accepted Answer

A)   fluorescent DNA staining using DAPI
B)   viability staining
C)   enrichment techniques
D)   fluorescent in situ hybridizationE) B) and D)
F) B) and C)

Question 11

The methodology of microbial ecology includes

Accepted Answer

A)   enrichment and isolation of specific microbes.
B)   cell-staining methods.
C)   gene, transcript, and protein characterization.
D)   enrichment and isolation of specific microbes, cell-staining, and gene, transcript, and protein characterization.E) None of the above
F) A) and D)

Question 12

Diversity is often ________ when ARISA or T-RFLP is used.

Accepted Answer

A)   underestimated
B)   overestimated
C)   not represented
D)   biasedE) B) and C)
F) A) and C)

Question 13

What technique(s) can be used to characterize the phylogenetic composition of a microbial community without culturing any of the members?

Accepted Answer

A)   green fluorescent protein tagging
B)   stable isotope techniques
C)   radioisotope experiments
D)   fluorescent in situ hybridizationE) A) and C)
F) B) and C)

Question 14

Propose an experiment to identify members capable of assimilating monomers of lignin within a microbial community.

Accepted Answer

SIP could be used,which would require is...

Question 15

We know that that there are over 50 major phyla in Bacteria; however,only about 25 of these phyla have cultured representatives.Why is this? How are scientists attempting to culture representative from the 25 phyla that do not currently have any organisms in culture?

Accepted Answer

We know that more phyla of Bacteria exis...

Question 16

Single-cell genomics may help us

Accepted Answer

A)   predict which microbes will be abundant based on the environmental conditions.
B)   understand the physiology of uncultured microbes.
C)   develop better enrichment culture methods.
D)   understand the physiology of uncultured microbes and develop better enrichment culture methods.E) B) and C)
F) None of the above

Question 17

Organisms in natural environments can be detected by assaying for the presence of their genes.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

DGGE and T-RFLP are both molecular microbial ecology methods that use the polymerase chain reaction to amplify specific genes to assess diversity.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

The goal of environmental genomics is to detect as many genes as possible and then,if possible,to determine to the phylogeny of the organisms to which the genes belong.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

How would you label and separate the DNA of unknown methylotrophs in a sample?

Accepted Answer

A)   Incubate the sample with ¹³C-methane.
B)   Hybridize the DNA to FISH probes.
C)   Use DGGE to separate the strands of DNA in the sample.
D)   Use T-RFLP to identify the methylotroph DNA in the sample.E) A) and D)
F) B) and C)

Exam 18: Methods in Microbial Ecology

Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning enrichment bias?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which molecular method allows for the detection of a specific organism within a diverse microbial community?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The goal of environmental genomics is to detect as many genes as possible and then,if possible,to determine to the phylogeny of the organisms to which the genes belong.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Describe what an ITS region is in the context of prokaryotes,and explain the significance of the ITS region for microbial ecology.

Correct AnswerverifiedThe ITS region is the nucleotides betwee...View AnswerShow Answer

Thirty organisms containing the same phylogenetic marker are all considered to be within the same

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The methodology of microbial ecology includes

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Staining methods are suitable for obtaining ________ information about the number of cells in natural samples.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

We know that that there are over 50 major phyla in Bacteria; however,only about 25 of these phyla have cultured representatives.Why is this? How are scientists attempting to culture representative from the 25 phyla that do not currently have any organisms in culture?

Correct AnswerverifiedWe know that more phyla of Bacteria exis...View AnswerShow Answer

Describe how FISH can be used to determine which cells within a microbial community are actively degrading toluene.Assume the genes involved in the metabolic pathway have been sequenced from several microorganisms and vary only slightly from one another.

Correct AnswerverifiedA conserved gene sequence would need to ...View AnswerShow Answer

Single-cell genomics may help us

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Combined with autofluoresence or fluorescent DNA probes,flow cytometry can separate or count populations of cells from aquatic environments.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Diversity is often ________ when ARISA or T-RFLP is used.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What technique(s) can be used to characterize the phylogenetic composition of a microbial community without culturing any of the members?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

How would you label and separate the DNA of unknown methylotrophs in a sample?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Propose an experiment to identify members capable of assimilating monomers of lignin within a microbial community.

Correct AnswerverifiedSIP could be used,which would require is...View AnswerShow Answer

Organisms in natural environments can be detected by assaying for the presence of their genes.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Laser tweezers are used for

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

How do viability stains usually distinguish between living cells and dead cells?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

DGGE and T-RFLP are both molecular microbial ecology methods that use the polymerase chain reaction to amplify specific genes to assess diversity.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The science of microbial ecology deals with

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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The ITS region is the nucleotides betwee...
View Answer

Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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We know that more phyla of Bacteria exis...
View Answer

Correct Answer
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A conserved gene sequence would need to ...
View Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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SIP could be used,which would require is...
View Answer

Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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