Quiz questions

Which of the following processes permits novel functions to develop through continued mutation? A) gene duplication B) harmful mutation C) gene deletion D) neutral mutation

A) gene duplication

Evaluate this statement: Bacteriophage virions do not enter their host cell while enveloped virions do. A) True B) False

A) True

Evaluate this statement: Cyanobacteria were the first organisms to be able to obtain their energy from light for catabolism. A) True B) False

A) True

Which of these organisms is likely to have the largest genome? A) a yeast cell B) an extremophile Archaean due to the demands of surviving in harsh environments C) an autotrophic bacterium D) a chloroplast

A) a yeast cell

In the Sanger method of DNA sequencing, how are DNA chains randomly terminated in reactions using DNA polymerase? A) by having a small amount of a dideoxyribonucleoside triphosphate in the reaction B) by altering the concentration of DNA polymerase in the reaction C) by having a limiting amount of a deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate in the reaction D) by stopping the reactions on ice at predetermined time intervals

A) by having a small amount of a dideoxyribonucleoside triphosphate in the reaction

Which of the following is NOT part of phenotypic analysis? A) cellular genome B) physiology of the cell C) cell wall chemistry D) cell morphology

A) cellular genome

You are studying 12 new isolates from the human skin. Their average nucleotide identity for shared orthologous genes is 97%. The isolates would most likely be: A) classified as individual strains of the same species. B) classified as individual species of the same genus. C) split into different families. D) classified as the same species if they can mate via conjugation.

A) classified as individual strains of the same species.

In temperate phages such as lambda, the virus __________. A) establishes a stable relationship with the host cell and does not destroy it B) attaches to the outside of the host cell but does not enter it C) replicates and then bursts from the host cell D) modifies the host RNA polymerase

A) establishes a stable relationship with the host cell and does not destroy it

An organism's entire complement of genetic information, including noncoding DNA is known as the __________. A) genome B) proteome C) transcriptome D) metabolome

A) genome

What is the analysis of pooled environmental DNA or RNA called? A) metagenomics B) clonal genomics C) megagenomics D) microarray analysis

A) metagenomics

Homologous sequences descended from the same ancestral sequence found in different species are known as __________. A) orthologs B) xenologs C) ohnologs D) paralogs

A) orthologs

What are the short DNA fragments called that are used to initiate DNA synthesis in the Sanger dideoxy sequencing method? A) primers B) deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate C) dideoxyribonucleoside triphosphate D) DNA polymerase

A) primers

Which of the following is NOT included in the genome? A) proteins B) coding regions of DNA C) genes that encode RNAs D) noncoding regions of DNA

A) proteins

Which is NOT a characteristic of a "primitive" state of microbial evolution? A) Hyperthermophilic B) Aerobic metabolism C) Small genome D) Branching near the root of the evolutionary tree of life

B) Aerobic metabolism

Which technique is frequently used in phylogenetic analysis to obtain sufficient copies of a gene for sequencing? A) FAME B) PCR C) cDNA cloning D) DNA hybridization

B) PCR

In phylogeny, which of the following is NOT a domain? A) Archaea B) Eukarya C) Plantae D) Bacteria

C) Plantae

A virus particle is made up of __________. A) RNA only B) DNA only C) a nucleic acid and protein D) protein only

C) a nucleic acid and protein

To what domain would an organism that has ether-linked membrane lipids and no peptidoglycan belong? A) Plantae B) Eukarya C) Bacteria D) Archaea

D) Archaea

What technical reason prevents us from making complete genome assemblies for many microbe species? A) Sequencing reads are too short compared to the size of their genome B) Sanger and Illumina sequencing produces too many sequencings errors C) The machines can only sequence DNA based organisms so far D) Sequencing reads are too short compared to size of repetitive regions in the genome

D) Sequencing reads are too short compared to size of repetitive regions in the genome

A gene for a specific trait may have more than one form, allowing the trait to vary. These sequence variants of a gene are called A) MLST. B) horizontal gene transfers. C) ribotypes. D) alleles.

D) alleles.

A virus in its extracellular state is known as a __________. A) bacteriophage B) capsid C) virion D) virus

C) virion

The plaque assay is a method for __________. A) quantifying viruses B) quantifying bacteria C) quantifying Archaea D) quantifying algae

A) quantifying viruses

Viruses that can infect their host and establish a stable, long-term relationship are known as __________. A) temperate B) enveloped C) lytic D) naked

A) temperate

One of the hypotheses about eukaryotic cell formation proposes that a nucleus-bearing cell acquired a mitochondrial-precursor cell by endosymbiosis. Which of the following statements reflects a major problem with this hypothesis? A)Bacteria and Archaea do not contain a membrane-bound nucleus. B) Bacteria and Eukarya have similar membrane lipids. C) Mitochondria are found only in cells containing a membrane-bound nucleus. D) Chloroplasts are found only in cells containing a membrane-bound nucleus.

B) Bacteria and Eukarya have similar membrane lipids.

In some viruses, the enzyme lysozyme is used to __________. A) form a scaffold so that mature viral particles can be assembled B) replicate viral RNA so that transcription occurs at relevant time points C) make a hole in the bacterial cell wall for release of the mature virus particles D) attach to the cell wall of the bacterium so that entry may occur

C) make a hole in the bacterial cell wall for release of the mature virus particles

These RNA viruses replicate through a DNA intermediate. A) enveloped viruses B) latent viruses C) retroviruses D) lysogenic viruses

C) retroviruses

Which of the following is a CORRECT statement? A) The proteome is the total set of proteins that can be produced by an organism; the transcriptome is the total set of proteins actually produced by the organism under given conditions. B) The proteome is the total set of proteins that can be produced by an organism; the translatome is the total set of proteins actually produced by the organism under given conditions. C) The genome is the total set of proteins that can be produced by an organism; the translatome is the total set of proteins actually produced by the organism under given conditions. D) The translatome is the total set of proteins that can be produced by an organism; the proteome is the total set of proteins actually produced by the organism under given conditions.

B) The proteome is the total set of proteins that can be produced by an organism; the translatome is the total set of proteins actually produced by the organism under given conditions.

What do virus particles attach to? A) the bacterial cell wall B) a receptor on the cell surface C) the cytoplasmic membrane D) the nucleus

B) a receptor on the cell surface

The field of study that can reveal how genes function, reveal how organisms interact with the environment, and show evolutionary relationships is __________. A) transcriptomics B) comparative genomics C) genomics D) proteomics

B) comparative genomics

Nomenclature follows the binomial system, which means that the names of organisms are composed of which of the following? A) domain names and phylum epithets B) genus names and species epithets C) class name and family epithets D) species names and genus epithets

B) genus names and species epithets

The evolutionary history of a group of organisms is called its ______ and it is inferred from _______. A) taxonomy phenotype B) phylogeny / nucleotide sequence data C) phylogeny / phenotype D) taxonomy / morphology

B) phylogeny / nucleotide sequence data

What do scientists call the entire complement of RNA produced under a given set of conditions? A) gene profile B) transcriptome C) RNAome D) proteome

B) transcriptome

Which of the following is NOT a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer? A) transformation B) vertical inheritance C) conjugation D) transduction

B) vertical inheritance

Which statement below accurately describes the fundamental difference between selection and genetic drift? A) Selection leads to a fixation of genetic variants, while genetic drift leads to extinction of genetic variants B) Selection acts on long evolutionary time scales, but genetic drift only acts on short time scales C) Selection changes the frequency of genetic variants in the population based on the fitness of the genetic variant, while genetic drift does not D) Genetic drift can cause isolated populations to genetically diverge while selection does not.

C) Selection changes the frequency of genetic variants in the population based on the fitness of the genetic variant, while genetic drift does not

Which of the following choices is NOT a reason to utilize small subunit rRNA genes in phylogenetic analysis? A) They are large enough to provide an evolutionary history. B) They are functionally constant. C) They have no enzymatic function. D) They are universally distributed.

C) They have no enzymatic function.

Which genetic material is most closely related to the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes that are required for translation and energy generation? A) plasmid genes B) archaeal genes C) bacterial genes D) protozoan nuclear genes

C) bacterial genes

Horizontal gene transfer A) is so rare over evolutionary history that it is not considered when examining microbial evolution. B) only affects the evolution of plasmids. C) complicates the construction of phylogenetic trees and the interpretation of specific traits in relation to evolution. D) occurs within bacterial species.

C) complicates the construction of phylogenetic trees and the interpretation of specific traits in relation to evolution.

A monophyletic group is a group that A) possesses one taxonomic trait that is the same. B) has the same fitness level. C) descended from one ancestor. D) shares one phylogenetic marker.

C) descended from one ancestor.

Bacteriophage gene expression uses __________. A) host cell-encoded proteins only B) virally encoded proteins only C) host and virally encoded proteins D) bacterial proteins only

C) host and virally encoded proteins

During the 1970s, Dr. Carl Woese pioneered the usage of SSU rRNA genes. He realized that SSU rRNA genes could be used to infer evolutionary relationships because A) They are universally distributed and have the same function in every organism B) They change slowly over evolutionary time (highly conserved) C) They are of adequate length to provide sufficient information about very deep, or old, evolutionary relationships D) All of the above E) None of the above

D) All of the above

Sequencing an organism's genome often leads to identification of hypothetical proteins, which are characterized as __________. A) proteins that likely exist with known functions B) proteins that are expressed C) proteins that are overexpressed D) proteins that likely exist though their function is unknown

D) proteins that likely exist though their function is unknown

What is the genome-wide study of the structure, function, and regulation of an organism's proteins called? A) transcriptomics B) genomics C) translatiomics D) proteomics

D) proteomics

Which of the following events took place after the endosymbiotic events leading to the formation of mitochondria? A) a rise in atmospheric oxygen B) the evolution of respiratory metabolism C) the development of enzymes such as superoxide dismutase D) the development of multicellular eukaryotes

D) the development of multicellular eukaryotes

A unique feature that is characteristic of retroviruses is __________. A) RNA in the capsid B) both DNA and RNA in the genome C) a capsid with head, tail, and tail fibers D) the enzyme reverse transcriptase

D) the enzyme reverse transcriptase