Fungi, Protists & Helminths
Fungi cell walls are composed of chitin, whereas plant/algae cell walls are primarily made of this sugar polymer.
What is cellulose?
This cellular process decodes an mRNA transcript into a functional polypeptide chain.
What is translation?
This sticky, gelatinous sugar outer layer can exist as an unorganized slime layer or a rigid, organized capsule.
What is the glycocalyx?
Name the primary stain and counterstain used in a standard Gram stain procedure, in order.
What are crystal violet (primary) and safranin (counterstain)?
Identify the specialized, dormant structures produced by certain Gram-positive bacteria (like Bacillus and Clostridium) that allow them to survive extreme heat, desiccation, and chemical agents.
What are endospores?
Microscopic fungi can exist as single-celled yeasts or as multi-celled molds composed of these thread-like filaments.
What are hyphae?
This type of RNA molecule carries the specific genetic code copied from DNA out to the ribosome to serve as the template for protein synthesis.
What is mRNA?
A bacterium with flagella distributed across its entire cell surface exhibits this flagellar arrangement.
What is peritrichous?
Identify the specific cell wall component that is thick in Gram-positive bacteria but thin in Gram-negative bacteria.
What is peptidoglycan?
State the overall Svedberg (S) size of functional ribosomes in prokaryotes versus eukaryotes.
What are 70S in prokaryotes and 80S in eukaryotes?
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), such as Red Tide, pose serious health hazards primarily because the algae release these biological compounds.
What are toxins (neurotoxins)?
Eukaryotic cells possess 80S cytosolic ribosomes, but this organelle contain their own 70S ribosomes.
What is the mitochondrion?
These short, bristly surface appendages enable bacteria to adhere to environmental surfaces and host tissues.
What are fimbriae?
Name the gel-like outer layer composed of polysaccharides or polypeptides that surrounds some bacterial cell walls, encompassing both capsules and slime layers.
What is the glycocalyx?
Identify the two eukaryotic organelles that contain their own 70S ribosomes and circular DNA, supporting the Endosymbiotic Theory.
What are mitochondria and chloroplasts?
Explain the survival advantage of a protozoan cyst stage by comparing it to a specific protective structure formed by certain bacteria.
What is it functions like a bacterial endospore, providing a dormant, resistant shell to survive harsh environment conditions?
Free ribosomes produce proteins intended for internal cytoplasm use, whereas ribosomes bound to this organelle synthesize proteins targeted for membranes or exocytosis.
What is the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (RER)?
Compare the primary function of bacterial flagella to that of fimbriae.
What is flagella are used for cell motility (movement), while fimbriae are used for attachment to surfaces or host cells?
Compare endotoxins and exotoxins by stating which cell wall type (Gram-positive or Gram-negative) produces lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as an endotoxin.
What is Gram-negative bacteria?
Compare the primary cell wall composition of fungi (yeasts/molds) with that of plants/algae.
What is fungal cell walls are made of chitin, while plant and algal cell walls are made of cellulose?
Differentiate protozoa from algae using two basic features: how they obtain nutrition and whether they possess a cell wall.
What is protozoa are heterotrophs that lack a cell wall, while algae are autotrophs (photosynthetic) that possess a cellulose cell wall?
Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes by stating their overall Svedberg (S) size unit and the specific sizes of their two subunits.
What are 70S ribosomes in prokaryotes (composed of 50S and 30S subunits) and 80S ribosomes in eukaryotes (composed of 60S and 40S subunits)?
Contrast the mechanical motion and structural power source of prokaryotic flagella versus eukaryotic flagella.
What is prokaryotic flagella rotate 360° like a propeller, while eukaryotic flagella move in a wave-like whip motion using a 9+2 microtubule array?
Differentiate between monotrichous and peritrichous flagellar arrangements on a bacterial cell.
What is monotrichous means having a single flagellum at one pole, while peritrichous means having flagella distributed over the entire cell surface?
Differentiate between selective media and differential media used in microbiology labs based on their primary purpose.
What is selective media inhibits the growth of certain microbes while encouraging the growth of desired ones, whereas differential media allows multiple types of microbes to grow but displays visible differences (like color changes) among them?