Who am I?
I am alive, have a cell membrane, can be pathogenic, but have no nucleus. (name the domain and kingdom)
Domain is bacteria and kingdom is eubacteria because it is pathogenic.
-domain could be archae because it is prokaryotic but most pathogenic species are only bacteria (that I know of)
You are out backpacking with a friend when you trip and cut your hand on a stick. You have no first aid kit with you (lame). Your friend suggests to pee on the wound as he read in a wilderness survival book that it is sterile. Is this a good idea? Why or why not?
NO this is not a good idea. Urine should be sterile in the bladder but as soon as it touches the urethra it is contaminated with bacteria and other microbiota contents which could potentially cause infection.
What does the term "virome" mean? What is a human virome?
Virome is the term for all viral DNA in a specific environment. A human virome is all viruses living on a human that are NOT causing disease.
A 18 y/o male presents to your clinic with loss of smell, headaches, and a runny nose after drinking out of a teammates water bottle. He tests positive for COVID-19 with a rapid in clinic test. Is this a communicable or non-communicable infection? What is the route of infection?
This is an example of a communicable infection transmitted from human to human. The route of infection is horizontal. This can be from either respiratory droplets in the air or from droplets on the water bottle.
Rank the 3 microorganisms in order of ease to see on a microscope (easy to difficult);
E. coli, parasitic worm, influenza
Parasitic worm (largest), E.Coli, influenza (cannot see on normal microscopes)
I am not alive and am an obligate parasite
(name the general type of microorganism then domain and kingdom if applicable)
Virus. Has no domain or kingdom
What part of the human skin has bacteria/bacteriophages as part of the normal human microbiota?
ALL parts of the skin have microorganisms included in the human microbiota!
I am a strain of the influenza A virus that enters a humans nasal cavity and causes symptoms such as a fever. Am I now part of their virome?
No, because the virus is pathogenic it is NOT part of the virome.
A 3 y/o female presents to the office with pain during urination. Her mother states that she is currently potty training and trying to learn how to wipe properly. An in office UA (urine analysis) tests positive for E.Coli. Is this a communicable or non-communicable infection, and what specific type of infection is E.Coli in this case?
This is an example of a communicable infection. E.coli is a opportunistic pathogen in this case as it is normally found in the colon in high amounts (healthy). If this pathogen enters another area of the body, such as the urethra, it can become opportunistic and cause an infection.
What microorganism has a cell wall made of peptidoglycan?
Bacteria
I am alive, have cell wall made of peptidoglycan chitin and a plasma membrane made of ergosterol.
(name the domain and kingdom)
Eukarya. This is describing a fungi which domain is eukarya and kingdom is fungi.
Two babies present to your clinic; baby A was delivered vaginally and baby B via C-section. It is found that one baby gets sick more frequently than the other. Given this very small amount of information (no genetic or chronic conditions), which baby do you hypothesize gets sick more frequently?
Baby B likely gets sick more frequently than baby A. This is because baby B was born via C section and did not acquire the microorganism exposure that occurs during vaginal birth.
Note: This is not always true by any means. Just a way emphasize that vaginal births expose newborns to more microorganisms early on which helps develop their microbiota.
What are the three main outcomes of a eukaryotic virus infection?
Latent, pathogenic, or non disease causing.
-If a virus is disease causing it is NOT part of the virome!
A 27 y/o female presents to the clinic for evaluation. She is currently 38 weeks pregnant. She states she has recently been infected with vaginal herpes simplex virus and is concerned about passing it onto her child. Is this likely? If so, what type of transmission is this? What would be your suggestion as a provider in terms of delivery?
Yes, it is possible that the mother can pass the virus to her child via vertical transmission. Starting treatment for the virus delivering via C-section delivery are options for the patient to prevent transmission.
What has a capsid made of protein? What is it for?
Viruses have a protein coat or capsid that holds DNA/RNA
I am alive, can be multicellular, can potentially be pathogenic, and am part of the human microbiota. I am called Candida albicans and am concentrated in the colon. (name the domain AND kingdom)
domain is eukarya and kingdom is fungi
Two histology slides are prepared from a sample of an individuals URT and LRT. Which slide would likely have a higher diversity of microorganisms?
The URT slide would have a higher diversity. This is likely because of the cilia located in high amounts below the larynx.
A virus on the human virome is found to only infect bacteria cells. What is this virus called?
bacteriophage
An 18 y/o male presents to the clinic with concerns about EBV/mono. The patient states that he broke up with his girlfriend 6 months ago, and has not kissed her since then. However, she just informed him that at the time they broke up, she had a positive mono test and was showing symptoms. Your patient denies any symptoms since the encounter.
Does your patient likely have the disease? Was your patient ever infected? Was his ex-girlfriend infected and/or had the disease?
It is possible that the patient was infected with the primary EBV virus as it can often be asymptomatic. However, the patient was not in a disease state as it did not harm his body. The ex-girlfriend was infected with EBV AND had disease as they showed symptoms which likely harmed her body.
A group of 100 dog like animals are running in a forest. You notice that half are wolves and half are coyotes. Do they have the same genus and/or species?
I am living on humans, need a host, and have a size of 50 micrometers.
(name the basic type of microorganism(s))
This is a eukaryotic cell, could be either fungi or protists (they both sometimes need a host) and it is too large to be a prokaryotic cell.
NOT a virus because virus's are NOT alive and are very very small.
Two patients present to the clinic for a follow up. Patient A and B both had bacterial infections in which they properly took antibiotics for. However, patient A was taking probiotics along with the medication while patient B did not. Which patient has a higher chance of acquiring a GI tract infection? What is this called?
Patient B has a higher chance of getting a GI infection. This is because antibiotics kill the pathogenic AND normal microbiota usually. Patient A took probiotics to replenish their normal microbiota which is an example of the exclusionary effect. This means that the normal microbiota out competes the pathogenic bacteria for space in the GI tract thus preventing an infection.
You were exposed to a person with COVID-19, and some of the virions infected your cells. Will this infection always cause symptoms?
NO. Just because a cell is infected does not always mean it causes symptoms/disease.
A concerned mother presents to your clinic with her 3 wk old baby. The baby has a cough, runny nose, and a fever of 102 F. The child tests positive for influenza A in office. The mother begins to cry and reports that she had a diagnosis of influenza A during her second trimester. She is worried that she passed the infection down to her child. Is this a possibility? Why or why not?
No, the mother did not pass the flu on to her child. Influenza is spread from horizontal transmission, typically via respiratory mode. It is not transmitted via vertical transmission.
What specific type of rRNA does bacteria have and why is it important
They have 16s rRNA from the 30S subunit. It is important because it is highly conserved (bacteria) and can be used to classify bacteria on the genus level (hypervariable).