Antibiotics
A plasmid-transfer mechanism that can help spread antibiotic resistance genes.
What is conjugation?
A relationship between organisms where both species depend on each other.
What is symbiosis?
A situation where sterilization of tools is required instead of disinfection.
What is surgery, lab research, etc.?
A microorganism that causes food poisoning.
What is E. coli, Salmonella enterica, norovirus, etc.?
A Y-shaped protein able to recognize highly specific antigens.
What is an antibody?
An example of a bacterial protein or structure that antibiotics target.
What are ribosomes, RNA polymerase, peptidoglycan, etc.?
A survival form of a bacterium able to withstand high temperatures, starvation, dessication, and high pressure.
What is an endospore?
A process in which food products are briefly heated to a high enough temperature to kill potentially harmful microorganisms.
What is Pasteurization?
A polysaccharide coating that allows some pathogenic bacteria to escape phagocytosis.
What is a capsule?
An immune cell that detects infected host cells and induces cell death in them.
What is a cytotoxic T-cell?
The reason you should not take antibiotics to treat the flu or a cold.
What is the fact that antibiotics are not effective against viruses?
The name of the cycling of essential elements of life through various forms and environments.
What are biogeochemical cycles?
An effective way to kill endospores.
What is autoclaving (or extremely high pressure and moist heat)?
The reason why Edward Jenner's cow pox vaccine protected against smallpox.
What are the similarities between cowpox and smallpox that allow our bodies to make antibodies that can neutralize smallpox?
Two potential PAMPs.
What are LPS, flagellar proteins, peptidoglycan, bacterial DNA, viral genome, etc.?
What to do when you are prescribed a course of antibiotics.
What is finishing the entire course (even if you feel better after 1 day), adhering to the schedule your doctor prescribes, not saving any of the pills?
The definition of a Winogradsky column.
What is an in vitro ecosystem that can be used to study various groups of soil microbes and how they interact with each other?
A way to prevent transmission of oral-fecal pathogens.
What is washing your hands after using the restroom, etc.?
The father of epidemiology, who stopped an English outbreak of cholera in 1854.
Who is John Snow?
The reason our secondary exposure to an antigen is so quick and strong.
What are memory cells?
Any answer, must be correct.
Name one microbe (genus or species) that is commonly found in the soil.
What are Bacillus, Clostridium, Listeria, Streptomyces, etc.?
The highest classification of danger we assign to microbes, that dictates proper PPE during lab work.
What is BSL-4?
An example of a human pathogen with an animal reservoir.
What is Yersinia pestis (rats), rabies virus (bats, raccoons, skunks), yellow fever (monkeys), etc.?
The four abilities of antibodies that we discussed in class.
What are opsonization, neutralization, cross-linking, and immobilization?