Deck 26: Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Question 1

Which of the following is a specific example of bioremediation?

A) the treatment of wastewater
B) acid mine drainage
C) the degradation of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico
D) the purification of water for drinking
E) the treatment of sludge

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Chlorinated water contains

A) no endospores.
B) no bacteria at all.
C) no viruses.
D) a decreased microbial load.
E) no cysts.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A new industrial park in your community dumps its wastewater into a large aerated pond, to which nutrients are added. The water from this pond makes its way into a nearby marsh, which eventually drains into a slow- moving stream. This is an example of

A) natural bioremediation.
B) natural fermentation.
C) bioreporter use.
D) a method to make potable water.
E) artificial bioremediation.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following common food products is prepared by the fermentation of cabbage?

A) pasteurized milk
B) sorbet
C) refined sugar
D) tea
E) kimchi

Question 5

Industrial fermentation and fermentation in food production

A) use entirely different starting material.
B) make use of the same microorganisms.
C) are processes in which sugar or protein is oxidized to produce alcohols or acids.
D) use entirely different microorganisms.
E) are both processes in which sugars are oxidized to alcohols or acids.

Question 6

The fermentation product known as silage is

A) a means of food preservation.
B) a meat product.
C) a means of making plant materials more appealing to livestock.
D) made from milk.
E) a step in the production of brandy.

Question 7

Which of the following oxidize H2S to SO4- 2, the form of sulfur animals use for their metabolism?

A) Beggiatoa
B) purple sulfur bacteria
C) Desulfovibrio
D) both Beggiatoa and purple sulfur bacteria
E) both Beggiatoa and Desulfovibrio

Question 8

Which of the following bacteria is a common soil contaminant that may cause disease in humans?

A) Cyanobacteria
B) Lactoccocus cremoris
C) Streptomyces scabies
D) Bacillus anthracis
E) Aspergillus oryzae

Question 9

Food microbiology applies to

A) the control of microbial activity to prevent foodborne illness.
B) the use of microorganisms to make food.
C) using microbes to solve agricultural problems.
D) the use of microorganisms to make food and the control microbial activity to prevent foodborne illness.
E) using microbes to improve livestock and to solve agricultural problems.

Question 10

Which of the following agents involved in foodborne illness is a eukaryote?

A) Campylobacter jejuni
B) Toxoplasma gondii
C) Yersinia enterocolitica
D) Vibrio vulnificus
E) Listeria monocytogenes

Question 11

Which of the following microorganisms is the most commonly used indicator organism for water quality testing?

A) Salmonella spp.
B) Hepatitis A virus
C) Shigella spp.
D) Escherichia coli
E) Streptococcus thermophilus

Question 12

What was the first substance produced by microorganisms to be used pharmaceutically?

A) interferons
B) human insulin
C) taxol
D) streptokinase
E) penicillin

Question 13

Which of the following infectious diseases currently tops the list of bioterrorist threats?

A) anthrax
B) botulism
C) cholera
D) smallpox
E) the plague

Question 14

Which of the following microorganisms associated with food poisoning thrives in cold storage?

A) Listeria monocytogenes
B) Salmonella spp.
C) Escherichia coli
D) Shigella spp.
E) Clostridium botulinum

Question 15

Which of the following is a common source of antibiotics?

A) Aspergillus oryzae and Lactobacillus
B) Streptomyces
C) Streptococcus thermophilus
D) Acetobacter
E) Lactoccocus cremoris

Question 16

Which of the following is a lactic acid bacterium used in the production of food?

A) Leuconostoc
B) Aspergillus oryzae
C) Saccharomyces cerevisiae
D) Gluconobacter
E) Penicillium

Question 17

Which of the following is considered an intrinsic factor for food spoilage?

A) amount of preservatives
B) degree of processing
C) water content
D) storage temperature
E) storage packaging

Question 18

Potable water is water that

A) is considered safe to drink because it is completely sterile.
B) is transferred from one place to another.
C) contains biosensors.
D) contains low amounts of microorganisms and is considered safe to drink.
E) contains a dangerous number of microorganisms.

Question 19

Which aquatic zone in a lake will have the highest nutrient levels and therefore the densest microbial populations?

A) the benthic zone
B) the profundal zone
C) the littoral zone
D) the limnetic zone
E) the sediment zone

Question 20

Which of the following is used to produce soy sauce?

A) Saccharomyces
B) Acetobacter
C) Aspergillus oryzae and Saccharomyces
D) Lactoccocus cremoris
E) Aspergillus oryzae and Lactobacillus

Question 21

Pickling is an effective means of food preservation involving

A) increasing salt concentration.
B) reducing oxygen content.
C) reducing pH.
D) increasing oxygen content.
E) increasing salt concentration or reducing pH or both.

Question 22

Which of the following methods of preserving food sterilizes it?

A) lyophilization
B) canning
C) gamma radiation
D) pasteurization
E) drying

Question 23

Sugar and salt act as preservatives by

A) inhibiting DNA replication.
B) killing endospores.
C) drawing water out of food.
D) inhibiting bacterial enzymes.
E) producing oils that inhibit bacterial growth.

Question 24

During treatment of water to make it potable, about 90% of the microbes are removed

A) in the sedimentation step.
B) by treatment with chlorine or ozone.
C) in the filtration step.
D) by preliminary fermentation.
E) by treatment with biosensors.

Question 25

Which of the following items that are commonly added during food preparation can be considered a preservative?

A) garlic
B) whey
C) apple juice
D) meat broth
E) yeast

Question 26

What is the significance of the industrial practice of waiting for cultures to enter the stationary phase of growth before harvest?

A) An optimal combination of primary and secondary metabolites is being produced.
B) The cells are at peak metabolic activity.
C) Secondary metabolites are often the desired product, and are only produced in stationary phase.
D) Potential toxins from log phase growth have been depleted.
E) The desired primary metabolites are produced in stationary phase.

Question 27

A researcher studying the impact of agricultural pesticides on native plants discovers a bacterium capable of degrading small amounts of a specific pesticide. The researcher then modifies the bacterial species in the lab to increase the rate of pesticide degradation. This research represents

A) applied microbiology.
B) food microbiology.
C) environmental microbiology.
D) both food microbiology and environmental microbiology.
E) both applied microbiology and environmental microbiology.

Question 28

Which of the following pairs of industrial microbial products and their uses is MISMATCHED?

A) gluconic acid; release of cellulose from flax to make linen
B) indigo; blue jeans
C) phenylalanine; the sweetener aspartame
D) citric acid; antioxidant in food
E) streptokinase; dissolving blood clots

Question 29

Which of the following is used in both food production and industrial production?

A) Escherichia coli
B) Pseudomonas syringae
C) Listeria monocytogenes
D) Saccharomyces cerevisiae
E) Bacillus thuringiensis

Question 30

Which of these microbial products is needed to produce "gasohol"?

A) aspartame
B) ethanol
C) hyaluronidase
D) citric acid
E) methanol

Question 31

Which of the following pairs is MISMATCHED?

A) brandy; fruit juice
B) white wine; must
C) beer; malt
D) whiskey; cereal grains
E) vodka; potatoes

Question 32

Streptokinase is involved in which of the following?

A) dissolving blood clots
B) cheese production
C) producing antibiotics
D) insecticide
E) biosensors

Question 33

Which of the following statements concerning the phosphorus cycle in bacteria is TRUE?

A) It changes the molecule to gaseous forms, leading to its loss to the environment.
B) It involves moving the molecule from insoluble to soluble forms.
C) It involves cycling the molecule in the form of organic molecules.
D) It is the most important process for synthesizing proteins and nucleic acids.
E) It involves moving the molecule among several oxidative states.

Question 34

Which of the following statements concerning the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is correct?

A) It is a measure of the amount of oxygen in water.
B) It is a measurement of the amount of oxygen that aerobic bacteria require to fully metabolize organic wastes in water.
C) It is used as a bioreceptor index.
D) It is a filter system to purify drinking water.
E) It is proportional to how potable water is.

Question 35

Why is the pasta you buy from the grocery store shelf considered a nonperishable food?

A) Various preservative chemicals are added.
B) It has a low nutritional content.
C) Microbes present in the pasta inhibit the growth of harmful microbes.
D) It was sterilized during preparation.
E) The low moisture content prevents microbial growth.

Question 36

Which of the following results when ethanol is allowed to oxidize to acetic acid following the fermentation of fruit, grain, or vegetables?

A) malt
B) wine
C) vinegar
D) champagne
E) beer

Question 37

Which of the following may result from eating tuna sashimi (raw fish)?

A) salmonellosis
B) polio
C) norovirus infection
D) ciguatoxin intoxication
E) botulism

Question 38

Which of the following is an application of proteases?

A) vodka
B) wine
C) meat tenderizer
D) indigo
E) cheese

Question 39

Which of the following would be most effective in reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere?

A) cyanobacteria
B) nitrogen fixers
C) heterotrophic organisms
D) anaerobic microbes
E) fungi

Question 40

Which of the following is the correct sequence of microbial associations from smallest to largest?

A) populations, communities, ecosystem, guilds, microhabitats
B) ecosystem, populations, communities, microhabitats, guilds
C) communities, microhabitats, ecosystem, guilds, populations
D) populations, communities, microhabitats, ecosystem, guilds
E) populations, guilds, communities, microhabitats, ecosystem

Question 41

The anthrax attack of fall 2001 was accomplished by mailing the agent in ordinary envelopes. This method of delivery took advantage of the ability of Bacillus anthracis to produce (aerosols/endospores/spores).

Question 42

Which of the following sets of characteristics describes the highest level of threat potential from biological weapons?

A) a human pathogen easily produced as an aerosol and transmissible by respiratory aerosols
B) a pathogen of livestock transmitted by contact with infected animals but not infected people
C) a pathogen of wheat that could be delivered using crop dusters
D) a microbe that can be introduced into food during packaging and withstands refrigerator temperatures but not typical cooking temperatures
E) a waterborne toxin that is easily introduced into public water supplies and does not replicate in humans

Question 43

Brandy is made by the same process as wine, but the alcohol is then concentrated by (fermentation/distillation/filtration).

Question 44

Why are "fortified" foods more likely to spoil than are unfortified foods?

A) The vitamins require a neutral pH environment, which is suitable for many microbes.
B) The addition of vitamins or minerals makes the food more nutritious for microbes as well as humans.
C) Vitamins are added to "fortified" foods by adding the microbes that produce the vitamins to the food item.
D) The addition of nutrients creates an osmotic environment suitable for a wide range of microbes.
E) Every step of modification or manipulation of food increases the chance for contamination.

Question 45

Cyanobacteria produce a cell type known as a(n) (akinete/heterocyst/nodule) that protects nitrogenase from the exposure to oxygen.

Question 46

Garlic contains an antimicrobial substance called (allicin/penicillin/streptomycin).

Question 47

A few hours after a dinner party, most of the people who attended begin to suffer nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The food at the meal is suspected as the source, although no unusual microbes are cultured from samples of the food or from stool samples. These observations suggest they may be suffering from food (infection/intoxication).

Question 48

Benzoic acid is largely a(n) (antifungal/antiprotozoal/pickling) agent and does not affect the growth of many bacteria.

Question 49

Rennin is used in the production of

A) cheese.
B) buttermilk.
C) meat tenderizer.
D) fish sauce.
E) wine.

Question 50

Freezing food and then using a vacuum to draw off the ice crystals is called (dehydration/lyophilization/sublimation).

Question 51

With the (batch/continuous) production technique, organisms are allowed to ferment their substrate until it is exhausted.

Question 52

When one microbe's metabolic activities create favorable conditions for another microorganism, this is referred to as (competition/cooperation/facilitation).

Question 53

The sour flavor in some fermented foods is usually the result of (acetic/benzoid/lactic) acid production.

Question 54

The definition of (fermentation/cultivation) used by food microbiologists is the desirable change in food due to microbial activity.

Question 55

Botryococcus braunii is an alga that produces hydrocarbons at (10/20/30) percent of its dry weight and could be harvested in the future as an alternative fuel.

Question 56

Sulfur dioxide is added to "must" in the production of wine to

A) allow more control over the fermentation process.
B) prevent tannins from leaching out of wood into the fermenting wine.
C) provide a necessary nutrient for the fermentation process.
D) improve the flavor.
E) both enhance flavor and promote fermentation.

Question 57

Without the activities of microorganisms, the functioning of the Earth's ecosystems would cease.

Question 58

The process of preserving foods in brine is called (canning/pickling/salting).

Question 59

Because the same microbes are not always present on food from harvest to harvest, (fresh/natural/starter) cultures are used in the production of alcoholic beverages.

Question 60

The organic material found in topsoil is called (humus/peat/compost).

Question 61

Compare and contrast the two types of foodborne disease.

Question 62

Through recombinant DNA technology, many plants now can manufacture their own Bt toxin, which improves fermentation.

Question 63

Smallpox is considered a serious potential biological weapon, whereas anthrax has been successfully used as one. Compare and contrast their potential with regard to the criteria for assessing biological threats.

Question 64

Most microbes need an environment that has a water activity of at least 0.90.

Question 65

Bioremediation is the process of using organisms to clean up toxic, hazardous compounds by degrading them to less harmful substances.

Question 66

What are the levels of microbial associations in the environment? How do they relate to an ecosystem?

Question 67

Most of the nitrogen in the environment is in the form of nitrogen gas, which is the form used by most organisms.

Question 68

Cold is preferred for storing food because it retards microbial growth by slowing down metabolic processes.

Question 69

Algae and protozoa in the soil are quite hardy, and therefore their abundance is not a useful indicator of environmental pollution.

Question 70

Pasteurization is a more rigorous process than canning.

Question 71

Amino acid and vitamin supplements are prepared from extracts of microbial cultures.

Question 72

Compare the use of biosensors with traditional methods of determining microbial contamination.

Question 73

How does water quality testing make use of environmental microbiology?

Question 74

The starter culture used to make cheese determines the type of cheese produced.