microbiology exam essay questions

Compilation of long essay questions.

• Explain the structure of bacterial cell with the aid of a neatly labelled diagram. Also mention the roles of these structures and methods of their detection.
• Define sterilization. Classify various methods of sterilization with suitable examples.
• Define disinfection. Classify various methods of disinfection with suitable examples.
• What are culture media. Classify the types of culture media with examples and their uses.
• Describe the various methods of horizontal gene transfer among bacteria and mention their significance.
• Enlist the virulence factors of Staphylococcus aureus. Describe the various conditions caused by this bacterium along with their laboratory diagnosis.
• Classify Streptococci. Describe the virulence factors of Streptococcus pyogenes along with the lesions produced and the laboratory diagnosis.
• Enumerate the pyogenic bacteria. Describe the procedure involved in the diagnosis of any suppurative infection.
• What is pyogenic meningitis? Enlist the various etiological agents and describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of Neisseria meningitis.
• Which are the bacterial STDs? Write the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of gonorrhoea.
• Name the infections produced by pneumococcus. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of pneumococal pneumonia.
• Classify Mycobacteria. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of pulmonary tuberculosis.
• Enlist the bacterial zoonotic diseases. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of anthrax.
• Define Pyrexia of Unknown Origin. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of brucellosis.
• Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of diphtheria.
• Classify Clostridia. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of gas gangrene.
• Classify the non-sporing anaerobes. Describe the various infections produced by them and the strategies adopted to culture them.
• Classify Enterobacteriaceae. Mention the various infections produced by Escherichia coli. Describe the laboratory diagnosis and treatment of acute cystitis.
• Name the bacteria capable of causing dysentery. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of bacillary dysentery.
• Describe the etiology, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of enteric fever.
• Enumerate the bacteria causing gastroenteritis. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of cholera.
• What is meant by nosocomial infection? Which are common nosocomial pathogens? Describe the various infections produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
• Name the bacterial etiolgical agents of food-poisoning. Describe the strategy involved in diagnosing outbreaks of food-poisoning.
• Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis of plague.
• Describe the pathogenesis, classification, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of leprosy.
• Name the bacterial STDs. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of syphilis.
• Classify treponemes. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of leptospirosis.
• Classify Rickettsiae. Describe the etiology, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of spotted fevers.
• Classify Chlamydia. Describe the various infections produced by C. trachomatis along with its laboratory diagnosis and treatment.
• Classify fungi and their diseases. Describe the procedures involved in laboratory diagnosis of mycoses.
• What are dermatophytes? Enlist the various dermatophytic infections along with their etiological agents. Describe the process of laboratory diagnosis and treatment.
• Name the sub-cutaneous fungal infections along with their etiological agent. Describe the pathogenesis and laboratory diagnosis of eumycotic mycetoma.
• Name the systemic fungal infections along with their etiological agent. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of histoplasmosis.
• Enumerate the opportunistic fungal infections along with their etiological agent. Describe the pathogenesis and laboratory diagnosis of candidiasis.
• Classify viruses. Describe the strategies adopted in the laboratory diagnosis of viral infections.
• Classify Herpes viruses. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of HSV infections.
• Name the viruses causing hepatitis. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, prophylaxis and treatment of HBV infection.
• Classify arboviruses. Describe the pathogenesis and laboratory diagnosis of dengue.
• Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, and prophylaxis of rabies.
• Enlist the oncogenic viruses. Describe the mechanism of oncogenic transformation.
• Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of HIV infection.
• Name the virus transmitted parenterally. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of HCV.
• Name the sexually transmitted viral infections and their etiological agents. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, and treatment of papilloma virus.
• Enlist the viruses causing respiratory tract infections. Describe the pathogenesis and laboratory diagnosis of influenza.
• Name the viral diseases of childhood. Describe the etiology, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis and prophylaxis of measles.
• Name the opportunistic viral diseases. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of CMV infections.
• Classify Picornaviridae. Describe the pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis and prophylaxis of polio.
• Enumerate the nematodes infesting intestine. Describe the life cycle, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of roundworm/hookworm/pinworm.
• Classify tapeworms. Describe the life cycle, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of conditions produced by tapeworm.
• Describe the life cycle, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of entamoeba infection.
• Describe the etiology, life cycle, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of toxoplasmosis.
• Name the parasites causing infections in the immunocompromised. Describe the pathogenesis and laboratory diagnosis of Cryptosporidium.
• Name the species of Plasmodium and differentiate their features. Describe the life cycle, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of malaria.
• Name the filarial nematodes. Describe the life cycle, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of bancroftian filariasis.
• Name the parasites causing infection of the nervous system. Describe the life cycle, laboratory diagnosis and treatment of Acanthamoeba infection.
• Classify antigen-antibody reactions. Describe the various types of agglutination/precipitation reactions along with examples.
• Draw a neat and labelled diagram of an IgG molecule. Describe the properties of all the classes of immunoglobulins.
• Describe the cells of the reticuloendothelial system. Describe their role in innate immunity.
• Classify immunity. Describe the various mechanism of innate/acquired immunity.
• Classify hypersensitivity reactions. Describe the mechanism of action of Immediate/Delayed hypersensitivity reactions.
• What is autoimmunity. Describe the pathogenesis of various autoimmune disorders and tests employed to detect them.
• What are immunodeficiency disorders? Describe briefly the various T-cell/B-cell related immunodeficiencies.
• What is the basis of humoral/cell-mediated immune response? Describe the process with an illustration.
• Classify vaccines. Write notes on various vaccines administered as per national immunization programme.
• Draw the two common complement activation pathways and describe the importance of complement in health and disease.

Compilation of short essay questions.

• Contributions of Louis Pasteur
• Contributions of Robert Koch
• Koch’s postulates
• Nobel Prize winners related to microbiology
• Morphological forms of bacteria
• Bacterial spore
• Bacterial cell wall
• Bacterial capsule
• Intracytoplasmic inclusions
• Differences between endotoxin and exotoxin
• Bacteriocine
• Darkground staining
• Negative staining
• Phase-contrast microscope
• Electron microscope
• Differences between eukaryotes and prokaryotes
• Antiseptics
• Quaternary ammonium compounds
• Chemisterilants
• Hot air oven
• Tyndallization
• Inspissation
• Pasteurization
• Surface-active agents
• Sterilization controls
• Selective media
• Enriched media
• McConkey’s agar
• Anaerobic culture media
• Biphasic media
• Transport media
• Bacterial growth curve
• Conjugation
• Transduction
• Transposons/jumping genes
• Polymerase Chain Reaction
• String test
• Phage typing
• Biological safety cabinets
• Staphylococcal toxins
• Superantigen
• Toxic Shock Syndrome
• Coagulase test
• Catalase test
• Antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus
• Coagulase Negative Staphylococci
• Flesh eating bacteria
• Enterococci
• Viridans Streptococci
• Quellung reaction
• C-Reaction Protein (CRP)
• Pneumococcal vaccine
• Meningococcal vaccine
• Oxidase test
• Non-gonoccal urethritis (NGU)/ Non-specific urethritis
• Elek’s test
• Lysogenic conversion
• Diphtheroids
• Toxigenicity tests for Corynebactium diphtheria
• DPT vaccine
• Malignant pustule
• Hide Porter’s disease
• Nagler reaction
• Litmus milk test/Stormy clot
• Toxins of Clostridium perfringens
• Antibiotic associated pseudomembranous colitis
• Bacterioides
• Actinomycosis
• Bacterial vaginosis
• McIntosh Filde’s Jar/GasPak system
• Bacterial normal flora
• Traveler’s diarrhea
• ETEC/EIEC/EHEC/EPEC
• Presumptive coliform count
• Diarrheagenic E. coli
• Serodiagnosis of typhoid fever/Widal test
• Halophilic Vibrios
• Kanagawa phenomenon
• Bacterial pigments
• Cat scratch disease
• Rat bite fever
• X and V factor
• Satellitism
• HACEK bacteria
• Acellular pertussis vaccine
• Drug resistance in M. tuberculosis/MDR-TB/XDR-TB
• Acid Fast Staining
• BCG vaccine
• Tuberculin test
• Lepromin test
• RNTCP guidelines on diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis
• Extrapulmonary tuberculosis
• VDRL/RPR test
• Specific Treponemal tests
• Non-venereal Treponematosis
• Lyme’s disease
• Vincent’s angina/Fusospirochetosis
• Ludwig’s angina
• Helicobacter pylori
• Weil-Felix test
• Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV)
• Bacterial infections of the eye
• Antifungal drugs
• Mycetism/Mycotoxicosis
• Fungal culture media
• Dermatophytes
• Candidiasis
• Cryptococcosis
• Dimorphic fungi
• Aspergillosis
• Id reaction
• Dematiaceous fungi
• Rhinosporidiosis
• Sporotrichosis
• Histoplasmosis
• Fungal spores
• Viral replication
• Cultivation of viruses
• Viral morphology
• Inclusion bodies
• Cell culture/Tissue culture
• Bacteriophage
• Viral vaccines
• Cytopathic effect
• Oncogenesis
• Burkitts’ lymphoma
• Viral latency
• Prion diseases
• Delta virus
• Immune response to Hepatitis virus
• Rabies vaccines
• Ebola virus
• Dengue shock syndrome
• Diarrheal viruses
• Antiviral drugs
• Molluscum contagiosum
• HIV post-exposure prophylaxis
• Swine flue/Bird flu
• Chikungunya virus
• Emerging viral diseases
• Infectious mononucleosis
• Varicella-zoster
• B-cell/T-cell
• MHC restriction
• HLA system/typing
• IgG/IgM/IgA/IgE
• Monoclonal antibody
• Immunofluorescence
• Immunodiffusion
• Heterophile tests
• Western Blot
• Southern Blot
• Abnormal immunoglobulins
• Class switching
• Lectin pathway
• Properdin pathway
• Host vs Graft reaction
• Graft vs Host reaction
• Immunological surveillance
• DiGeorge’s syndrome
• Anaphylaxis
• NK cells/LGLs
• Complement deficiencies
• Coomb’s test
• Frequently asked questions in Viva
• Applied microbiology: clinical cases
• Online identification of bacteria
• PPT slides for online self-study
• Ready made notes

What's new?

• New web design
• New additions in PPT slides
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• HTML5 compatible slides
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• Wiki contributions

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Multiple Choice

Which of the following foods is NOT made by fermentation?

• orange juice

Who is considered the “father of Western medicine”?

• Marcus Terentius Varro
• Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
• Hippocrates

Who was the first to observe “animalcules” under the microscope?

• Ötzi the Iceman
• Robert Koch

Who proposed that swamps might harbor tiny, disease-causing animals too small to see?

• Louis Pasteur

Which of the following was NOT a kingdom in Linnaeus’s taxonomy?

Which of the following is a correct usage of binomial nomenclature?

• Homo Sapiens
• homo sapiens
• Homo sapiens

Which scientist proposed adding a kingdom for protists?

• Carolus Linnaeus
• Robert Whittaker
• Ernst Haeckel

Which of the following is NOT a domain in Woese and Fox’s phylogenetic tree?

Which of the following is the standard resource for identifying bacteria?

• Systema Naturae
• Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology
• Woese and Fox’s phylogenetic tree
• Haeckel’s General Morphology of Organisms

Which of the following types of microorganisms is photosynthetic?

Which of the following is a prokaryotic microorganism?

• cyanobacterium

Which of the following is acellular?

Which of the following is a type of fungal microorganism?

Which of the following is not a subfield of microbiology?

• bacteriology
• clinical microbiology

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Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/microbiology/pages/1-introduction

• Authors: Nina Parker, Mark Schneegurt, Anh-Hue Thi Tu, Philip Lister, Brian M. Forster
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: Microbiology
• Publication date: Nov 1, 2016
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/microbiology/pages/1-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/microbiology/pages/1-multiple-choice

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POTENTIAL EXAM QUESTIONS IN A MICROBIOLOGY COURSE

Professor Katherine Mcmahon (Microbiology 425, Environmental microbiology)

The questions below are all fair game for the final exam. I will select roughly half of the content for the actual exam. The actual exam will also include 5-8 multiple choice questions (not listed here).

For guidance on how much detail to provide in your answer, I am listing the approximate number of lines I would expect you to use on the actual exam, to answer the question. The last page of this document has line numbers to use for calibration purposes.

1. Imagine that after graduation you secure a job at an environmental remediation firm as the resident (micro)biologist, mainly because you took Microbiology 425 and have expertise in environmental microbiology. They hire you to advise a team of ecologists, engineers, and chemists on a range of pollution cleanup and mitigation projects. The first big project you are assigned to is an oil spill that just occurred because an oil tanker sank in Puget Sound, Washington.

a. The engineers propose spraying a chemical dispersant called Corexit on the oil slick because they read about its use for the Deep Water Horizon spill cleanup. The ecologists disagree because they think it is too toxic to wildlife.

i. Explain to both the engineer and the ecologist the purpose of the dispersant (6 lines).

ii. The team wants your advice on whether the dispersant will actually work and to provide evidence from past studies about its effect on microbial processes. Outline the technical report you would provide to them. (20 lines)

iii. Specifically, the team wants to know whether the oil and dispersant degradation rates will be comparable to those reported for the Deep Water Horizon spill. Compare and contrast the conditions at the location of the current spill vs the DWH, in order to answer their question. Focus on conditions that are relevant to the microbes. (15 lines)

b. You are given a large research budget to study the effects of the oil spill on the microbial communities in Puget Sound. Outline THREE datasets that you would collect and briefly describe how you would collect them. (30 lines)

c. Describe the results you would expect to obtain from your studies. Specifically, which organisms do you expect to be enriched in water affected by the spill? (10 lines)

d. Identify at least three genes or pathways you would expect to find enriched in Puget Sound after the spill. (6 lines)

e. One of the ecologists asks whether the team should expect to find a lot of Methylomonas in the water, since he read that this genus was enriched after the DWH spill. Answer her question and explain your answer. (10 lines)

f. One of the engineers asks why oil spills cause dissolved oxygen depletion. She learned about biological oxygen demand in her class on wastewater treatment but doesn’t understand why oil would have the same effect as sewage. Explain the mechanism of hydrocarbon-mediated DO depletion to her. (15 lines)

2. Imagine that you just joined the laboratory of a famous oceanographer who up until recently has not employed many of the more modern molecular techniques to the study of marine microbes. Thus, she is unfamiliar with the strengths and limitations of various molecular methods. She is funding you as a PhD student to study the role of polyamines in the ocean because a recent analysis of metagenomic data showed that genes encoding polyamine transporters were abundant in many marine samples. While doing some background reading, you learn that polyamines are found in marine phytoplankton.

a. The PI asks you to analyze some unassembled metagenomes and tell her which of the major heterotrophic marine bacteria have polyamine transporters in their genomes. You know this is not possible to do without gathering additional data. Explain why this is the case. (8 lines)

b. Propose a workflow that could be used to generate the information your PI is seeking, assuming no budgetary constraints. (15 lines)

c. Now that you know which marine bacteria carry polyamine transporter genes, your PI wants to know which of these bacteria are actively using polyamines, in water off the coast of Georgia. Propose a workflow that could be used to generate the information your PI is seeking. (15 lines)

d. Now imagine that a new undergraduate researcher joins the lab. He has never taken a course in environmental microbiology or marine microbiology. The PI asks you to explain the concept of the Microbial Loop to this new lab member. Outline how you would do this, using the polyamines as an illustrative example. Feel free to draw a diagram if you think it would help. (12 lines)

3. The nitrogen cycle in freshwater lakes is complex. In temperate eutrophic lakes such as Lake Mendota, which thermally stratify during the summer, ammonium accumulates to high concentrations in the hypolimnion. When the lake turns over and mixes in the fall, the ammonium is distributed throughout the water column and persists at concentrations ~ 1 mg-N/L until ice forms. During the winter under the ice, much of the ammonium is gradually converted to nitrate.

a. Identify the individual steps in the conversion of ammonium to nitrate. Write the balanced reactions. (6 lines)

b. Nitrite concentrations under the ice rarely rise above 20 uM. Predict which groups of nitrite oxidizing bacteria would be found under the ice in the winter: Nitrospira or Nitrobacter. Justify your answer. (8 lines)

c. The dissolved oxygen concentrations under the ice tend to be high when the ice forms, but they become depleted during winter leading up to the spring thaw (but not to the point of “hypoxia”). Outline the processes that are leading to this oxygen consumption in the context of the carbon cycle under the ice. Compare and contrast this with what is happening in such lakes during the summer. (15 lines)

• Intro to Microbiology    [ Test Questions only  or all  Intro to Microbiology materials ]
• History of Microbiology   [ Test Questions only  or all  History of Microbiology materials ]
• Chemistry of Microbiology  
• Bacterial Cell Wall & Differential Staining 
• Prokaryote Cell Structure & Function   [ Test Questions only  or  all materials ]
• Eukaryote Cell Structure & Function   [ Test Questions only  or  all materials ]
• DNA Replication    [ Test Questions only  or all  DNA Replication materials ]
• DNA Transcription & Translation    [ Test Questions only  or  all materials ]
• Microbial Genetics    [ Test Questions only  or all  Microbial Genetics materials ]
• Biological Classification ​   [ Test Questions only  or all  Biological Classification materials ]
• Meet the Microbes: Prokaryotes  [ Test Questions only  or all  all materials ]
• Meet the Microbes: Eukaryotes    [ Test Questions only  or  all materialsl ]
• Virus Structure   [ Test Questions only  or all  Virus Structure materials ]
• Virus Life Cycle   [ Test Questions only  or all  Virus Life Cycle materials ]
• Meet the Microbes: Viruses   [ Test Questions only  or all  Meet the Viruses materials ]
• Microbial Growth   [ Test Questions only  or all   Microbial Growth materials ]
• Microbial Metabolism   [ Test Questions only  or all the  Microbial Metabolism materials ]
• Specialized Bacterial Growth Media   [ Test questions only  or  all materials ]
• Nonspecific / Innate Immunity   [ Test Questions only  or all  Innate Immunity materials ]
• Specific / Acquired Immunity   [ Test Questions only  or all  Acquired Immunity materials ]

• Online Practice Tests

Microbiology Practice Questions

1. which of the following structures contains genes for enzymes and antibiotic resistance.

• Plasma Membrane

2. Which of the following is the most important structure related to microbial attachment to cells?

• Peptidoglycan 

3. Which of the following is not a gram-negative bug?

• Clostridium perfringens  
• Vibrio cholerae  
• Escherichia coli  
• Bordetella pertussis

4. Which of the following is not true related to endotoxins?

• Endotoxins are secreted from cells. 
• Can be linked to Meningococcemia 
• Produced by gram negative microorganisms 
• Can cause fever

5. Which of the following microorganisms stain well?

• Legionella pneumophila  
• Treponema  

6. Which of the following microorganisms are not matched correctly with the appropriate isolation media?

• Fungi – Sabourand’s agar 
• Neisseria gonorrhoeae  – Pink colonies media 
• Haemophilus influenzae  – Chocolate agar 
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis  – Lowenstein-Jensen agar

7. Which of the following diseases and bacteria are matched up incorrectly?

• Cellulitis –  Pasteurella multocida  
• Tularemia –  Francisella tularensis  
• Gastritis –  Heliobacter pylori  
• Lyme disease –  Yersinia pestis

8. Which of the following diseases and bacteria are matched up incorrectly?

• Treponema pallidum  – Syphilis 
• Tinea nigra  – Cladosporium werneckii 
• Borrelia burgdorferi  – Lyme disease 
• Yersinia enterocolitica  – Diptheria

9. Which of the following is not true concerning Staphylococcus aureus?

• S. aureus is related to inflammation. 
• S. aureus can cause pneumonia 
• S. aureus can lead to acute bacterial endocarditis 
• S. aureus does not make coagulase

10. Which of the following signs and symptoms is not linked to Haemophilus influenzae?

• Otitis media 

11. The Tsetse fly is a transmission factor for which of the following organisms?

• Trichomonas vaginalis  
• Trypanosoma gambiense  
• Entamoeba histolytica  

12. The Ixodes tick is a transmission factor for which of the following organisms?

• Leishmania donovani  
• Giardia lamblia

13. Chagas’ disease is commonly treated with Nifurtimox and is linked to the ____ microorganism.

• Schistosoma  
• Wucheria bancrofti  
• Trypanosoma cruzi

14. Which of the following is not fungal related?

• Cryptococcus neoformans  
• Candida albicans  
• Tinea nigra  

15. Which of the following is not a DNA virus?

• Adenovirus 
• Calicivirus 

16. Which of the following is not a RNA virus?

• Orthomyxovirus 
• Deltavirus 
• Herpesvirus

17. Which of the following viruses is not a double strand linear DNA virus?

• Papovavirus 

18. Which of the following viruses is not a single strand linear RNA virus?

• Retrovirus 
• Bunyavirus 
• Picornavirus

19. The Tzanck test is not used on which of the following viruses?

20. which of the following microorganisms has not been linked to uti’s.

• Pseudomonas  
• Klebsiella  
• Haemophilus

1. A  2. D  3. A  4. A  5. A  6. B  7. D  8. D  9. D  10. C  11. B  12. C  13. D  14. D  15. B  16. D  17. B  18. C  19. C  20. D

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Medical Microbiology Part 2 - Essay sample questions

Designing Effective Assignments

Potential Exam Questions in a Microbiology Course

Professor Katherine McMahon - Microbiology 425: Environmental Microbiology

The questions below are all fair game for the final exam.  I will select roughly half of the content for the actual exam. The actual exam will also include 5-8 multiple choice questions (not listed here).

For guidance on how much detail to provide in your answer, I am listing the approximate number of lines I would expect you to use on the actual exam, to answer the question. The last page of this document has line numbers to use for calibration purposes.

1. Imagine that after graduation you secure a job at an environmental remediation firm as the resident (micro)biologist, mainly because you took Microbiology 425 and have expertise in environmental microbiology. They hire you to advise a team of ecologists, engineers, and chemists on a range of pollution cleanup and mitigation projects. The first big project you are assigned to is an oil spill that just occurred because an oil tanker sank in Puget Sound, Washington.

a. The engineers propose spraying a chemical dispersant called Corexit on the oil slick because they read about its use for the Deep Water Horizon spill cleanup. The ecologists disagree because they think it is too toxic to wildlife.

 i. Explain to both the engineer and the ecologist the purpose of the dispersant (6 lines).

 ii. The team wants your advice on whether the dispersant will actually work and to provide evidence from past studies about its effect on microbial processes. Outline the technical report you would provide to them. (20 lines)

iii. Specifically, the team wants to know whether the oil and dispersant degradation rates will be comparable to those reported for the Deep Water Horizon spill. Compare and contrast the conditions at the location of the current spill vs the DWH, in order to answer their question. Focus on conditions that are relevant to the microbes.       (15 lines)

b.  You are given a large research budget to study the effects of the oil spill on the microbial communities in Puget Sound. Outline THREE datasets that you would collect and briefly describe how you would collect them. (30 lines)

c. Describe the results you would expect to obtain from your studies.  Specifically, which organisms do you expect to be enriched in water affected by the spill? (10 lines)

d. Identify at least three genes or pathways you would expect to find enriched in Puget Sound after the spill. (6 lines)

e. One of the ecologists asks whether the team should expect to find a lot of Methylomonas in the water, since he read that this genus was enriched after the DWH spill.  Answer her question and explain your answer. (10 lines)

f. One of the engineers asks why oil spills cause dissolved oxygen depletion. She learned about biological oxygen demand in her class on wastewater treatment but doesn’t understand why oil would have the same effect as sewage. Explain the mechanism of hydrocarbon-mediated DO depletion to her. (15 lines)

2.  Imagine that you just joined the laboratory of a famous oceanographer who up until recently has not employed many of the more modern molecular techniques to the study of marine microbes. Thus, she is unfamiliar with the strengths and limitations of various molecular methods. She is funding you as a PhD student to study the role of polyamines in the ocean because a recent analysis of metagenomic data showed that genes encoding polyamine transporters were abundant in many marine samples. While doing some background reading, you learn that polyamines are found in marine phytoplankton.

a. The PI asks you to analyze some unassembled metagenomes and tell her which of the major heterotrophic marine bacteria have polyamine transporters in their genomes. You know this is not possible to do without gathering additional data. Explain why this is the case. (8 lines)

b. Propose a workflow that could be used to generate the information your PI is seeking, assuming no budgetary constraints. (15 lines)

c. Now that you know which marine bacteria carry polyamine transporter genes, your PI wants to know which of these bacteria are actively using polyamines, in water off the coast of Georgia. Propose a workflow that could be used to generate the information your PI is seeking. (15 lines)

d. Now imagine that a new undergraduate researcher joins the lab. He has never taken a course in environmental microbiology or marine microbiology. The PI asks you to explain the concept of the Microbial Loop to this new lab member. Outline how you would do this, using the polyamines as an illustrative example.  Feel free to draw a diagram if you think it would help. (12 lines)

3.  The nitrogen cycle in freshwater lakes is complex. In temperate eutrophic lakes such as Lake Mendota, which thermally stratify during the summer, ammonium accumulates to high concentrations in the hypolimnion. When the lake turns over and mixes in the fall, the ammonium is distributed throughout the water column and persists at concentrations ~ 1 mg-N/L until ice forms. During the winter under the ice, much of the ammonium is gradually converted to nitrate.

a. Identify the individual steps in the conversion of ammonium to nitrate. Write the balanced reactions. (6 lines)

b. Nitrite concentrations under the ice rarely rise above 20 uM. Predict which groups of nitrite oxidizing bacteria would be found under the ice in the winter: Nitrospira or Nitrobacter . Justify your answer. (8 lines)

c. The dissolved oxygen concentrations under the ice tend to be high when the ice forms, but they become depleted during winter leading up to the spring thaw (but not to the point of “hypoxia”). Outline the processes that are leading to this oxygen consumption in the context of the carbon cycle under the ice. Compare and contrast this with what is happening in such lakes during the summer. (15 lines)

UW-Madison WAC Sourcebook 2020 Copyright © by Professor Katherine McMahon - Microbiology 425: Environmental Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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Past papers

• Activities for Children
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• Membership publications
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A list of past papers for IBMS DEP and IBMS HSD

IBMS Diploma of Expert Practice 

DEP Immunocytochemistry

DEP 2023 Immunocytochemistry Papers 1 and 2 

DEP 2022 Immunocytochemistry Papers 1 and 2

DEP Histological Dissection

DEP 2023 Histological Dissection Papers 1 and 2

DEP 2022 Histological Dissection Papers 1 and 2

IBMS Higher Specialist Diploma

Cellular Pathology

HSD September 2023 Cellular Pathology

HSD September 2022 Cellular Pathology

Clinical Chemistry

HSD September 2023 Clinical Chemistry

HSD September 2022 Clinical Chemistry

Cytopathology

HSD September 2021 Cytopathology

Generic Paper

HSD September 2023 Generic Paper

HSD September 2022 Generic Paper

Haematology

HSD September 2023 - Haematology

HSD September 2022 - Haematology

HSD September 2022 - Immunology

Leadership and Management

HSD September 2023 Leadership and Management

HSD September 2022 Leadership and Management

Medical Microbiology

HSD September 2023 Medical Microbiology

HSD September 2022 Medical Microbiology

Transfusion Science

HSD September 2023 Transfusion Science

HSD September 2022 Transfusion Science

HSD September 2022 Virology

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