Which of following statements is INCORRECT?

a.The best evidence to date points to Covid-19 being a zoonosis originating in bats.

b.You cannot effectively protect yourself from Zika virus by sleeping under an insecticide treated bed net at night in endemic areas.

c.One of the reasons viruses are not considered to be alive is that they cannot reproduce unless they get inside the right type of host cell.

d.HIV is primarily spread via sexual contact with the greatest burden being on people Sub-Saharan Africa.

e.H1N1 produces more health complications, mutates more rapidly, and is harder to produce a vaccine to than H3N2.

Answer: e

In the Wood-wide Web

1. trees cooperate and share resources using underground fungal networks
2. older hub trees can provide carbon to help younger trees
3. trees can release chemical signals to fungi allowing neighboring trees to respond

a.only 2 is correct

b.1, 2 and 3 are correct

c.2 and 3 are correct

d. only 1 is correct

e. 1 and 2 are correct

Answer: b

Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

a.Fungi may cause Ringworm, Athletes foot, Sick Building Syndrome and even cancer.

b. Fungal spores are only dispersed by wind.

c. Yeast reproduce asexually by budding and are responsible for beer, wine and baked goods

d. Crustose, fruticose and foliose are varieties of lichens that convert bare rock into soil over time.

e. Fungi may be parasitic on plants producing costly smuts and rusts of crop plants but some are highly valuable as food delicacies.

Answer: b

The atmosphere and seas of the early Earth lacked oxygen. What kind of organisms could have lived under those conditions?

a. aerotolerant anaerobes

b. obligate aerobes

c. obligate anaerobes

d. all but one of the other answers is correct.

e. facultative anaerobes

Answer: d

You observe the symbiotic association of a green algae and a fungus in your backyard. After a time you note that the fungus has sickened, and it eventually dies. What do you predict will happen to the green algae?

a. The green algae will immediately die as well.

b. The g reen algae will be shaded by the dead fungus, so it will thrive.

c. The green algae will be more vulnerable to grazers and pathogens.

d. The green algae will have more oxygen available to it so it will thrive.

Answer: c

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. There are more human cells in the human body than microbial cells.

b. Wildebeests, cow, sheep and other grazers would switch to other food resources if their microbes were killed off.

c. Sterile mice have perfect bones, blood vessels and gut because they develop without ever encountering microbial signals.

d. Protists are important ecologically because they are at the base of aquatic foodwebs where they are primary producers of carbon dioxide which helps plants grow.

e. Human milk oligosaccharides in breast milk nourish the infant’s first microbes and gut cells as well as serving to quench inflammation.

Answer: e

A sac fungus is exposed to a mutagen, and it mutates so that it cannot produce a functional ascocarp. The most likely consequence is

a.lichens could not form.

B.asexual spores would not be produced.

C.cellular metabolism could not occur.

D.fruiting bodies would not occur.

E.his is a vestigial structure, so there is no consequence.

Answer: d

The human microbiome has narrowed in the recent past perhaps due to:

a.increased use/overuse of anti-microbial substances and antibiotics.

B.movement into concrete cities and away from soil, animals and nature coupled with the increased use/overuse of antibiotics.

C.movement into concrete cities and away from soil, animals and nature.

D.All of the other answers are reasons.

E.a shift in diet from plant-based, fiber-rich foods to animal based, fatty foods.

Answer: d

1. The __________ cycle of viral infection of a bacterial cell is the one that will most rapidly cause the cell's death. a.fucoxanthin B.luciferase C.mycorrhizal D.lytic E.lysogenic

Answer: d

The human microbiome is:

1. the collection of microbes that share the same environmental requirements as humans.
2. the collection of pathogenic microbes that attack humans and cause disease
3. the collection of microbes that are necessary for human survival, such as photoautotrophs and nitrogen fixing bacteria
4. the collection of microbes that benefit human society, providing services such as bioremediation and assisting in food production.
5. the collection of symbiotic microbes living on or within the human body, often performing functions that humans do not possess.

Answer: e

Which of the following organisms moves by flagella?

1. Organism C
2. Organism E
3. Organism A
4. Organism B
5. Organism D

Answer: a

A drug researcher has developed a macromolecule that can bind to scrapie and thus change the prion's conformation. What effect might this have on the actions of scrapie as a TSE (transmissible spongiform encephalopathy)?

1. The shape change could stop the replication of scrapie DNA
2. The shape change could block the translation of scrapie DNA.
3. The shape change could stop the transcription of scrapie RNA.
4. The shape change could prevent the scrapie protein from converting normal proteins to scrapie proteins.

Answer: d

In an existing population of plants and mycorrhizae, disease strikes and the mycorrhizae are killed. Which of the following would be impacted?

1. the availability of mineral nutrients to the plant
2. the binding of the soil and erosion
3. All but one of the others would be affected.
4. the water supply to the plant
5. the supply of organic food to the plant

Answer: a

Malaria occurs when humans are bitten by _______________ which inject _____________ when they bite leading to symptoms of __________________________.

1. female Anopheles mosquitoes; sporozoites; shaking chills, high fever and profuse sweating
2. sand flies; sporozoites; enlarged liver and spleen, chill and fever
3. female Anopheles mosquitoes; merozoites; shaking chills, high fever and profuse sweating
4. male or female Anopheles mosquitoes; sporozoites; nausea, vomiting, and fever
5. female Tsetse flies; trypomastigotes; swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver, sleeping

Answer: a

Your instructor has assigned you the task of identifying an unknown organism isolated from salamander skin. When you examine the cellular structure under the microscope, you note that the cells are uniflagellated and the cell wall is made of chitin. Further analysis indicates that glucose is stored as glycogen. To which group does the unknown organism most likely belong?

1. Euglenids
2. Foraminiferans
3. Dinoflagellates
4. Chytrids
5. Escherichia coli

Answer: d

An alteration occurs during the formation of a dikaryotic cell, such that it has twice the number of nuclei compared to a normal dikaryotic cell. Only the number of nuclei changes; the type of nuclei remains the same. This altered cell is most accurately described as having

1. two haploid nuclei and two diploid nuclei
2. two diploid nuclei
3. two haploid nuclei
4. four haploid nuclei
5. four diploid nuclei

Answer: d

Protists are NOT monophyletic. This means that protists:

1. are all more closely related to each other than they are to any other kind of organisms
2. are all more closely related to bacteria than they are to other organisms
3. are more closely related to some other organisms that they are to each other.
4. are all members of the same phylum
5. are all more closely related to fungi than they are to any other organisms

Answer: c

Generally speaking, which of these infections could NOT be treated successfully with antibiotics?

1.Strep throat 2. Syphilis 3. Influenza 4. Botulism 5. Covid-19 6. Tetanus

1. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6
2. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
3. 3. 3 and 5
4. 3, 4 and 5

e . 5. 2, 3 and 6

Answer: d

Bioluminescence is:

1. the absorption of light by pigments for transfer to chlorophyll a.
2. the capture of moonlight for nocturnal photosynthesis.
3. the ability to detect and move away from sources of light and is the same as biofluorescence.
4. the production and emission of light as a result of a chemical reaction in organisms for the possible attraction of mates or repulsion of predators/consumers.

Answer: d

If no Vibrio fischeri are present in the environment, what is most likely to happen during the development of the bobtail squid?

1. The squid does not mature into an adult.
2. The light organ develops completely but does not glow.
3. The light organ does not develop completely.
4. The squid selects different prey as a source of food.
5. E. Other bacterial species are allowed in to take over Vibrio’s function.

Answer: c

Despite their tolerance for harsh conditions, lichens are particularly intolerant of:

1. sunlight
2. cold
3. drought
4. airborne toxic materials
5. shade

Answer: b

A new prokaryotic species is discovered living at the bottom of a deep lake that is fed by runoff from an iron (II) sulfide mine. What would be your best guess as to the type of prokaryote this species might be?

1. photoautotroph
2. photoheterotroph
3. methanogen
4. saprotroph
5. chemoautotroph

Answer: e

Infection with the bacterium, Clostridium difficile, can destroy the human gut microbiome leading to severe, persistent, sometimes fatal diarrhea. The most effective treatment involves:

1. Consuming lots of yogurt and capsules containing probiotics.
2. Ingestion of raw Nori so that it’s marine bacteria will engage in horizontal gene transfer with C. difficile thereby killing it off.
3. Massive use of antibiotics
4. Fecal transplant – moving stool from healthy donor to sick recipient

Answer: d

Scientists investigated the hot and toxic environment near deep-sea hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. They found organisms from both domain Archaea and domain Bacteria. How can they distinguish between these two groups?

1. Members of Archaea have ether linkages between their membrane lipids while members of Bacteria have ester linkages.
2. Members of Archaea have nuclei, and members of Bacteria do not.
3. Members of Archaea are spherical, while members of Bacteria are rod-like or spiral-shaped.
4. All members of Bacteria have a thick peptidoglycan cell wall, and members of Archaea do not.
5. Members of Archaea have fimbriae, and members of Bacteria have flagella.

Answer: a

You discover a bacteria species in a deep ocean sample that can turn olive oil into pure gold. The bacteria do not replicate well at sea level, and one night all of your "Golden" bacteria die. What can you do to possibly retrieve the gold-making gene from the dead Golden bacteria?

1. Transduce a live bacterial strain with the Golden bacteria's DNA.
2. There is nothing you can do because the cells are dead. You will have to search the ocean and hope to find the elusive bacteria again.
3. Conjugate a live bacterial strain with the Golden bacteria.
4. Transform a live bacterial strain with the Golden bacteria's DNA.
5. Transduce the Golden bacteria and then infect a live strain of bacteria with the transducing virus.

Answer: c

Which of the following describes the difference between fungal endomycorrhizae and fungal endophytes?

a. Endomycorrhizae live inside fungi and provide them with nutrients and water, and endophytes live inside plants, often parasitizing them and slowly breaking down their structure.

Endomycorrhizae form arbuscules that facilitate exchanges of water and food between the fungus and plant root cells, whereas endophytes invade plant leaf/stem cells and provide the plant with protective antibiotics and toxins.

None of the answers are correct.

Endomycorrhizae are beneficial to its host plant but endophytes harm the host plant

Endomycorrhizae form arbuscules on plant roots that produce toxins killing parasitic nematodes, whereas endophytes assist in the transport of water through the plant.

Answer: b

The _______________ are not basidiomycetes (club fungi).

1. stinkhorns and bracket fungi
2. morels and truffles
3. mushrooms
4. puffballs
5. toadstools

Answer: b

In which situation would the Bacillus bacterium likely NOT form endospores?

1. The Bacillus living in the gut of a healthy deer in western Massachusetts.
2. The river bed that the Bacillus lives in suddenly dries up.
3. All the nutrients in the puddle that the Bacillus lives in are consumed by algae.
4. The soil the Bacillus lives in freezes.

E. Bacillus in deer feces left in a hot, sunny meadow.

Answer: a

Scientists develop a chemical that binds to molecules that make quorum sensing possible, rendering those molecules non-functional. If this chemical is incorporated into a mouthwash, how would it affect the community of bacteria that cause dental plaque?

1. Their positive effects would be increased because they will help increase the amount of enamel on teeth.
2. Their negative effects would be increased because it will cause them to produce mucilage, allowing them to stick to teeth.
3. Their negative effects would be reduced because they will no longer be able to produce mucilage and stick to teeth.

d. Their negative effects would be reduced because they will no longer be able to produce the acid that damages teeth.

e. It would have no effect because they will still be able to form a biofilm and secrete the acid that damages teeth.

Answer: c

Because they differ from other living organisms by lacking a discrete nucleus and many other cell inclusions, bacteria and archaea are more closely related to one another than they are to eukaryotes.

1. True
2. False

Answer: b

Extreme halophiles are found in

1. In strongly acidic environments
2. animal intestines
3. salt lakes
4. In methane swamps
5. the Antarctic ice mass

Answer: c

In organisms like trypanosomes and apicomplexans with a haploid (zygotic) life cycle:

1. diploid gametes fuse to create a novel polyploid organism.
2. the organism is haploid and spores are generated through meiosis of a diploid zygote.(Got on Chatgtp)
3. the organism is diploid and haploid gametes are generated meiosis
4. The sporophyte Is haploid and the gametophyte is diploid.

E. the organism is diploid and haploid spores are generated through budding

Answer: b

The group of protists to which you are most closely related is

1. stramenopiles
2. zygospores
3. rhizaria
4. choanoflagellates
5. discoba

Answer: d

Conidia are:

1. structures that occur in aseptal pores
2. cells produced by some fungi as a result of sexual reproduction
3. structures that occur in septal pores
4. fungal asexual reproductive cells produced by via mitosis
5. the unspecialized gametes of fungi

Answer: d

All multicellular algae (seaweeds) are found within the same supergroup along with the land plants.

1. True
2. False

Answer: b

A pharmaceutical company develops a drug inhibiting mitosis of sporozoites in an effort to prevent malaria. How would this affect the next step of the infection cycle of Plasmodium falciparum?

1. Infected red blood cells would not attach to the linings of capillaries.
2. Infected red blood cells would not burst.
3. Gametes would not be produced.
4. Gametocytes would not be produced.
5. Merozoites would not be produced.

Answer: d

Which pairing is CORRECT?

1. Brown algae – capsules, culture medium, carrageenan, sushi wrappings
2. Red algae – chlorophylls a and c, seaweed, rocky shore with cold ocean water
3. Dinoflagellates - 2 flagellae, reef-building corals, Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning
4. Kinetoplastids – silica shells, Amnesic shellfish poisoning, filtering material
5. Diatoms – silica shells, Amnesic shellfish poisoning, filtering material

Answer: c

Based on the information in the table below, which of the following statements is correct?

1. The Covid-19 (delta/omicron variants) are about 2x's more contagious than Measles.
2. HIV and Influenza follow Koch's postulates while Covid-19 strains do not.
3. Measles is less contagious than HIV, Influenza or Covid-19.
4. influenza is more contagious than Covid-19, HIV or Measles.
5. Covid-19 is more contagious that Influenza but less contagious than Measles.

Answer: e

Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

1. Botox is a bacterial metabolite that causes muscle contraction and is useful in the treatment of migraines, stuttering, overactive bladder and strokes.
2. Ergot is a parasitic fungus that grows on rye and other grains and has metabolites that can be used to treat excessive bleeding but may also cause convulsions, gangrene and hallucinations.
3. The cell wall is structurally the same in all bacteria.
4. Griseovulvin is a fungal-derived, anti-fungal agent used to treat dermatophytes that thrive on dead skin, hair and nails.
5. Statin drugs are the most prescribed drugs of all time and work with diet and exercise to combat cardiovascular disease.

Answer: b

With regards to poisonous mushrooms

1. cooking all mushrooms thoroughly diminishes the toxicity of the poisonous species rendering them safe to consume.
2. it is simple to distinguish the poisonous from the non-poisonous when out in the woods looking for food.
3. a variety of species in the U.S. contain amatoxins, whose consumption may lead to the need for a liver transplant.
4. the fact that they taste bad tends to make people spit them out before much damage is done.
5. thankfully there are none in Massachusetts making it safe to consume mushrooms from the woods here.

Answer: b

In the Gulf of Maine, red tides caused by the dinoflagellate, Alexandrium tamarense leads to the accumulation of saxitoxin in filter feeding shellfish and potentially life threatening illness in humans and marine mammals. As an environmental scientist what would you suggest concerned citizens do to help prevent red tides?

1. Participate in beach clean-up efforts.
2. Purchase fuel-efficient vehicles
3. Encourage sustainable fishing
4. Decrease the amount of artificial light in coastal areas.
5. Reduce fertilizer use on lawns and gardens.

Answer: e

Based on your knowledge of bacteria, it is safe to assume that the cells of Streptococcus pneumoniae are spherical while those of Lactobacillus acidophilus are rod-shaped.

1. True
2. False

Answer: a

How many Ginkgo trees (maidenhair trees) are there in the area between Snell Library, Snell Engineering and Egan Research Center? ____________

a.11

Answer: a