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18 Microbial Models: The Genetics of Viruses and Bacteria Questions for Chapter 18
1) The simplest infectious biological systems are A) bacteria. Answer: C 2) Which of the following is a true statement about viruses? A) Viruses are classified below the cellular level of biological organization. B) A single virus particle contains both DNA and RNA. C) Even small virus particles are visible with light microscopes. D) A and B only are true. E) A, B, and C are true. Answer: A 3) A researcher lyses a cell that contains nucleic acid molecules and capsid units of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). The cell contents are left in a covered test tube overnight. The next day this mixture is sprayed on tobacco plants. Which of the following would be expected to occur? A) The plants would develop some but not all of the symptoms of the TMV infection. B) The plants would develop symptoms typically produced by viroids. C) The plants would develop the typical symptoms of TMV infection. D) The plants would not show any disease symptoms. E) The plants would become infected, but the sap from these plants would be unable to infect other plants. Answer: C 4) Which of the following is a characteristic of all viruses? A) nucleic acid genome B) a protein capsid C) glycoprotein cell wall D) A and B only E) A, B, and C Answer: D 5) Viruses have some of the properties of living organisms. Which of the following is a characteristic of all organisms, but not of viruses? A) genetic information stored as nucleic acid B) ability to control metabolism C) ability to reproduce D) structure includes proteins E) plasma membrane Answer: E 6) The host range of a virus is determined by A) the structure of the viral capsid. B) whether the virus nucleic acid is DNA or RNA. C) proteins on the surface of the cell. D) enzymes produced by the virus before it infects the cell. E) both A and C. Answer: E B) viruses. C) viroids. D) A and B. E) B and C.

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7) Viruses are referred to as obligate parasites because A) they use the host cell's nucleotides and enzymes to reproduce. B) viral DNA inserts itself into host DNA. C) they reproduce and then exit the cell. D) they are nonliving. E) they use the host's energy to live. Answer: A 8) The phage DNA is not hydrolyzed with the host DNA because A) phage DNA contains an urecognizable form of cytosine. B) phage DNA remains outside the host cell. C) a protein sheath protects phage DNA. D) the host cell ceases to function. E) lysozyme releases phage particles before hydrolysis can occur. Answer: A 9) Double-stranded viruses can reproduce the lytic cycle and the lysogenic cycle. Which of the following is characterstic of the lytic cycle? A) Many bacterial cells containing viral DNA are produced. B) Viral DNA is incorporated into the host chromosomes. C) The viral genome replicates without destroying the host. D) A large number of phages are released at a time. E) The virus-host relationship usually lasts for generations. Answer: D 10) Bacteriophage DNAs that have become integrated into the host cell chromosome are called A) intemperate bacteriophages. B) transposons. C) prophages. D) T-even bacteriophages. E) plasmids. Answer: C 11) Virulent phages undergo a(n) cycle. A) infective; retroviral B) lysogenic; lytic C) lytic; lysogenic D) retroviral; infective E) infective; benign Answer: C 12) Viral envelopes are generally A) composed of protein. B) composed of a lipid bilayer. C) composed of single-stranded RNA. D) found between the viral protein coat and its DNA. E) made of peptidoglycan cell wall material. Answer: B life cycle, whereas temperate phages are capable of undergoing a(n)

13) What is the function of reverse transcriptase in retroviruses? A) hydrolyzes the host cell's DNA B) uses viral RNA as a template for DNA synthesis C) converts host cell RNA into viral DNA D) translates viral RNA into proteins E) uses viral RNA as a template for making complementary RNA strands Answer: B 14) What is the function of the single-stranded RNA in certain animal viruses? A) It becomes an mRNA. B) It codes for an mRNA. C) It is used as a template for the synthesis of DNA. D) A and C only are correct. E) A, B, and C are all correct. Answer: D 15) Viruses that have a single strand of RNA that acts as a template for DNA synthesis are known as A) retroviruses. Answer: A 16) Which of the following is true of retroviruses? They A) have the enzyme reverse transcriptase. B) use their RNA as a template for mRNA. C) use their RNA as a template for DNA. D) A and C only are correct. E) A, B, and C are correct. Answer: D 17) Which of the following is a true statement? A) Viruses are uncommon. B) Viruses can cause diarrhea, colds, and measles. C) All viruses have a common capsid and membranous envelope. D) All viruses contain the nucleic acid RNA. E) Viruses only invade animal cells. Answer: B 18) For many bacteriophages, infections are self-limiting. Each phage that infects a cell produces hundreds of new phages, and eventually cells are infected by several phages at different times. This results in a competition for regulatory control over the cell, with the eventual result of the death of the cell without the production of new viruses. This phenomenon is called superinfection. Superinfection can be prevented by which of the following changes in the bacteriophage? A) restricting the host range of the phage B) slowing down the rate of the lytic infection C) making larger numbers of new phages D) the virus becoming a prophage in the cell E) evolving a more complex protein coat Answer: D B) proviruses. C) viroids. D) bacteriophages. E) lytic phages.

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19) RNA viruses appear to have higher rates of mutation because A) RNA nucleotides are more unstable than DNA nucleotides. B) replication of their nucleic acid does not involve the proofreading steps of DNA replication. C) RNA viruses replicate faster. D) RNA viruses can incorporate a variety of nonstandard bases. E) RNA viruses respond more to mutagens. Answer: B 20) Which of the following does not contribute to the emergence of viral disease? A) production of new strains of virus through mutation B) spread of existing virus from one host to another C) transformation from lytic to lysogenic activity D) dissemination from a small, isolated host population Answer: C 21) Which of the following is true of plant virus infections? A) They can be controlled by the use of antibiotics. B) They are spread throughout a plant by passing through the plasmodesmata. C) They have little effect on plant growth. D) A and B only are correct. E) A, B, and C are correct. Answer: C 22) Which of the following represents a difference between viruses and viroids? A) Viruses infect many types of cells, while viroids infect only prokaryotic cells. B) Viruses have capsids composed of protein, while viroids have no capsids. C) Viruses contain introns; viroids have only exons. D) Viruses have genomes composed of DNA, while viroids have genomes composed of RNA. E) Viruses cannot pass through plasmodesmata; viroids can. Answer: B 23) What are prions? A) Misfolded versions of normal brain protein. B) Tiny molecules of RNA that infect plants. C) Viral DNA that has had to attach itself to the host genome. D) Viruses that invade bacteria. E) A mobile segment of DNA. Answer: A 24) Of the following, which is least related to the others? A) viral envelope Answer: A 25) Most molecular biologists believe that viruses originated from fragments of cellular nucleic acid. Which of the following observations supports this theory? A) Viruses contain either DNA or RNA. B) Viruses are enclosed in protein capsids rather than plasma membranes. C) Viruses can reproduce only inside host cells. D) Viruses can infect both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. E) Viral genomes are usually more similar to the genome of the host cell than to the genome of other cells. Answer: E B) viroids C) provirus D) prophage E) prions

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26) Reproduction in bacteria requires A) the production of a mitotic spindle. B) a plasmid. C) cyclic AMP. D) replication of DNA. E) both B and D. Answer: D 27) What is the most common source of genetic diversity in a bacterial colony? A) transposons B) plasmids C) meiotic recombination D) crossing over E) mutation Answer: E 28) In which of the following cases would a mutation have the most significant impact on the genetic diversity of a species? A) The species reproduces only asexually. B) The species reproduces only sexually. C) The species usually reproduces asexually, but can reproduce sexually when conditions become unfavorable. D) The species has a relatively long reproductive cycle. E) The species' reproductive cycle is unpredictable. Answer: A 29) The alteration of a cell's genotype by the uptake of naked, foreign DNA from surrounding environments is called A) transduction. B) conjunction. C) prionization. D) transformation. E) horizontal transmission. Answer: D Use the following answers for the following questions. The answers may be used once, more than once, or not at all. A. B. C. D. E. transduction transposition translation transformation conjugation

30) External DNA is assimilated by a cell. Answer: D 31) DNA from pneumonia-causing bacteria is mixed with harmless bacteria. The bacteria are injected into mice. The mice develop pneumonia and die. Answer: D 32) Bacteria have proteins on the surface that recognize and take in DNA from closely related species. Answer: D 33) DNA is transferred from one bacterium to another by a virus. Answer: A

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34) Bacterial strains A and B are growing together in a colony that has been infected with viruses. After a short period of time, a new strain of bacteria is detected that is very similar to strain A but has a few characteristics of strain B. Answer: A 35) A group of F+ bacteria is mixed with a group of F- bacteria. After several days, all of the bacteria are F+. Answer: E 36) A plasmid is exchanged between bacteria through a pilus. Answer: E 37) Movement of a sequence of DNA to alternative locations in the DNA. Answer: B 38) DNA is present that does not provide any known benefit to the cell, yet is replicated each time the genome replicates. Answer: B 39) Antibiotic-resistant genes from different plasmids are found integrated into one large plasmid. Answer: B 40) What does bacterial mating involve? A) exchange of egg and sperm B) formation of a conjugation tube for the transfer of male DNA C) sex pili that draw the cells together so mRNA can be inserted D) integration of male and female DNA into a conjugation tube E) binary fission of a bacterial cell Answer: B 41) An Hfr bacterium is one that has A) at least one plasmid present in the cytosol. B) a special recognition site that will take up closely related DNA from its environment. C) several insertion sequences scattered throughout its chromosome. D) several copies of a single transposon repeated randomly throughout its chromosome. E) a plasmid that has become integrated into its chromosome. Answer: E 42) All of the following statements regarding transposons are true except: A) Transposons are genes that encode sex pili and enable plasmid transfers between bacteria. B) Transposons are found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. C) Transposons can move from a plasmid to the bacterial circular chromosome. D) Transposons may replicate at the original site and insert the copy at another site. E) Transposons may carry only the genes necessary for insertion. Answer: A 43) A composite transposon can A) facilitate bacterial resistance to antibiotics. B) adjust the rates of metabolic pathways. C) repress gene expression. D) convert an F+ to an F- bacterium. E) reverse the direction of transcription. Answer: A

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44) Of the following, which is least related to the others? A) prion Answer: A 45) What does the operon model attempt to explain? A) the control mechanism of gene expression in bacteria B) bacterial resistance to antibiotics C) how genes move between homologous regions of DNA D) the mechanism of viral attachment to a host cell E) horizontal transmission of plant viruses Answer: A 46) All of the following consist of a sequence of nucleotide bases except A) repressor. Answer: A 47) The role of a metabolite that controls a repressible operon is to A) bind to the promoter region and decrease the affinity of RNA polymerase for the promoter. B) bind to the operator region and block the attachment of RNA polymerase to the promoter. C) increase the production of inactive repressor proteins. D) bind to the repressor protein and inactivate it. E) bind to the repressor protein and activate it. Answer: E 48) The tryptophan synthetase operon uses glucose to synthesize tryptophan. Repressible operons such as this one are A) permanently turned on. B) turned on only when tryptophan is present in the growth medium. C) turned off only when glucose is present in the growth medium. D) turned on only when glucose is present in the growth medium. E) turned off whenever tryptophan is added to the growth medium. Answer: E For the following questions, match the following terms with the appropriate phrase or description below. Each term can be used once, more than once, or not at all. A. operon B. operator C. promoter D. repressor E. corepressor 49) a protein that is produced by a regulatory gene Answer: D 50) A mutation in this section of DNA could influence the binding of RNA polymerase to the DNA. Answer: C 51) A lack of this nonprotein molecule would result in the inability of the cell to "turn off" genes. Answer: E B) structural gene. C) promoter. D) regulator gene. E) operator. B) regulatory gene C) promoter D) operator E) repressor

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52) A mutation that inactivates the regulator gene of a repressible operon in an E. coli cell would result in A) continuous transcription of the structural gene controlled by that regulator. B) complete inhibition of transcription of the structural gene controlled by that regulator. C) irreversible binding of the repressor to the operator. D) inactivation of RNA polymerase. E) both B and C. Answer: A 53) When is the lactose operon likely to be transcribed? When A) there is more glucose in the cell than lactose. B) there is more lactose in the cell than glucose. C) there is lactose but no glucose in the cell. D) the cyclic AMP levels are high within the cell. E) both C and D are correct. Answer: E 54) Transcription of the structural genes in an inducible operon A) occurs all the time. B) starts when the pathway's substrate is present. C) starts when the pathway's product is present. D) stops when the pathway's product is present. E) does not produce enzymes. Answer: B 55) What is the function of the operator locus of the lactose operon? A) terminate production of repressor molecules B) identify the substrate allolactose C) initiate production of mRNA D) control the binding of RNA polymerase to the operator region E) bind steroid hormones and control translation Answer: D

56) For a repressible operon to be transcribed, which of the following must be true? A) A corepressor must be present. B) RNA polymerase and the active repressor must be present. C) RNA polymerase must bind to the promoter and the repressor must be inactive. D) RNA polymerase cannot be present and the repressor must be inactive. E) RNA polymerase must not occupy the promoter and the repressor must be inactive. Answer: C 57) Of the following, which is least related to the others? A) corepressor B) repressor C) inducer D) transposon E) cAMP receptor protein Answer: D