Taxonomy

Question 1

what is taxonomy

Answer 1

the science of classifying organisms(provide universal names and references)

Question 2

who created the formal system of taxonomy

Answer 2

Carl von Linne(linnaeus)

Question 3

3 sections of taxonomy

Answer 3

classification
Identification
Nomenclature

Question 4

how are species named

Answer 4

Genus species

Question 5

3 domains of microorganisms

Answer 5

Bacteria
Archaea
Eukarya

Question 6

what are domains of microorganisms based on

Answer 6

rRNA nucleotide sequence

Question 7

5 kingdoms

Answer 7

Prokaryotes
Protists
Fungi
Plants
Animals

Question 8

taxonomy hierarchy

Answer 8

Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
(subspecies-micro only)

Question 9

what differentiates sub species

Answer 9

different strains of the same microbe

Question 10

what factors do we characterize organisms on

Answer 10

-Morphology
-Ecological characteristics
-Physiological/Biochemical characteristics
-Chemical Analysis
-Phage typing
-Genetic and molecular analysis

Question 11

morphology characteristics

Answer 11

Shape
Arrangement of cells
Other(endospores, capsules, etc)
Growth on agar

Question 12

what do ecological characteristics matter to know

Answer 12

what environment they grow in determines their requirements

Question 13

examples of physical/biochemical characteristics/reactions

Answer 13

-Catalase: breaks down H2O2 into water and oxygen
-Oxidase: tests for presence of cytochrome c in ETC
-Sugar fermentation
-Gas production

Question 14

how do most sugar fermentation reactions affect pH

Answer 14

They decrease it(make it more acidic)

Question 15

Chemical analysis definition

Answer 15

analyzing types of specific structural substances the microbe contains

Question 16

example of using chemical analysis to differentiate gram+ vs gram-

Answer 16

LPS in gram-
teichoic acid in gram+

Question 17

Phage testing definition

Answer 17

using many different phages to differentiate bacterial strains based on which phages interact

Question 18

why is genetic and molecular analysis used less frequently than other identification methods

Answer 18

more expensive, requires more training

Question 19

genetic and molecular analysis definition

Answer 19

testing and comparing bacterial DNA

Question 20

purines vs pyrimidines

Answer 20

Purines(A+G): 2 rings
Pyrimidines(C+T):1 ring

Question 21

C+G% in prokaryotes? why does this matter?

Answer 21

25-85%
C+G percentages can act as an indicator for relatedness

Question 22

how does C+G% impact the melting point of DNA? why?

Answer 22

as C+G% increases, so does melting point
-C+G has 3 hydrogen bonds whereas A+T only have 2 making C+G harder to break apart

Question 23

gold standard of microbe identification

Answer 23

DNA sequencing

Question 24

what is cDNA most often used for

Answer 24

DNA sequencing(mainly for eukaryotic organisms)

Question 25

how is cDNA produced

Answer 25

reverse transcriptase added to mRNA of cells to create a copy of the DNA

Question 26

what are retroviruses? why are they important?

Answer 26

special RNA viruses that can be turned into DNA once inside the cell -it may help us understand more viral cancers

Question 27

what enzyme turns retrovirus RNA into DNA? why is it important?

Answer 27

Reverse Transcriptase -RNA is hard to work with, we can use this enzyme to turn mRNA from tissues into DNA to be able to better study it

Question 28

what pathogen was found in the salon footbaths in the case discussed in class? how did it enter

Answer 28

mycobacterium fortuitum -entered through tap water

Question 29

#1 risk factor for mycobacterium fortuitum infection? why?

Answer 29

shaving creates small cuts on the skin that allows pathogen in

Question 30

what are restriction enzymes

Answer 30

enzymes made by bacteria as an "immune system" to cut invading bacteria up based on a specific palindromic DNA segment(segment unique to bacteria producing the enzyme)

Question 31

how can restriction enzymes and gel be used to compare microbes

Answer 31

the same bacteria will have the same length segments and will show the same pattern in the gel. allows you to determine if a sample taken from multiple areas are the same pathogen

Question 32

what is the purpose of buffer in gel electrophoresis

Answer 32

gives all fragments a negative charge so they're only sorted by size and not charge