Prokaryote Review

1) Though plants, fungi, and prokaryotes all have cell walls, we classify them under different taxonomic units. Which of the observations below comes closest to explaining the basis for placing these organisms in different taxa?

2) Which of the following is the most common compound in the cell walls of gram-positive bacteria?

3) If penicillin is an antibiotic that inhibits enzymes from catalyzing the synthesis of peptidoglycan, then which prokaryotes should be most vulnerable to inhibition by penicillin?

4) Which of the following is the correct order, from most external to most internal?

1. cell wall

2. plasma membrane

3. capsule

5) Jams, jellies, preserves, honey, and other foodstuffs with a high sugar content hardly ever become contaminated by bacteria, even when the food containers are left open at room temperature. This is because bacteria that encounter such an environment

6) Which two structures play direct roles in permitting bacteria to adhere to each other, or to other surfaces?

1. capsules

2. endospores

3. fimbriae

4. plasmids

5. flagella

7) Prokaryotes have ribosomes different from those of eukaryotes. Because of this, which of the following is true?

The following questions refer to structures found in a gram-positive prokaryotic cell. Answers (A-(E) may be used once, more than once, or not at all.

A. endospore

B. sex pilus

C. flagellum

D. cell wall

E. capsule

8) composed almost entirely of peptidoglycan

9) requires ATP to function, and permits some species to respond to taxes.

10) Not present in all bacteria, this slimy material enables cells that possess it to resist the defenses of host organisms.

11) Not present in all bacteria, this structure enables those that possess it to germinate after exposure to harsh conditions, such as boiling.

12) structure that permits conjugation to occur

13) an important source of endotoxin in gram-negative species

14) If this structure connects the cytoplasm of two bacteria, one of these cells may gain new genetic material.

15) This structure contains a copy of the chromosome, along with a small amount of dehydrated cytoplasm, 16) Mitochondria are descendants of alpha proteobacteria. They are, however, no longer able to lead independent lives because most genes originally present on their chromosome are now located in the nuclear genome. What phenomenon most directly accounts for the movement of these genes?

17) Carl Woese of the University of Illinois and his collaborators identified two major branches of prokaryotic evolution. What was the basis for dividing prokaryotes into two domains?

18) Prokaryotic organisms have recently been divided into two domains, Bacteria and Archaea. This division is based on characteristics such as

19) Which of the following traits do archaea and bacteria share?

1. composition of the cell wall

2. presence of plasma membrane

3. lack of a nuclear envelope

4. identical rRNA sequences

20) What is the primary ecological role of prokaryotes?

21) If all the bacteria on Earth suddenly disappeared, which of the following would be the most likely and most direct result?

22) Which of the following would most likely occur if all prokaryotes were suddenly to perish?

23) In which of the following ways can prokaryotes be considered to be more successful on Earth than humans?

24) What is the function of a bacterium's capsule?

25) The prokaryotic cells that built stromatolites are classified as ________.

26) Photoautotrophs use

27) Plant-like photosynthesis that releases O₂ occurs in

28) An example of bioremediation is

Match the numbered terms to the descriptions that follow. Choose all appropriate terms, but only appropriate terms.

1. autotroph

2. heterotroph

3. phototroph

4. chemotroph

29) an organism that obtains its energy from chemicals

30) a prokaryote that obtains both energy and carbon as it decomposes dead organisms

31) an organism that obtains both carbon and energy by ingesting prey

32) an organism that relies on photons to excite electrons within its membranes

For the following questions, use the list below of types of bacterial metabolism. Pick the term that best matches the statement. Responses may be used once, more than once, or not at all.

A. photoautotrophs

B. photoheterotrophs

C. chemoautotrophs

D. chemoheterotrophs that perform decomposition

E. parasitic chemoheterotrophs

33) cyanobacteria

34) use light energy to synthesize organic compounds from CO₂

35) obtain energy by oxidizing inorganic substances; energy that is used, in part, to fix CO₂

36) use light energy to generate ATP but do not release oxygen

37) responsible for high levels of O₂ in Earth's atmosphere

38) responsible for many human diseases