Microbiology Quiz on Viruses and Microbes

A microscopic living organism, either single-celled or multicellular.

The study of microorganisms.

The scientist who first observed microorganisms in 1674.

A single-celled organism without a nucleus or other membrane-bound organelles.

A type of prokaryotic microbe distinct from bacteria, often living in extreme environments.

More advanced prokaryotic microbes.

A complex cell with a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. Includes plants and animals.

Viruses are very small, ranging from tens to hundreds of millimicrons.

Viruses do not have cells, unlike other living organisms.

A virus is made up of proteins and nucleic acids(like DNA or RNA).

Viruses cannot reproduce outside of living cells; they need a host to reproduce.

Viruses spend their life cycle inside a host organism.

Viruses are not considered living due to their dependence on living hosts for reproduction and lack of metabolic activity.

Viruses lack independent metabolic activities, reproduction within host cells, and lack independent motility, thus making them non-living particles.

A type of cell that lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.

A type of cell with a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.

A hierarchical system for categorizing cells based on shared characteristics.

Bacteria and Archaea are the two main types of Prokaryotic Cells.

Protists, Fungi, Plants, and Animals belong to the Eukaryotic Cell Classification

The bacterial cell wall is made of peptidoglycan, a polymer of sugar and amino acids.

A polymer of sugar linked by amino acids, forming the bacterial cell wall.

A sugar component found in bacterial peptidoglycan.

Provides strength, rigidity and permeability to the cell.

A capsule helps bacteria stick to surfaces and protects them from attack by predatory cells or harmful chemicals.

Capsules are mainly made of polysaccharides, but can also include amino sugars or peptides.

A discrete, detectable layer of polysaccharides outside a cell's wall.

A specific type of capsule in bacteria, often a very thin layer of tangled polysaccharides.

Capsules shield bacteria from being consumed by immune cells (like white blood cells).

Viruses share similar chemical makeup with living organisms, including genes and organelles.

Viral chemistry, structure, and processes are impacted by environmental factors like radiation, pH, and temperature, similar to other living things.

Each virus possesses unique genetic material (genotype) and physical traits (phenotype) that are passed down to the next generation.

Viruses can trigger chemical reactions within host cells.

Viruses can mutate and are affected by environmental stresses like heat or chemicals, resembling living organisms.

Viruses infect cells, causing specific symptoms that reappear when introduced to healthy organisms.

Viruses can multiply and produce new virus particles, similar to living organisms.

Viruses occupy a middle ground between living and non-living things, exhibiting characteristics of both.

The Gram-negative cell wall is thin, around 10 nanometers.

A single peptidoglycan layer surrounded by an outer membrane.

A membrane surrounding the peptidoglycan layer in Gram-negative bacteria.

A component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria; it's toxic.

Thin cell wall (10 nanometers) with a single layer of peptidoglycan and an outer membrane, containing lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Thick cell wall (15-80 nanometers) with many layers of peptidoglycan and teichoic acid.

A major component of bacterial cell walls, made up of alternating sugar molecules (NAM & NAG) and peptide side chains.

A component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria; toxic to animals.

Unique molecules found only in the Gram-positive cell wall, running perpendicular to peptidoglycan.

One of the two sugars alternating to comprise peptidoglycan.

Another sugar component, alternating with NAG to comprise peptidoglycan.

Amino acid chain attached to N-acetylmuramic acid in peptidoglycan.

15-80 nanometers thick, composed of multiple layers of peptidoglycan.

10 nm thick, single layer of peptidoglycan, surrounded by an outer membrane including LPS.

Peptidoglycan layers and teichoic acid.

Peptidoglycan, outer membrane, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Alternating rows of N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N -acetylmuramic acid (NAM).

Amino acid chains attached to NAM, including L-alanine, D-glutamate, DAP, and D-alanine.

Provides structural support and rigidity to the cell, and is permeable to solutes.

A unique type of peptidoglycan, a polymer of sugars and glycans cross-linked by amino acids, found in bacterial cell walls.

A polymer of sugars and glycans cross-linked by short chains of amino acids.

Definitive component of murein, found in all bacterial peptidoglycans.

A layer of polysaccharides outside the cell wall that protects and allows adherence.

Adherence to surfaces and protection from engulfment (e.g., by phagocytes) and antimicrobial agents.

Mostly polysaccharides, occasionally amino sugars or peptides.

A thin layer of tangled polysaccharide fibers on the bacterial cell surface.