BIO 205 Fall 2011 Name____________________________ Ch 4 Study Guide Questions: Prokaryotes

Chapter 4 Study Guide Score_______/23 points

Please read Chapter 4 in your Cowan Microbiology textbook and answer the study guide questions below. These questions are worth 23 points and should be submitted for grading on Blackboard, no later than 12pm on Sep 2nd . For additional review and helpful hints please complete the Chapter 4 LessonBuilder on Blackboard or visit the Cowan Microbiology Student Site: http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/cotterfall2011 Good luck! Case of the Rotten Road Rash You are a doctor working in the intensive care unit (ICU) at a local hospital. You are treating a female patient with multiple skin wounds that resulted from a serious motorcycle accident. Upon examination of the patients wounds, you are convinced that the patient has a microbial infection because the wounds are swollen, have been oozing green pus, and seem to be spreading. You swab the patient and send the sample to the clinical lab for analysis.

When examined under the microscope, the microbe causing the wound infection is shown to consist of cells that measure 1.5 - 3 micrometers in size and lack a nucleus. (3 points) 1. Based on the lab results above, explain why the infection cannot be viral: The size of the cells is too large to be a virus and the fact that they are cells. Cells are living, viruses are non-living. 2. What type of microbe, Eukaryotic or prokaryotic, is causing your patients infection? Prokaryotic. 3. How do you know? Eukaryotic cells have a nucleus. 3. Bacteria can be categorized into 1 of 2 groups based upon their cell wall structure. Describe the key differences in the cell wall structure of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Be sure to include thickness, what type of surface molecules are present, and the color this type of cell would be following the Gram stain (8 points) Gram + Cell Wall Structure 20-80nm cell wall Teichoic acid porous and sponge-like stain dark blue or purple Gram Cell Wall Structure 1-3nm cell wall Lipopolysaccharide Porins and outer membrane stain red or pink

BIO 205 Fall 2011

Chapter 4 Study Guide

Following a gram stain, the microbe stains pink and has the following cell shape: 4. Is the microbe causing the patients infection Gram-positive or Gram-negative? (1 point) Gram-negative 5. What cell shape (coccus, bacillus, spirilla) does the microbe shown in this picture display? (1 point) bacillus

6. Identify the bacterial shapes and arrangements shown in each of the pictures below (3 points)

staphylococcus streptobacillus

tetradcoccus, bacillus, and

spirilla

7. Identify the arrangement of flagella shown in each of the pictures below (3 points)

montrichous

lophotrichous

peritrichous

8. What is the function of the bacterial glycocalyx ? (1 point) It offers protection from destruction, surface attachment help, and helps create the biofilms which make bacteria on surfaces difficult to remove Explain how the glycocalyx contributes to the formation of biofilms? (1 point) The glycocalyx consists of polysaccharides and proteins. These materials are very conducive to the growth and maintenance of the biofilm by attracting additional bacterial cells which combine to create the biofilm which protects the bacteria from destruction. 2

BIO 205 Fall 2011

Chapter 4 Study Guide

Where might biofilms form in a clinical or hospital setting? (1 point)OR tables, showers, bathrooms, medical devices, surgical instrumentation, human implants, IV poles, etc.

Explain why the formation of biofilms in clinical setting can have serious medical implications (1 point) The formation of biofilms indicates that bacteria has protection that makes them difficult to eliminate through normal cleaning methods. This can have a tragic effect on patient outcomes as it makes patients and staff more susceptible to nosocomial infections. For this reason, special equipment and terminal cleaning products are used in the clinical setting to prevent the formation of biofilms and remove those that may have quickly formed.