Microbiology Assignment

Remember that along with your Scantron questions, your lecture exam will also have 2 essay questions chosen from the list below. Since you have access to the essay prompts, I will expect well thought-out essays with good grammar and spelling. You may need to look up additional information in your text book to support your essay responses but extensive research in other sources should not be necessary. Feel free to work together or discuss your thoughts and questions with your fellow classmates. Please keep in mind that your final answers should be your own work. Exact same answers word for word will not be acceptable and may result in half credit for each student(s). It is also unfair for students to have their work copied and someone else getting the same score while doing none of the work! I will be happy to discuss topics and answer questions about these prompts but I will not "read over your responses to check them." One final thought, these essays will be worth numerous points so keep that in mind as you think about how you would answer each question. Three sentence answers will not be sufficient!

1. What part of aerobic respiration produces the most ATP? Describe how this process works in eukaryotes and prokaryotes including where the entering molecules came from, the cellular location and how the ATP is produced.

2. Compare and contrast the processes of DNA replication in the cell versus in a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). (You should be able to find several similarities and several differences)

3. Bacteria like E. coli encode certain types of proteins known as receptors that sense nutrients and allow the bacteria to find food sources. Trace the creation of a protein starting with the gene in the genome and ending with the protein. (Include enzymes and molecules involved in the processes)

4. Why are prokaryotes able to react to their environment by producing proteins much more quickly than eukaryotes? (This should be a complete analysis including multiple differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic transcription and translation).

5. How would you create a genetically-modified corn plant that expresses the human fibrin protein? (You need to include all techniques, steps, enzymes, etc.)

6. If you were a lab technician hired by the Maury Povich Show for an episode on paternity testing, how could you determine which of 4 possible men was a baby's biological father? (Include the theory and techniques involved in the identification).

7. Imagine that you are planning to treat a patient with the antibiotic Kanamycin for her Staphylococcus aureus infection. Explain how you would determine both: A) the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of Kanamycin for this infection and, B) the Therapeutic Index of Kanamycin. Include an explanation of why this information is important.

8. Analyze the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections including how bacteria become resistant, how someone gets an antibiotic-resistant superinfection and how our society encourages the development of antibiotic resistances.