Rasmussen College Microbiology Nursing Virus Multiplication & Infections Discussion

Part 1

Question 1

We know fungi are eukaryotic (have membrane-bound nucleus and organelles). Explain three unique ways fungi are different from other microbes (algae, protozoans, bacteria and archaea). Compare things like cell walls, cell membranes, morphology, reproduction, life cycles.
(Words to use in your answer include chitin, cellulose, peptidoglycan, pseudopeptidoglycan, ergosterol, hopanoids, cholesterol,mycelium, hyphae, multinucleate, multicellular, unicellular, nutritional needs, environmental needs, chemoheterotrophy, saprobes, parasites, free-living, reproductive strategies, spores).

QUESTION 2

Algae and protozoans are loosely grouped together as protozoans and are different from plants because they lack certain characteristics of plants. Explain what differentiates algae from plants and two ways they are different from protozoans. Talk about algae being part of our environment and how algae may positively or negatively impact our health or the environment.
(Words to use in your answer: cell wall, cell membrane, chloroplast, plankton, single-cell, multicellular, red tide, toxins, agar, phytoplankton, reproduction, motility, nutrition, feeding strategies)

QUESTION 3

Discuss the similarities and differences between animal and bacterial virus multiplication.
(Words/concepts to include in your answer: attachment, adsorption, penetration, uncoating, synthesis, assembly, persistence, lysogeny, latency, release)

QUESTION 4

Based upon data from the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), define microbial antagonism and discuss how the various microbial populations keep each other “in check” with consequences for human health.

Part 2

• Compare aerobic respiration, anaerobic respiration and fermentation. How are the processes similar? How are they different? How do these processes determine which environment the organism can live in?
  [Key terms to use in answer: electron transport chain, cytochrome, ATP, glucose, glycolysis, obligate aerobe, facultative anaerobe, microaerophile, obligate anaerobe, oxidase, catalase, peroxidase, CO ₂ , organic acids and alcohols, alternative substrates (other than glucose)]

QUESTION 2

Using your knowledge of DNA recombination events to complete the following:

Propose two ways in which antibiotic resistance may develop in a bacterium

Describe how bacterial cells acquire the ability to produce toxins

(Use the following terminology in your answer: recombination, DNA, horizontal gene transfer, conjugation, transformation, transduction, pilus, F factor, transposable elements,

QUESTION 3

Discuss how a pathogen causes an infection. Include definitions for primary pathogen, opportunistic pathogen, infection, disease (caused by a living organism), and various stages of pathogenesis. You can choose a specific organism to describe (like Orthomyxovirus and Influenza) or discuss a generalized infection.

QUESTION 4

Describe each type of infection in the following list and include the mode of transmission in each scenario. Use terms such as primary, secondary, healthcare-associated, STI, mixed, latent, toxemia, chronic, zoonotic, asymptomatic, local, and systemic to describe the types of infections (more than one term may apply, some may not apply to these conditions)

1) The development of Pneumocystisis pneumonia in an AIDS patient
2) Salmonellosis
3) Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome infection acquired while vacationing in a log cabin

Part 3

Question 1

You are interested in obtaining Staphylococcus aureus for a study investigating the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the general population. You have received several samples and are ready to start your isolation procedures. Describe the personal protective equipment that would be needed and three different culturing techniques that can be used to obtain organisms to produce pure cultures.

State if you use general or selective media and which specific media you would choose. How would you determine if the culture was contaminated? What is the first step you would take if you detected contamination?

QUESTION 2

Explain the different stages of syphilis. (Terminology/topics to include: causative organism (morphology, gram-stain reaction), mode of transmission, chancre, gumma, symptoms, likelihood of infection, treatment options at different stages, damage that can occur during different stages, prevention methods).

QUESTION 3

List three protozoan infections of the circulatory system that are transmitted by arthropods. Include the disease name, specific organism (genus species), vector that is the intermediate between hosts, and disease progress in humans.

QUESTION 4

• Many types of fruits and vegetables can be fermented into alcoholic beverages. Such was the case recently when prisoners in Utah attempted to make an illegal beverage called “pruno”; however, someone added a weeks-old baked potato to the mix, letting a microbe into the party who was clearly uninvited. Consumers of the pruno began to develop difficulty swallowing, vomiting, double vision, and muscle weakness; three required ventilation therapy. No deaths were attributed to the contaminated beverage.

A) What nervous system disease were the prisoners suffering from, and what was the specific organism involved?
B) Based on your knowledge of this disease, what form of treatment was used to successfully avoid the worst outcomes of the disease in these patients?