Bacterial Transformation Practice Problems

The researcher has a bacterial colony containing 500 cells that are a mixture of wild-type and auxotrophic mutants. To identify the auxotrophic mutants, the researcher performs replica plating. The colony is streaked onto a complete medium and allowed to grow. Afterward, a sterile velvet pad is placed onto the bacterial colony, picking up some of the bacterial cells. The pad is then used to make a replica of the bacterial colony onto two different media: minimal media and minimal media supplemented with the nutrient that the auxotrophic mutants require.

What is the purpose of replica plating in identifying auxotrophic mutants in a bacterial colony?

In an experiment, a microbiologist wanted to investigate the prototrophic and auxotrophic characteristics of five bacterial colonies. The colonies were isolated on a complete medium and then transferred to a minimal medium to identify their nutritional requirements. After incubation, the microbiologist observed that colony 1 grew on the minimal medium while colonies 2, 3, and 4 did not grow. Colony 5 grew on the minimal medium supplemented with methionine.

Which of the following colonies are prototrophic and what nutritional requirements do they have?

Which of the following statements best describes the meaning of the term genetic complementation in different contexts?

Which of the following best describes the term genetic complementation?

The researchers collected bacterial samples from 100 animals on farms that use antibiotics in their feed and 100 animals on farms that do not use antibiotics in their feed. They tested the bacterial samples for resistance against five commonly used antibiotics.

The results of the study showed that 80% of the animals raised on antibiotic-using farms had bacterial infections that were resistant to at least one antibiotic. In contrast, only 20% of animals on antibiotic-free farms had infections that were resistant to at least one antibiotic. The researchers concluded that the use of antibiotics in livestock feed is contributing to the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in both animals and humans.

What are the potential consequences of the widespread use of antibiotics in livestock for human health?

In recent years, an increasing number of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been reported. A team of researchers conducted a study to determine the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in a community. They collected bacterial samples from 100 individuals and tested them for antibiotic resistance against five commonly prescribed antibiotics.

The results of the study showed that 50 individuals had bacterial infections that were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Of these 50 individuals, 20 had infections that were resistant to two or more antibiotics. The researchers concluded that antibiotic resistance is becoming more common in the community and that new strategies are needed to prevent and treat bacterial infections.

What is the consequence of increasing antibiotic resistance?

In an experiment, a researcher wanted to investigate the effect of different concentrations of a drug on the growth of bacteria. The researcher grew bacterial cultures in a nutrient broth and added different concentrations of the drug. The cultures were incubated for 24 hours, and the optical density was measured at 600 nm. The results showed that the higher the concentration of the drug, the lower the optical density.

What conclusion can be drawn from the results of this experiment?

DNA from a "y⁺z⁺" bacterial strain was transformed into a "yz" bacterial strain. The transformants obtained were as follows: yz⁺ = 100; y⁺z = 125 and y⁺z⁺ = 75. Determine the cotransformation frequency.

Successful cotransformation of two genes at a time suggest that these are ___________.

DNA from a Bacillus subtilis strain with genotype trp⁺tyr⁺ was transformed into another Bacillus subtilis strain with genotype trp⁻tyr⁻. The transformants obtained were as follows: trp⁻tyr⁺ = 100, trp⁺tyr⁻ = 125 and trp⁺tyr⁺ = 175. Determine the incorrect conclusion in relation to this experiment.

Identify the enzyme that digests one of the strands of the transforming DNA.

The DNA from a bacterium with genotype a⁺b⁺c⁺ was used to transform a bacteria with genotype abc. The highest number of transformants were observed when recombination occurred between a and c or b and c. Determine the linked genes based on this observation.

Once introduced into the bacterial cell, the antisense RNA molecules can bind with the complementary mRNA sequence through the process called: