Chapter 18 Reading Quiz

2. Chapter 18 Reading Quiz • Order small to large  eukaryotic cell, bacteria, and virus • Which viral reproductive cycle destroys the host cell? • What are the harmless derivates that stimulate the immune system to create antibodies? • An infectious protein is called a…? • An entire stretch of DNA that is required for enzyme production is known as an …..?

4. 1. Discuss the contributions of Mayer. • Mayer demonstrated that the stunting disease of tobacco plants was contagious  thought it was caused by an unusually small bacteria - later findings demonstrated that the disease could not be bacteria-caused, but must be a particle much smaller (and unlike) a bacterium - the infectious particle was finally crystallized and observed and is now known as the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) 

5. 2. List and describe the structural components of viruses, and explain why viruses are obligate parasites. • It is a genome enclosed in a protective coat • It is organized as single nucleic acid molecules • May have 4 to several hundred genes • Simple composition  1. Capsid – protein coat that encloses the viral genome 2. Envelope – membrane that cloaks some viral capsids (head, sheath, DNA, tail fibers) • Viruses express their genes and reproduce only within a living cell 

7. 3. Briefly describe what happens when a virus infects a host cell. • A viral infection begins when the genome of a virus makes its way into a host cell 

8. Lytic Cycle Viral replication cycle that results in the death (or lysis) of the host cell T4  phage attaches to cell surface, phage contracts sheath and injects DNA, hydrolytic enzymes destroy the host cell’s DNA, phage genome directs the host cell to make phage components and cell lyses and releases phage particles Lysogenic Cycle A viral replication cycle that involves the incorporation of the viral genome into the host cell genome λ phage binds to the surface of ecoli and injects the DNA and inserts it by genetic recombination  4. Distinguish between lytic and lysogenic reproductive cycles using phage T4 and phage  as examples.

10. Enveloped Viruses are characterized by: Attachment Entry Uncoating Viral RNA & protein synthesis Assembly and release RNA as viral genetic material: RNA viruses can be complicated (like retroviruses) mRNA or the strand that corresponds to mRNA is the + strand and it has the nucleotide sequence that codes for proteins The – strand is a template for synthesis of the + strand  5. Using viruses with envelopes and RNA as examples, describe variations in replication cycles of animal viruses.

12. 6. Describe what vaccines are and how they are manufactured. • Vaccine  a “harmless” variant or derivative of pathogenic microbes that stimulate the immune system to mount defenses against the actual pathogen 

13. 7. Explain the role of reverse transcriptase in retroviruses. • It is the enzyme that transcribes DNA from an RNA template Viral genomic RNA (reverse transcriptase) Viral DNA 

15. 8. Describe how viruses recognize host cells. • They recognize their host cell by a complementary fit between external viral proteins and specific cell surface receptor sites 

16. 9. Describe several defenses bacteria have against phage infection. • Bacterial mutations can change receptor sites to avoid recognition - this in turn prevents infection • Restriction nucleases in bacteria recognize and cut up foreign DNA - self-destruction is avoided because bacterial DNA is chemically altered 

17. 10. Explain how viruses may cause disease symptoms, and describe some medical weapons used to fight viral infections. • Viruses damage or kill cells (viral infection  lysosome releases hydrolytic enzymes) • They can be toxic or cause infected cells to produce toxins • Cause varying degrees of cell damage • Immune system reacts, causing fever, aches, inflammation • Vaccines – harmless variants or derivatives of pathogenic microbes that mobilize the immune system • Antiviral drugs – fight after the disease 

18. 11. List some viruses that have been implicated in human cancers, and explain how tumor viruses transform cells. • Retrovirus – adult leukemia • Herpes virus – Epstein-Barr (mono)  Burkitt’s lymphoma • Papovavirus – human warts; cervical cancer • Hepatitis B virus – chronic hepatitis; liver cancer • Tumor viruses transform cells by inserting viral nucleic acids into host cell DNA - this insertion is permanent as the provirus never excises - insertion for DNA tumor viruses is straightforward 

19. 12. Distinguish between horizontal and vertical routes of viral transmission in plants. • Horizontal  route of viral infection in which an organism receives the virus from an external source • Vertical  route in which an organism inherits a viral infection from its parent 

20. 13. List some characteristics that viruses share with living organisms, and explain why viruses do not fit our usual definition of life. • CAN: mutate and evolve - have a genome with the same genetic code as living organisms • CANNOT: reproduce independently • Need a host cell for reproduction 

21. 14. Provide evidence that viruses probably evolved from fragments of cellular nucleic acid. • Genetic material of different viral families is more similar to host genomes than to that of other viral families • Some viral genes are identical to cellular genes • Viruses of eukaryotes are more similar in genomic structure to their cellular hosts than to bacterial viruses • Viral genomes are similar to cellular genetic elements like plasmids and transposons 

22. 15. Describe the structure of a bacterial chromosome. • It is composed of one double stranded, circular molecule of DNA • Structurally simpler and has fewer associated proteins than a eukaryotic chromosome • Found in the nucleoid region of the cell 

23. 16. Describe the process of binary fission in bacteria, and explain why replication of the bacterial chromosome is considered to be semiconservative. • Binary fission is preceded by DNA replication, which begins at a single origin on the chromosome • It is an asexual process, producing clones • 2 replication forks move bi-directionally until they meet and replication is complete • Bacteria can divide every 20 minutes 

25. 17. List and describe the three natural processes of genetic recombination in bacteria. • Transformation  process of gene transfer during which a bacterial cell assimilates foreign DNA from the surroundings 

26. 2. Transduction  gene transfer from one bacterium to another by a bacteriophage 3. Conjugation  the direct transfer of genes between two cells that are temporarily joined 

28. 18. Distinguish between general transduction and specialized transduction. • Generalized  transduction that occurs when random pieces of host cell DNA are packaged within a phage capsid during the lytic cycle of a phage • Specialized  occurs when a prophage excises from the bacterial chromosome and carries with it only certain host genes adjacent to the excision site (AKA restricted transduction) 

30. 19. Explain how the F plasmid controls conjugation in bacteria. • The ability to form sex pili and to transfer DNA is conferred by genes in a plasmid called the F plasmid 

31. 20. Explain how bacterial conjugation differs from sexual reproduction in eukaryotic organisms. • Conjugation  transfer of genes only ( no offspring) • Sexual reproduction  donation of genetic material to an offspring 

32. 21. For donor and recipient bacterial cells, predict the consequences of conjugation between the following: 1) F+ and F- cell 2) Hfr and F- cell 1. The F factor (which is in the F+) replicates and one copy is tranferred to the F_ • Only some bacterial genes are donated • The recipient F- cell does not become F+ because only part of the F factor transferred • The recipient cell becomes a partial diploid 2. As the integrated F factor of the Hfr cell transfers to the F- cell, it pulls the bacterial chromosome behind its leading end  the conjugation bridge usually breaks before the entire chromosome and tail end of the F factor can be transferred As a result : • Only some bacterial genes are donated • Recombination occurs between the Hfr chromosomal fragment and the F- cell = homologous strand exchange results in a recombinant F- cell 

34. 22. Define transposon, and describe two essential types of nucleotide sequences found in transposon DNA. • Transposons  DNA sequences that can move from one chromosomal site to another • Insertion sequences  the simplest, they contain only the genes necessary for the process of transposition (2 essential types) - nucleotide sequence coding for transposase (which catalyzes insertion of transposons into new chromosomal sites) - inverted repeats 

35. 23. Distinguish between an insertion sequence and a composite transposon. • Insertion  the simplest transposons, they contain only the genes necessary for the process of transposition • Composite  transposons which include additional genetic material besides that required for transposition; consist of one or more genes flanked by insertion sequences 

37. 24. Briefly describe two main strategies cells use to control metabolism. • Regulation of enzyme activity  the catalytic activity of many enzymes increases or decreases in response to chemical cues • Regulation of gene expression  enzyme concentrations may rise and fall in response to cellular metabolic changes that switch genes on or off 

38. 25. Explain why grouping genes into an operon can be advantageous. • Operon  a regulated cluster of adjacent structural genes (gene that codes for a polypeptide) with related functions - common in bacteria and phages 

39. 26. Using the trp operon as an example, explain the concept of an operon and the function of the operator, repressor, and corepressor. • Mechanism for the control of gene expression • Operator a DNA segment located within the promoter or between the promoter and structural genes, which controls access of RNA polymerase to structural genes • Repressor  specific protein that binds to an operator and blocks transcription of the operon • Corepressor a molecule, usually a metabolite, that binds to a repressor protein, causing the repressor to change into its active conformation 

41. 27. Distinguish between structural and regulatory genes. • Structural genes  gene that codes for a polypeptide • Regulatory genes  genes that code for repressor or regulators of other genes 

42. 28. Describe how the lac operon functions and explain the role of the inducer allolactose. • Operon that can be switched on or induced • Lactose metabolism in Ecoli is programmed by the lac operon – with 3 structural genes: 1. Lac Z – codes for β galactosidase which hydrolyzes lactose 2. Lac Y – codes for permease which transports lactose into the cell 3. Lac A – codes for transacetylase which has no known role • Has a single promoter and operator • Allolactose  an isomer of lactose, acts as an inducer to turn on the lac operon 

44. Repressible Genes are switched on until a specific metabolite activates the repressor Generally function in anabolic pathways Pathway end product switches off its own production by repressing enzyme synthesis Inducible Their genes are switched off until a specific metabolite inactivates the repressor Function in catabolic pathways Enzyme synthesis is switched on by the nutrient the path uses  29. Explain how repressible and inducible enzymes differ and how these differences reflect differences in the pathways they control.

46. Negative Binding of active repressor to an operator always turns off structural gene expression Lac  negative by repressor protein Positive Occurs only if an activator molecule interacts directly with the genome to turn on transcription Lac  positive by cAMP receptor protein (CRP) 30. Distinguish between positive and negative control, and give examples of each from the lac operon.

47. 31. Explain how cAMP is affected by glucose concentration. • When no glucose  The cell accumulates cAMP, a nucleotide derived from ATP. - cAMP activates CRP so that it can bind to the lac promoter • When glucose concentration increases, glucose catabolism decreases the intracellular concentration of cAMP - thus, cAMP releases CRP 

49. 32. Describe how E. coli uses the negative and positive controls of the lac operon to economize on RNA and protein synthesis. • CRP is an activator of several different operons that program catabolic pathways • Glucose’s presence deactivates CRP, which slows synthesis of those enzymes a cell needs to use catabolites other than glucose • Ecoli prefers using glucose as its primary carbon and energy source and the enzymes for this are coded for by unregulated genes that are continuously transcribed  the end