BIOL10422 Gene Transfer and Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria Flashcards

Flashcards to help review key concepts from the BIOL10422 lecture on gene transfer and antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

a __ bridge is formed between two cells

conjugation

'__' occurs when bacteria take up exogenous DNA from their environment.

Transformation

The transfer of DNA from one bacterium to another via a virus is called __.

transduction

__ requires direct contact between bacterial cells for gene transfer.

Conjugation

Genes located on naturally occurring plasmids called __ plasmids encode the machinery for conjugation.

conjugative

__ are long protein filaments that radiate from the surface of the bacterial cell during conjugation and are effective in long liquid and solid mediums.

Conjugative pili

The F or sex plasmid discovered by Joshua Lederberg is also known as the __ factor.

fertility

__ pili form durable contacts with recipient bacteria in both liquid environments and on solid surfaces.

Long, flexible

__ pili only form durable contacts with recipient bacteria when the cells are immobilised on a solid surface.

Short, brittle

Antibiotics are products of metabolic pathways that occur naturally in many __.

fungi

__ lack cell walls, so antibiotics that target cell-wall synthesis are ineffective against them.

Mycoplasmas

Resistance due to a natural lack of target structures for antibiotics is called __ resistance.

innate

Antibiotics can increase the transfer of resistance genes between bacteria because these genes cluster together on plasmids and other __.

horizontally mobile elements (HMEs)

The __ testing method involves spreading a lawn of bacteria on a plate and adding sterile filter discs containing antibiotics.

Antibiotic susceptibility (AST)

The __ appears at the edge of the zone of inhibition in an antibiotic susceptibility test.

minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)

The __ method uses zones of inhibition to determine if an organism is resistant, sensitive, or indeterminate to each antibiotic

Kirby-Bauer

In a typical conjugation experiment, (with plasmid?) and (w/o plasmid?) cells are mixed together.

donor; recipient

Nalidixic acid and kanamycin are used to select for __ bacteria.

transconjugant

What are the three main mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria? 1. _ 2. _ 3. __

Conjugation

The horizontal gene transfer mechanism that requires a virus to be the method of transfer is called __.

Transduction

The horizontal gene transfer mechanism that requires a pilus for the method of transfer is called __.

Conjugation

The uptake of exogenous DNA is the method of gene transfer of __.

Transformation

The spread of antibiotic resistance is a serious and disturbing clinical consequence of __.

horizontal gene transfer

Streptomyces and Bacillus are genera of __ that are sources of antibiotics.

bacteria

Penicillium and Cephalosporium are genera of __ that are sources of antibiotics.

fungal molds

Rare individuals (bacteria) that already have genes that make them resistant pass these genes to other bacteria, in the presence of __.

antibiotics

Some antibiotics are __ at sub-lethal doses; this can bring about mutation to antibiotic resistance!

mutagenic

Some HMEs coordinate expression of their transfer genes in response to particular __.

antibiotics

In AST, clear zones of inhibition can occur in areas where bacterial-growth has been __ by antibiotics.

prevented

The __is set by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI).

Interpretive Standard

__ E. coli is naturally competent.

False

Wild-type E. coli and GF402-IEB9 both appear to be sensitive to the clinically-relevant concentrations of __ used in the Kirby-Bauer disc experiment.

Penicillin G

Conjugative __ can be classified as one or the other of two types.

pili

With any type of microbiological technique, it is important not to introduce __ bacteria into the experiment

contaminating

RifR KanR ; pKan+ is the __ strain

donor

NalR ; pKan- is the __ strain

recipient

The first antibiotic to be put to medical use was __

penicillin

The greatest numbers of antibiotics are derived from bacteria in the genera __ and Bacillus

Streptomyces

infections and antibiotic resistance are prevalent in less economically developed countries and western societies.

Infectious disease

The overuse of _ has caused many bacteria to become resistant to frontline treatments.

antibiotics

A virus that infects bacteria is called a .

bacteriophage

The phage DNA encodes information for express more _ proteins.

phage coat

The bacterial cells are __ plated on nutrient agar plates containing suitable antibiotics that will select for recipient cells that have received the copy of donor DNA.

plated

Describe one of the two types of conjugative pili. __ pili form durable contacts with recipient bacteria in both liquid environments and on solid surfaces.

Long, flexible

What is the first step while plating lawns of strain bacteria on agar plates? Pipette 1ml of __ onto a plate

bacterial culture