Microbiology data handling

What does serotyping help differentiate?

Strains of the same species.

Does serotyping tell us if a strain is pathogenic?

No.

What does serotyping detect?

Surface antigens.

What types of antigens can serotyping distinguish between?

LPS, pilus types, flagellum types, and capsule types.

How does serotyping classify microorganisms?

Based on specific surface antigens.

What are examples of antigens detected in E. coli serotyping?

O antigen, H antigen, and K antigen.

What is the K antigen in E. coli?

The capsular polysaccharide.

What does the O antigen represent in E. coli?

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

What does the H antigen represent in E. coli?

Flagellar proteins.

What is the role of fimbrial antigens (F antigens)?

To help with adhesion to host tissues.

What is 16S rRNA found in?

The small subunit of the bacterial ribosome.

Why is 16S rRNA useful for bacterial identification?

It has conserved and variable regions.

What do conserved regions in 16S rRNA enable?

Primer binding in PCR.

Is 16S rRNA identical across all bacterial species?

No, it varies between species.

Why do we use the rRNA/ITS database for 16S analysis?

It specializes in 16S RNA sequences.

What does the expect value (E-value) indicate in sequence alignment?

The chance of a match occurring by chance.

What does a smaller E-value suggest?

A more reliable match.

What does a high % mortality in WT and restored fungal strains indicate?

That the strains are virulent.

Why is a restored strain used in virulence studies?

To confirm the knockout causes avirulence.

What can be concluded if a knockout fungal strain causes no mortality?

The knockout strain is avirulent.

Which components necessary for a PCR reaction will be in the PCR Reddy Mix? (5)

1. Red dye

2. template DNA

3. Primers

4. thermostable DNA

5. buffer

What annealing temperature is appropriate?

5C below annealing temperature of the primers used.