Lecture 13-15 Flashcards
What makes bacteria valuable for research
small size, rapid reproduction, simple structure, genetic variability
What are the 3 parasexual processes
conjugation, transformation and transduction
What is the term for bacterial viruses
bacteriophages
How do bacteriophages reproduce
infecting bacterial cells
What are the two media options for bacterial growth
liquid and solid
What are the circular features on a solid media if bacteria growth occurs
colonies of bacteria
If you assembled a full dish of bacterial growth and then inserted a virus, clearings would show up on the plate, what are these clearings called
plaques
Why do plaques occur
the virus kills the bacteria in the colony and forms clearings where the bacteria previously was
What is bacteriophage T4
the genome contains 168800 base pairs and 150 characterized genes
- goes through a lytic phase
What is a lytic phase
infects host, lyses host, and bursts to infect surrounding cells
What is a lysogenic phase
bacteriophage DNA is inserted onto the host genome where it is passed on to subsequent generations
Is bacteriophage T4 a lytic of lysogenic phage
lytic
What is bacteriophage lambda
genome contains 48502 base pairs and about 50 genes (smaller than T4)
- can be both lytic or lysogenic
In its integrated state, the lambda chromosome is called….
prophage
Why can bacteria not have chiasmata
they don’t have meiosis, only mitosis
Is the gene transfer of bacteria unidirectional or bidirectional
unidirectional
What are plasmids
small circular DNA sequences (episomes are a subcategory of plasmids)
What are some examples of phenotypes in bacteria
colony colour, nutritional mutants, phototrophs (wild type) and auxotrophs (cannot synthesize certain AAs), and antibiotic resistance
What are prototrophs
wild type bacterial chromosomes
What are auxotrophs
cannot synthesize certain AAs
What is conjugation
a cytoplasmic bridge is formed between two bacterial cells and DNA replicates and transfers from donor to recipient
- crossover then occurs to implement new DNA onto original plasmid and a recombinant chromosome appears
What is transformation
DNA fragments from a dead cell in the colony (naked DNA) is taken up by a host
- a crossover then occurs to implement new DNA onto original plasmid and a recombinant chromosome appears
What is transduction
a virus attaches itself to a host bacterial cell and injects its DNA, which splits up the original chromosome of the host cell
- the bacterial cell lyses, however, some of the bacterial DNA is taken up by the viral head and transferred to the next host cell
- a crossover the occurs to implement new DNA onto original plasmid and a recombinant chromosome appears
What parasexual process requires physical contact
conjugation