This sequence of questions should help students understand how microbes were historically characterized and classified, how technology changed our perception of the microbial world,
the assumptions scientists made about prokaryotes, the unique features of archaea that
distinguish this group of microorganisms from bacteria, and how fossils impact on our
understanding of prokaryotic evolution on Earth.
Prior to the advent of DNA sequencing technology and its application to the study of bacterial
diversity and phylogeny, traditional taxonomic methods succeeded in characterizing
thousands of bacterial species. As mentioned in the text, the cultured species represented
less than 1% of the total number of bacterial species in nature.
Knowledge of the nucleotide sequence for the gene encoding the small subunit of the
ribosomal RNA (rRNA) provides little information about the metabolic capabilities of
microorganisms found in soil and seawater other than what can be inferred from sequence
similarity to 16S rRNA genes from cultured species.
A. true
B. false
A
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The process in fungi that allows nutrients to flow from food-absorbing parts of the fungal body to
other, nonabsorptive parts is ____.
a. osmosis b. karyogamy c. cytoplasmic streaming d. plasmogamy e. symbiosis
Winkler and Sheldon used the _____ to study _____ in swallows and martins
a. mating method; mating systems b. mating method; nest building c. comparative method; mating systems d. comparative method; nest building e. reproductive method; nest building
If the energy of the sun no longer reached Earth, the primary productivity of which of the following ecosystems would be least affected?
A. taiga B. temperate rain forest C. deep sea hydrothermal vent D. desert E. coral reef