MED1006 General Microbiology and
Immunology
Tutorial 03 (MB)
Week 14
Dr TSANG Chi Ching (MHS)
[email protected] 7
Q1
• Salts and sugars work to preserve foods by creating
a:
a) depletion of nutrients.
b) hypotonic environment.
c) lower osmotic pressure.
d) hypertonic environment.
e) lower pH.
8
Physical Methods
• Desiccation
▫ Controls microbial growth, may not kill
© Parker N et al. Microbiology. 2016. Houston: OpenStax.
9
Q2
• A culture medium on which only Gram-positive
organisms grow and a yellow halo surrounds
Staphylococcus aureus colonies is called a(n):
a) selective medium.
b) differential medium.
c) enrichment culture.
d) selective and differential medium.
e) differential and enrichment culture.
10
Microbial Cultivation – Culture Media
• Function
▫ Selective
Favour growth of some microorganisms & inhibit others
e.g. MacConkey agar, Sabouraud dextrose agar
© Fernando N et al. Fatal Fusarium solani species complex infections in elasmobranchs: the first case report
for black spotted stingray (Taeniura melanopsila) and a literature review. Mycoses. 2015;58(7):422-431.
11
Microbial Cultivation – Culture Media
• Function
▫ Differential
Distinguish different groups of microorganisms
based on their biological characteristics
e.g. MacConkey agar, blood agar
MacConkey Agar - Escherichia coli (left) & MacConkey Agar - Salmonella enteritidis (right) © Arvidson CG,
Virtual Interactive Bacteriology Laboratory, Michigan State University. Cultivation Media for Bacteria.
12
Q3
• Which of the following is the best method to sterilise
heat-labile solutions?
a) dry heat
b) autoclave
c) membrane filtration
d) pasteurization
e) freezing
13
© Willey JM, Sherwood LM, Woolverton CJ. Prescott’s Microbiology. 8th Edition. 2011. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
Physical Methods
• Filtration
▫ Physically remove microorganisms
▫ Good for heat-sensitive materials
▫ Sterilisation may be achieved (depending on pore-size)
Pore size of 0.22 μm can be used to remove bacteria &
endospores
© Parker N et al. Microbiology. © Parker N et al. Microbiology.
2016. Houston: OpenStax. 2016. Houston: OpenStax.
14
Q4
• The major significance of Robert Koch's work (his
postulates) is that:
a) microorganisms are present in a diseased animal.
b) diseases can be transmitted from one animal to
another.
c) microorganisms can be cultured.
d) microorganisms cause disease.
e) microorganisms are the result of disease.
15
© Parker N et al. Microbiology. 2016. Houston: OpenStax.
Aetiology
• Koch’s postulates
▫ Criteria which must be met
before an infectious disease
can be linked with a pathogen
16
Q5
• The below graph shows the incidence of polio in the
United States. The period between 1945 and 1955
indicates a(n):
a) endemic level.
b) epidemic level.
c) sporadic infection.
d) communicable disease.
e) pandemic.
17
Level of disease occurrence
• Sporadic
▫ Infrequent & irregular, no geographic concentration
• Endemic
▫ Present within a population at all times
Persistent, often low level
• Epidemic
▫ Increase, often sudden, in disease occurrence within a
population that is in excess of what is expected in a
given time and place
• Pandemic
▫ Spread across regions (several countries/continents)
18
Q6
• A researcher only needs to select a cohort group
when implementing an analytical epidemiological
study.
a) True
b) False
19
Epidemiology Study Types © Boston University School of Public Health
Intervention studies / clinical trials
20
Cases Controls
Case-Control Studies Exposed A B
Unexposed C D
• Look back through time at potential
exposures that both cases and controls
may have encountered
• Identify risk factors by a 2×2
contingency table and odds ratio (OR)
▫ i.e. the ratio of the odds of exposure
in the cases (A/C) to the odds of
exposure in the controls (B/D)
A/C
▫ OR =
B/D
▫ OR > 1 indicates a subject with the
outcome of interest is more likely to
have the exposure of interest
compared to the control
Vice versa for OR < 1
Level of evidence lower than cohort
studies
▫ Often used to assist outbreak
investigation
© Niyonsenga T. Foundations of Public Health Epidemiology (HLTH 5188). School of Population Health. University of South Australia.
21
© Boston University School of Public Health
Longitudinal
Cohort studies (Outcome)
• Prospective
▫ Select subjects based on their exposure statuses
▫ Follow through a period of time to assess their outcome statuses later
▫ Temporality of the exposure-outcome relation can be established
The cause (exposure) precedes the effect (outcome)
▫ e.g. smoker/non-smoker vs lung cancer
▫ e.g. obese/lean women vs heart attack
© Boston University School of Public Health
22
Q7
• Which of the following statements is FALSE?
a) Leukocidins destroy neutrophils.
b) Haemolysins lyse red blood cells.
c) Hyaluronidase breaks down substances between
cells.
d) Coagulase destroys blood clots.
23
6. Damaging Host
24
4. Evading host defence
▫ e.g. Coagulase of Staphylococcus aureus
Prevents phagocytosis by forming fibrin barrier around
the bacteria
25
Q8
• Symptoms of intense inflammation and shock occur
in some Gram-positive bacterial infections due to:
a) A-B toxins.
b) lipid A.
c) membrane-disrupting toxins.
d) superantigens.
26
Superantigens
• e.g. Staphylococcus enterotoxin B
▫ Cross-links MHC class II molecules on
APCs to T-cell receptors
Illicit T-cell immune response
Over-reaction -> tissue damage
Can act at nanogram
concentration
© Papageorgiou AC & Acharya KR. Superantigens as immunomodulators: recent structural insights. Structure. 1997;5(8):991-996.
27
Q9
• The antibiotic tetracycline binds to the 30S subunit
of the ribosome. The effect is to:
a) prevent attachment of DNA.
b) prevent peptide bond formation.
c) prevent transcription.
d) stop the ribosome from moving along the mRNA.
e) interfere with the attachment of the tRNA to mRNA-
ribosome complex.
28
Inhibition of Protein Synthesis
Modified from © Urban J. How Do Antibiotics Affect Protein Synthesis? 2021.
29
Q10
• Which of the following antibiotics is recommended
for use against Gram-negative bacteria?
a) polyenes
b) bacitracin
c) cephalosporin
d) penicillin
e) polymyxin
30
Modes of Action
Modified from © Parker N et al. Microbiology. 2016. Houston: OpenStax.
triazoles
31
Modes of Action © Parker N et al. Microbiology. 2016. Houston: OpenStax.
32
Gram Staining
• Most bacteria can be divided into either Gram +ve or
Gram −ve © Willey JM, Sherwood LM, Woolverton CJ. Prescott’s Microbiology. 8th Edition. 2011. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
(OM)
(M, murein)
(PM)
(P)
33
Disruption of Plasma Membrane
• Polymyxins
Y = D-Leu / D-Phe
X = fatty acid tail
© Mohapatra SS et al. Polymyxins, the last-resort antibiotics: Mode of action,
resistance emergence, and potential solutions. J Biosci. 2021;46(3):85.
34
Q11
• Which of the following organisms would MOST likely
be sensitive to natural penicillin?
a) helminths
b) Streptococcus pyogenes
c) β-lactamase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae
d) Penicillium
e) Mycoplasma
35
Q12
• Lamisil is an allylamine used to treat
dermatomycoses. Lamisil's method of action is
similar to that of?
a) polymyxin B.
b) triazoles.
c) echinocandins.
d) polyene.
e) bacitracin.
36
Modes of Action
Modified from © Parker N et al. Microbiology. 2016. Houston: OpenStax.
triazoles
37
Disruption of Plasma Membrane
© Ghannoum MA & Rice LB. Antifungal agents: mode of action, mechanisms of resistance, and
correlation of these mechanisms with bacterial resistance. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1999;12(4):501-517.
• Allylamines
▫ e.g. Terbinafine Squalene epoxidase
Effective against superficial infections
© Chemistry Learner.
38
Disruption of Plasma Membrane
• Triazoles
Modified from © Asai K et al. Formation of azole-resistant Candida albicans by mutation
of sterol 14-demethylase P450. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1999;43(5):1163-1169.
Squalene
24-Methylene-24,25-dihydrolanosterol
Sterol 14-demethylase P450
© Rybak JM et al. Emerging threat of triazole-resistant Aspergillus
fumigatus. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2019;74(4):835-842.
4,4-Dimethylzymosterol 4,4-Dimethylfecosterol
39
Answers
• Q1: D • Q7: D
• Q2: D • Q8: D
• Q3: C • Q9: E
• Q4: D • Q10: E
• Q5: B • Q11: B
• Q6: B • Q12: B
