1. Describe the use of a DNA probe and PCR for:

1. Rapid identification of an unknown bacterium.

2. Determining which of a group of bacterium are most closely related.

2. After contact with a patient’s spinal fluid, a lab technician developed fever, nausea, and purple lesions on her neck and extremities. A throat culture grew gram-negative diplococci. What is the genus of the bacteria?

3. Define and describe, in reference to the lifecycle of the liver fluke Clonorchis sinensis, the intermediate host and definitive host. Also name the phylum and class that this animal belongs to.

4. Discuss the arguments for and against the classification of viruses as living organisms.

5. List the experimental requirements of Koch’s postulates, and explain the exceptions to the requirements.

6. Given the limitations of Koch’s postulates, what role do you see for molecular genetics and associated techniques in addressing the exceptions to the postulates?

7. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy are normally more susceptible to infections. However, a patient receiving an antitumor drug that inhibited cell division was resistant to Salmonella. Provide a possible mechanism for the resistance.

8. Describe the mode of action of each of the following antibiotics and explain what effect each one may have on host cells. Give an example of an organism that would be effectively treated for each drug.

1. Penicillin
2. Indinavir
3. Erythromycin
4. polymyxin B