MICROBIAL ECOLOGY ESSAY QUESTIONS Answered

• NATURAL MICROBIAL ENVIRONMENT
1) Write short brief notes on the following events including their years of occurrence
- Love canal disaster :
This occurred in 1978. 21000 tons of chemicals like organic solvents and dyes were
traced resulting from manufacturing of dyes, perfumes and solvents. This led to the high
rate of birth defects such as enlarged feet and heads.
NB: this pollution started in 1942.
- Minamata disease: this was a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury

poisoning. Symptoms included numbness in feet and and hands as wells as general
muscle weakness among others traced to waste products released into minamata bay
Japan in 1953. (1953-1961)
- Bhopal :(1984) inhabitants of Bhopal were exposed to Methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and
other toxic chemicals in Bhopal. 16.5 tons of MIC pesticide leaked from Union Carbide’s
pesticide factory.
- Chernobyl : this was a nuclear reactor accident that happened in Chernobyl Ukraine in
1986. Victims observed cancers and deformities as well as birth defects.
- Milwaukee Cryptosporidiosis: this was the largest water borne outbreak which occurred
from 1993 – 1994. Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts we’re found in drinking water in
Wisconsin
2) What are the three main ways through which pathogenic bacteria exit their hosts?
a) Through vomitus
b) Through aerosols from sneezing
c) Through faeces
3) Name at least four strain of Escherichia coli and state their degree of virulence
Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC):
- Virulence: Moderate
- Description: EPEC primarily causes diarrhea, especially in infants and young children. It
adheres to the intestinal lining and disrupts normal cellular function.
Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC):

- Virulence: Moderate to high
- Description: ETEC is a common cause of traveler's diarrhea and can produce enterotoxins
that lead to watery diarrhea. It is often associated with contaminated food and water.
Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), including O157:H7:
- Virulence: High
- Description: EHEC can cause severe abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea, and can lead to
hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can be life-threatening. This strain produces Shiga
toxin.
Enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC):

- Description: EIEC invades and multiplies within intestinal epithelial cells, causing inflammation
and ulceration, leading to dysentery-like symptoms.
Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC):

- Virulence: Moderate to high
- Description: UPEC is a leading cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs). It possesses specific
virulence factors that allow it to adhere to the urinary tract.
Neonatal meningitis E. coli (NMEC):

- Virulence: High
- Description: NMEC is associated with meningitis in newborns and has specific virulence factors
that enable it to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Diffusely Adherent E. coli (DAEC):

- Virulence: Low to moderate
- Description: DAEC is associated with persistent diarrhea, particularly in children, but is
generally less virulent than other pathogenic strains.
Adherent-Invasive E. coli (AIEC):

- Description: AIEC is implicated in inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease. It
adheres to and invades intestinal epithelial cells.
4) Explain the mechanisms involved with the activities of Vibrio cholerae in releasing watery
stools from its host
Vibrio cholerae releases cytotonic enterotoxins that convert ATP into cyclic AMP and this affects the
ability of the GIT to absorb water and hence it’s passed out together with wastes as watery stools.
• MICROORGANISMS OF EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS
1) Name the types/categories of microbes under each parameter stated below giving at least
two examples each;
- Oxygen
a) Obligate aerobes eg. Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa
b) Obligate anaerobes eg botulinum & Bacteroides fragility
c) Facultative anaerobes eg. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus
d) Microaerophiles eg. Helicobacter pylori and Campylobacter jejuni
e) Aero tolerant anaerobes eg. Lactobacillus spp. And Streptococcus pyogenes
f) Capnophiles eg. Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Haemophilus influenza – A
- Temperature
a) Psychrophiles eg. Psychrobacter spp. And Colwellia spp.
b) Mesophiles eg. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus
c) Thermophiles eg. Thermus aquaticus and Bacillus stearothermophilus
d) Hyperthermophiles eg. Methanopyrus kandleri and Pyrolobus fumarii
- Pressure(osmotic & hydrostatic)

Barophiles eg. Shewanella violacea and Colwellia psychrerythraea
- pH
a) Acidophiles eg. Thermoplasma acidophilum and Ferroplasma acidarmanus
b) Neutrophiles eg. E. coli and S. aureus
c) Alkaliphiles eg. Natronobacterium gregoryi and Bacillus alcalophilus
- Salt concentration
a) Halophiles eg. Halobacterium spp.
2) State the effect of UV light on microbes and give two ways by which it can be corrected.
UV light when absorbed by bacterial DNA causes the formation of thymine dimers(bonding
of two thymine nucleotides) which is a form of mutation). This can be corrected by:
a) Photoreactivation
b) Dark reactivation
3) Lactobacillus produces lactic acid as a by product which interferes with its own metabolism.
How does it cope with its acidic environment?
Lactobacillus has a buffer system which can neutralize the excess acid in its environment and
help it cope with high acidity.
4) Explain briefly how acid shock affects the virulence of a microbe.
The more a pathogenic microbe can withstand acidic environment the more virulent it is.
• STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVAL
1) Name 2 structures that microbes form in harsh environmental conditions to prevent them
from dying out.
a) Cysts
b) Spores( exospores and endospores)
2) Name the disease caused by each of the following pathogens ;

- Clostridium botulinum - botulism
- Clostridium tetani – tetanus
- C. perfringens – Gas gangrene
- Bacillus anthracis - Anthrax
- B. cereus – food poisoning
• SOME IMPORTANT DISEASES
1) Define the following terms;

- Pathogen : this is an organism(microbe) which has the potential to cause a disease
- Infection: this is the invasion and multiplication of pathogenic microbes in an individual

or population.
- Disease: this is the damage caused to the vital functions or systems of a host as a result
of an infection.
2) Name the categories under the following mode of spread of diseases

- Direct contact
a) Horizontal
b) Vertical
- Indirect contact
a) Vehicle borne
b) Vector borne
3) State the viruses that are commonly associated with the syndromes below as well as the
ones that are less commonly associated with them;
- Corza
a) Commonly associated: Rhinoviruses
b) Least commonly associated: influenza and parainfluenza
- Croup
a) Parainfluenza viruses
b) Influenza viruses,RSV, adenoviruses
- Influenza
- a) influenza viruses
b)parainfluenza viruses, adenoviruses
- Bronchiolitis
a) RSV
b) Influenza and parainfluenza viruses
- Bronchopneumonia
a) Influenza virus,RSV, adenoviruses
b) Parainfluenza viruses, measles, VZV, CMV
4) Amongst the influenza viruses(A,B,C) which of them is most virulent and which is less
virulent?
influenza virus A is most virulent
Influenza virus B and C are less virulent ones
b) explain what makes the answer you stated in the preceding question less virulent
Influenza B and C viruses are less virulent because they mutate 2-3 times less than the
influenza A virus. They also have a very small range of hosts.
5) How many different types of Haemagglutinin and Neuraninidase exists?
There are 15 Haemagglutinin(HA) types I.e H1 - H15 and 9 Neuramindase (NA) N1 – N9
6) Which of the avian influenza virus strains is deemed most deadly and causes pandemics?
The H5N1 (avian influenza)
7) State three (3) differences between antigenic shift and antigenic drift
8) Which influenza strain causes swine (pig) flu?

H1N1 strain

MICROBIAL ECOLOGY ESSAY QUESTIONS Answered

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MICROBIAL ECOLOGY ESSAY QUESTIONS Answered

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• NATURAL MICROBIAL ENVIRONMENT

- Minamata disease: this was a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury

Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC):

Enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC):

Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC):

Neonatal meningitis E. coli (NMEC):

Diffusely Adherent E. coli (DAEC):

Adherent-Invasive E. coli (AIEC):

- Pressure(osmotic & hydrostatic)

• STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVAL

2) Name the disease caused by each of the following pathogens ;

• SOME IMPORTANT DISEASES

1) Define the following terms;

- Infection: this is the invasion and multiplication of pathogenic microbes in an individual

2) Name the categories under the following mode of spread of diseases

8) Which influenza strain causes swine (pig) flu?

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