PAPER CODE BIOL341-17B (HAM) THE UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO ‘Te Whare Winange 0 Waikto 2017 B SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS PROGRAMME Biological Sciences PAPER TITLE Microbial Physiology and Ecology TIME ALLOWED ‘Three hours NUMBER OF QUESTIONS. Twelve IN PAPER NUMBER OF QUESTIONS Five TO BE ANSWERED GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS Alll questions are of equal value SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS Answer UP TO TWO OF ANY questions from Sections A, B, and C. If more than five questions are answered in total, only the first five questions (up to two from each Section) will be graded CALCULATORS PERMITTED No TURN OVER2 Paper Code: BIOL341-17B (HAM) SECTION A (Answer UP TO TWO questions from this Section) 1. Describe anoxygenic and oxygenic photosynthesis. Highlight the differences in electron transport systems, generation of ATP, and reducing power for fixing CO: 2. Describe the three most common pathways for autotrophic CO> fixation: (i) the Calvin cycle, (ji) the reverse citric acid cycle, and (iii) the hydroxypropionate cycle. 3. Fermentations are characterised by the generation of ATP via substrate-level phosphorylation; however, there are a number of fermentations which lack substrate~ level phosphorylation. Describe using examples how the small amount of energy released is used to generate ATP. 4, Syntrophy is the cooperation of two or more organisms to degrade a substrate that neither can degrade alone and typically involves interspecies Hy transfer. Describe how the energetics of syntrophy work when transfer is coupled to methanogenesis, and also describe the oxidation of the fatty acid butyrate to acetate plus Hz by the syntroph ‘Syntrophomonas. SECTIONB (Answer UP TO TWO questions from this Section) Explain what comammox is, describe the definitive evidence for its existence, and explain what longstanding paradox it resolves. 6. Describe the conditions that lead to the self-propagating oxidation of pyrite, how the process contributes to the formation of acid mine drainage, and the ecological significance of acid mine drainage. 7. _ Explain the difficulties encountered by alkaliphiles and list at least two examples of how these difficulties are overcome. What evidence suggests that the intracellular pH of alkaliphiles is close to pH 7.02 8. What were the conditions in Earth’s oceans four billion years ago? How would the conditions have shaped the dominant microbial metabolism at the time? List one example of those metabolic pathways that we still see in microorganisms today. TURN OVER10. PAPER CODE: BIOL341-17B (HAM) SECTION C (Answer UP TO TWO questions from this Section) Describe pelagic waters’ characteristics as a microbial habitat. How do those characteristics affect the physiology of pelagic microorganisms? How do coastal waters differ from pelagic waters, and why do those differences lead to oxygen depletion? ‘What is the goal of wastewater treatment? Describe the main components of a modern ‘wastewater treatment system and three potential environmental issues created by untreated wastewater. Describe enrichment as a technique in microbial ecology and the three requirements for a successful enrichment attempt. List and explain three significant shortcomings for enrichment as a technique for studying microbial ecology. Describe how DNA is sequenced using the Sanger technique. How are the four nucleotides (A, T, C, and G) distinguished, and what specific attribute of the technique allows only one nucleotide to be read at a time? Contrast these with one of the next- generation sequencing platforms (ice, Illumina, lon Torrent, or PacBio).