Self Quiz for Prokaryotic Cell Anatomy: Plasmids and Transposons
Study the material in this section and then write out the answers to these questions.
Do not just click on the answers and write them out. This will not test your understanding of this tutorial.
1. Describe plasmids and indicate their possible benefit to bacteria. (ans)
2. State why R-plasmids are presenting quite a problem today in treating many Gram-negative infections. (ans)
3. _____________ are small pieces of DNA that encode enzymes that cut segments of DNA from a location in a bacterial chromosome or in a plasmid and insert it into another chromosome or plasmid. These segments of translocated DNA often contain genes for antibiotic resistance. (ans)
4. The genes coding for antibiotic resistance in bacterial plasmids frequently change over time, enabling the bacterium to resist new antibiotics. What might account for this? (ans)
5. State the most common way plasmids are transmitted from one bacterium to another. (ans)
6. Define horizontal gene transfer. (ans)
Gary E. Kaiser, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology
The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville Campus
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work The Grapes of Staph at https://cwoer.ccbcmd.edu/science/microbiology/index_gos.html.
Last updated: August, 2018
Please send comments and inquiries to Dr.
Gary Kaiser