Name: _____________________________________

Agronomy 485
Test #1
October 3, 2003

Part I. Circle the one best answer (2 points each).

1. The first soil microbiologist to be hired at Iowa State University was ______ in about ______.
a. Waksman, 1890
b. Beijerinck, 1900
c. Brown, 1910
d. Fred, 1930
e. Starkey, 1930

2. As discussed by your text, which of these features separate the interior of the cell, known as
the cytoplasm, from the external environment?
a. cytoplasmic membrane
b. cell envelope
c. fimbria
d. slime layer composed of extracellular polysaccharides
e. porins

3. Under what soil moisture tension (of those listed) would you expect the greatest numbers and
greatest diversity of soil microbial growth?
a. 0.001 bar
b. 0.03 bar
c. 0.3 bar
d. 10 bar
e. 15 bar

4. Assume that this page is 20 cm across. Approximately how many widths of fungal hyphae
would fit across this page?
a. 2 x 101
b. 2 x 102
c. 2 x 103
d. 2 x 104
e. 2 x 105

5. Of the non-root biomass in soil, one would normally expect the bacteria, actinomycetes, and
fungi to comprise ________ of the total.
a. >90%
b. approximately 2/3
c. approximately 1/2
d. approximately 1/3
e. <10%

6. Identify the group of organisms listed below that correctly begins with the largest and moves to
the smallest organism.
a. Macrofauna, bacteria, fungi, algae
b. Protozoa, actinomycetes, algae, viruses
c. Algae, fungi, bacteria, viruses
d. Mesofauna, macrofauna, microfauna, fungi
e. Fungi, microfauna, bacteria, algae
7. Identify the generally true statement concerning soil actinomycetes.
a. Require organics as a terminal electron acceptor.
b. Are rather tolerant of acid conditions.
c. Have a greater soil biomass than fungi.
d. Are more abundant than soil bacteria.
e. Are prokaryotic.

8. Soil humus is best defined as:

a. the living soil carbon component.
b. dead plant and animal residues.
c. soil humic acids.
d. oxidized and stable carbon compounds.
e. soil organic matter.

9. Geosmin is a metabolite produced by:

a. Bacillus with antibiotic properties.
b. Actinomyces with antibiotic properties.
c. Actinomyces and important in bonding together soil particles.
d. Streptomyces and gives soil its characteristic earthy odor.

10. In a field depression, the oxygen status of a soil likely is most constant:
a. on the surface of a structural ped at 0.5-cm soil depth.
b. on the interior of a structural ped at 0.5-cm soil depth.
c. on the surface of a structural ped at 100-cm soil depth.
d. on the interior of a structural ped at 100-cm soil depth.

11. All other factors being equal, a soil with the highest percentage of ________ will warm most
rapidly.
a. water
b. ice
c. quartz
d. humus

12. Which of these components can serve as both an electron donor and an electron acceptor?
a. Fe3+
b. NO2-
c. CH4
d. CO2
e. S042-

13. A component often used to specifically enrich for actinomycetes is:

a. chitin.
b. cellulose.
c. lignin.
d. protein.
e. streptomycin.

14. Based on expected numbers in soil, if the bacterial population was diluted by ten, one would
expect:
a. more protozoa that bacteria.
b. more fungi than bacteria.
c. more algae than bacteria.
d. more earthworms than bacteria.
e. bacteria to still have the highest population.

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15. Members of this group of actinomycetes are usually second in abundance in many soils.
a. Nocardia
b. Schizomycetes
c. Actinoplanes
d. Micromonospora
e. Frankia

16. Which of these is a plural form?

a. genus
b. bacterium
c. spp.
d. mycorrhiza
e. datum

17. Which of these is characteristic of Archaea?

a. Antibiotic sensitivities similar to eukaryotic cells.
b. Thymine present in transfer RNA.
c. Muramic acid in cell wall.
d. Abundant in aerobic soils.
e. Produce aerial fruiting structures.

18. The yeasts are classified as _____________.

a. bacteria
b. actinomycetes
c. fungi
d. algae
e. protozoa

19. A chemoautotroph is an organism that obtains carbon from _______ and energy from
_________.
a. inorganic sources, inorganic sources
b. organic sources, inorganic sources
c. inorganic sources, organic sources
d. organic sources, organic sources

20. As the ambient temperature drops from 20 to 10oC, one could reasonable expect the rate of
microbial conversion of substrate to product to:
a. decrease to 1/2X.
b. decrease to 1/4X.
c. increase to 2X.
d. increase to 4X.
e. can't give a reasonable prediction from the information given.

21. This group is favored by higher pH and drier conditions.

a. Bacteria
b. Archaea
c. Fungi
d. Actinomycetes
e. Yeasts

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22. A cube 1 cm on a side would hold how many 1 um 3?
a. 1.0 X 103
b. 1.0 X 106
c. 1,0 X 109
d. 1.0 X 1012
e. 1.0 X 1015

23. Fungi Imperfecti are __________ and reproduce __________.

a. septate, sexually
b. nonseptate, asexually
c. nonseptate, sexually
d. septate, asexually

24. Five bacteria with a generation time of 30 minutes would produce ____________ cells after 2
days of logarithmic growth.
a. 1 x 962
b. 5 x 3010
c. 1 X 596
d. 5 x 248
e. None of these answers are correct.

25. Members of this group are known for nitrogen fixation.

a. Frankia
b. Streptomyces
c. Aspergillus
d. Nitrosomonas
e. Pseudomonas

Part II. Short answer and essay. Be to the point in your responses (possible points are indicated in
the left-hand column).

26. During a dilution problem, 13.4 g of wet soil at 32% moisture was added to a 90-mL water
blank.
a) What is the actual dilution when expressed on a dry-weight soil basis?
(5)

b) Explain to your classmate why this is a volume/weight dilution and how one would use the
dilution factor to arrive at the number of organisms per g dry soil.
(6)

27. Indicate your understanding of the diversity of electron donors in soil by showing examples of
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 the source of the electron(s) and the products formed.
(7)

28. With the likely prospect of becoming rich, you plan to genetically engineer a strain of bacteria
that will decompose a common pesticide in soil. In addition to the genes for pesticide
degradation, what other characteristics of this organism would be important for the organism to
be successful?
(7)

29. One would expect in most neutral pH soils to have about 1000 bacterial cells for every fungal
cell. Speculate on factors as to how fungi might compete against these odds.
(6)

30. In the binomial system of taxonomic classification of an organism, how would you distinguish
between a family name, order name, and a genus name? Secondly, what does authority mean
and how would you recognize it?
(7)

31. Briefly explain or show your understanding for:

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 a. Albedo
(3)

b. Fairy ring
(3)

c. %GC of actinomycetes
(3)

d. Buried slide technique

(3)