2016/17

Question 1

Which of the following is true?

i) All known living things are made up of cells.
ii) The cell is a structural and functional unit of all living things.
iii) All cells come from pre-existing cells by division.
iv) Cells contain hereditary information which is passed from cell to cell during cell division.
v) Cells have their own metabolism.

Answer 1

i, ii, iii, iv, v - all of them

Question 2

Bacteria, archaea, fungi, plant, protist and animal cells have in common

a) a cell wall
b) a plasma membrane
c) a nucleus
d) mitochondria

Answer 2

b - plasma membrane

Question 3

The green fluorescent protein emits green light after excitation with

a) red light
b) yellow light
c) white light
d) blue light

Answer 3

d - blue light

Question 4

Fluorescent recovery after photo-bleaching (FRAP) is a method that

a) determines the protein content of cells
b) visualises cellular dynamics
c) requires fixation of the cells
d) investigates the interaction of proteins

Answer 4

b - visualises cellular dynamics

Question 5

The Fluid Mosaic Model suggests that

a) Organelles drift within the cytoplasm.
b) Proteins “swim” in a liquid-like membrane composed of lipids.
c) Cytoskeletal fibres can reach through the plasma membrane.
d) Fusion of transport vesicles underlies the formation of the endoplasmic reticulum.

Answer 5

b - proteins swim

Question 6

Protein phosphatases have the following features

i) They remove a phosphate group from proteins.
ii) They are lipids that take part in the formation of the plasma membrane.
iii) They oppose the phosphorylating activity of kinases.
iv) They “walk” vesicles along the fibres of the cytoskeleton.
v) They are clathrin-receptors in the plasma membrane.

Answer 6

i, iii

Question 7

Which statement holds true for the nucleolus?

i) It has a granular component that is the ribosome assembly site.
ii) It produces mRNA due the activity of RNA polymerase.
iii) Transcription of ribosomal RNAs occurs in the fibrillary centres.
iv) It is located in the cytoplasm.
v) It is surrounded by a bio-membrane.

Answer 7

i, iii,

Question 8

Which of the following applies to the Golgi apparatus?

a) It is surrounded by a double membrane.
b) It consists of a membrane stack.
c) It contains cristae.
d) It is the site of transcription.

Answer 8

b

Question 9

Which are the pathways that deliver material to the lysosome for degradation?

i) autophagy
ii) phagocytosis
iii) secretion
iv) endocytosis
v) exocytosis

Answer 9

i, ii, iv

Question 10

Fusion of transport vesicles with a target membrane involves

i) tethering of the vesicle to factors in the target membrane
ii) exchange of signalling molecules between the vesicle and the membrane
iii) docking of the vesicle to the target membrane
iv) signalling to the nucleus
v) recycling of the vesicle for reuse

Answer 10

i, iii

Question 11

Microvesicles are formed at

a) early endosomes
b) the endoplasmic reticulum
c) the Golgi apparatus
d) the plasma membrane

Answer 11

d - the plasma membrane

Question 12

Which organelles are acidified by ATP-dependent proton pumps?

i) lysosomes
ii) endosomes
iii) mitochondria
iv) peroxisomes
v) chloroplasts

Answer 12

i, ii, iii, v

Question 13

Which of the following are filaments of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton?

i) microtubules
ii) F-actin
iii) ParM filaments
iv) cellulose fibrils
v) intermediate filaments

Answer 13

i, ii, v

Question 14

Microtubules have important roles in

i) lipid storage
ii) chromosome segregation in mitosis
iii) cell motility of ciliate protists
iv) long-distance axonal transport
v) generating force in cell migration

Answer 14

ii, iii, iv,

Question 15

Primary cilia are

a) organelles of bacterial motility
b) structures that function to clear mucus in the trachea (windpipe)
c) structures that take part in cellular signalling
d) used by sperm cells to swim

Answer 15

c

Question 16

Amongst actin-binding proteins are proteins that participate in the following

i) bundling of actin
ii) controlling polymerisation of actin
iii) nucleating actin
iv) mediating transport along actin
v) stabilising actin

Answer 16

i, ii, iii, iv, v - all of them

Question 17

The contractile structure in muscle is called a

a) sarcomere
b) sarcoplasmic reticulum
c) stress fibre
d) contractile ring

Answer 17

a - sarcomere

Question 18

In telophase, which of the following happens in animal cells?

i) The cell divides.
ii) The nuclear envelope reassembles.
iii) Chromosomes decondense.
iv) The cell rapidly migrates over the extracellular matrix.
v) Exosomes are formed.

Answer 18

ii, iii

Question 19

Cells can initiate their own death by a process named

a) apoptosis
b) autophagy
c) cytokinesis
d) mitosis

Answer 19

a - apoptosis

Question 20

Which of the following applies to molecular motors?

i) They are enzymes that hydrolyse ATP in order to move along the cytoskeleton.
ii) They are enzymes that hydrolyse fatty acids in order to move along the cytoskeleton.
iii) They move cargo (such as membranous organelles or vesicles) through the cell.
iv) They make steps along microtubules or F-actin.
v) They utilise intermediate filaments for long-distance transport of cargo.

Answer 20

i, iii, iv,

Question 21

Viruses that infect fungi are called

a) enveloped viruses
b) naked viruses
c) mycophages
d) virions

Answer 21

c - mycophages

Question 22

Virus particles can possess which of the following components?

i) a capsid
ii) a surrounding bio-membrane
iii) enzymes (e.g. lytic enzymes)
iv) DNA
v) RNA

Answer 22

i, ii, iii, iv, v - all of them

Question 23

Which statement(s) is/are typically true for a prokaryote?

i) The cell is small.
ii) The cell is motile.
iii) The cell has a cell wall.
iv) The cell contains chlorophyll.
v) The cell has a nucleus.

Answer 23

i, ii, iii

Question 24

Bacterial pili are made of

a) tubulin
b) FtsZ
c) ParM
d) pilin

Answer 24

d - pilin

Question 25

Bacterial Type III secretion systems have similarity with

a) the rotation motors of flagella
b) the basal bodies of eukaryotic flagella
c) the centrosomes of eukaryotes
d) the secretion pathway in animal cells

Answer 25

a - the rotation motors of flagella

Question 26

Cytosolic bacteria move within their mammalian host cell by

a) beating their flagella
b) polymerisation and depolymerisation of their pili
c) secreting polysaccharides
d) forming an actin comet

Answer 26

d - actin comet

Question 27

Bacterial flagella move the cell forward by

a) a beating motion
b) a rotational motion
c) sticking to a surface and shortening
d) constant secretion and elongation of flagellin

Answer 27

b - rotational motion

Question 28

Prokaryotic actin-like molecules are involved in

i) cell separation
ii) plasmid segregation
iii) magnetosome localisation
iv) protein secretion
v) cell shaping

Answer 28

ii, iii, v

Question 29

Fungi grow within substrates (such as bread, soil, or tissue) as

i) hyphae
ii) pseudohyphae
iii) amoebae
iv) yeasts
v) mushrooms

Answer 29

i, ii, iv

Question 30

The fungal “Spitzenkörper” is

a) a cluster of ribosomes that appear dark in electron microscopy
b) a protein complex that helps tethering vesicles
c) an organelle that mediates membrane fusions at the hyphal tip
d) an accumulation of secretory and endocytic vesicles

Answer 30

d

Question 31

Fungal spores can be released from the fruiting body by

i) turgor pressure in the fruiting body
ii) exocytic release at the plasma membrane
iii) water splash
iv) rapid fusion of small water droplets on the spore surface
v) proteolytic digestion of the sterigma (which holds the spore upright)

Answer 31

i, iii, iv

Question 32

Hex1 forms crystals inside the Woronin body by

a) association with the endoplasmic reticulum
b) inserting into the membrane of the Woronin body
d) precipitation in the Woronin body lumen
c) self-assembling

Answer 32

c - self assembly

Question 33

Isotropic fungal growth is observed during the formation of

a) septae
b) round buds in yeasts
c) hyphal branches
d) hyphal tips

Answer 33

b - buds

Question 34

Chloroplasts are characterised by the following

i) They are surrounded by a double membrane.
ii) They contain cristae.
iii) They fix carbon dioxide using NADH and ATP (carbon fixation cycle).
iv) They are the sites of photosynthesis.
v) They are the sites of cell respiration.

Answer 34

i, iii, iv

Question 35

Proteins in chloroplasts are encoded by

i) genomic DNA
ii) chloroplast DNA
iii) mitochondrial DNA

Answer 35

i, ii

Question 36

Plasmodesmata are

a) an aggregate of ribosomes that translate proteins in the cytoplasm
b) cell-cell contacts in plant cells that mediate exchange between cells
c) extensions of the cytoplasm that are required for motility
d) pores in the nuclear envelope that mediate nuclear transport

Answer 36

b

Question 37

What are, according to the endosymbiont theory, the major steps in the evolution of eukaryotic cells?

i) infolding of a plasma membrane to form a nucleus
ii) spontaneous formation of lipid compartments to generate the endoplasmic reticulum
iii) engulfment of a heterotrophic prokaryote resulting in mitochondria
iv) uptake of photosynthetic cyanobacteria leading to chloroplasts
v) uptake of bacteria resulting in peroxisomes

Answer 37

iii, iv

Question 38

The phragmoplast

i) is found in mitotic fungal cells
ii) is a plant-specific structure that consists mainly of F-actin filaments
iii) serves as a scaffold for cell plate assembly and subsequent formation of a new cell wall in plants
iv) is a plant cell-specific structure that forms during late cytokinesis
v) packages chromosomes in plant cells

Answer 38

iii, iv

Question 39

Moss mutant cells that have no FtsZ contain

a) larger nuclei
b) larger endosomes
c) longer mitochondria
d) longer chloroplasts

Answer 39

d

Question 40

Autumn leaves turn red because

a) they express a red fluorescent protein
b) their chloroplasts accumulate a red precipitate
c) they synthesise anthocyanins in their vacuoles
d) they are camouflaged at Christmas

Answer 40

c