bacterium
Bacteria are single-celled prokaryotes. This topic is part of Biology within Science & Nature. This page currently draws on 12 supporting questions, with answers and bonus facts available below.
bacterium trivia questions
A bacterium is what kind of organism?
Answer: Single-celled microorganism
Bonus fact: Bacteria are single-celled prokaryotes.
Bacteria lack what membrane-bound structure found in eukaryotic cells?
Answer: Nucleus
Bonus fact: Bacterial DNA is not enclosed in a membrane-bound nucleus.
What process do many bacteria use to reproduce by dividing into two cells?
Answer: Binary fission
Bonus fact: Binary fission produces two daughter cells.
What process allows one bacterium to transfer DNA directly to another through cell-to-cell contact?
Answer: Conjugation
Bonus fact: Bacterial conjugation can transfer plasmids and other genetic material between cells.
What bacterium causes plague?
Answer: Yersinia pestis
Bonus fact: Yersinia pestis can be transmitted by fleas.
What bacterium causes most cases of leprosy?
Answer: Mycobacterium leprae
Bonus fact: M. leprae grows extremely slowly.
Which bacterium is a major concern in improperly canned low-acid foods?
Answer: Clostridium botulinum
Bonus fact: Its toxin causes botulism.
Which disease-causing bacterium did Koch famously identify in 1882?
Answer: Tuberculosis bacterium
Bonus fact: He identified Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
What is the common asexual cell-division process in which one bacterium splits into two daughter cells?
Answer: Binary fission
Bonus fact: Binary fission requires coordination of chromosome replication and cell division.
What modern name is often used for leprosy?
Answer: Hansen's disease
Bonus fact: It is named after Gerhard Armauer Hansen, who identified the bacterium.
Cholera is primarily spread through what?
Answer: Contaminated water or food
Bonus fact: The bacterium Vibrio cholerae causes severe watery diarrhea.
Which of these is a microbe?
Answer: Bacterium
Bonus fact: Bacteria are microscopic organisms.