PrepTest 154, Section 3, Question 18
For nearly a century after the discovery in(452 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- AV. cholerae bacteria(23 more words not shown)
- BWhen the salinity(20 more words not shown)
- CAlthough V. cholerae(16 more words not shown)
- DBacteria that are(19 more words not shown)
- EAntibodies are less(18 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Keep the two relevant findings together. Dormant bacteria don't reproduce and therefore cannot be cultured. In the Bay of Bengal, seasonal temperature peaks closely track peaks in cholera cases, suggesting that conditions then may favor renewed activity. The question asks for the strongest support, so a careful inference can combine those facts even though the exact trigger isn't known.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
If the seasonal peak is associated with bacteria leaving dormancy and becoming active, they should be more likely to grow in a culture then. The link is temperature peak, greater activity, and greater detectability by a growth-based method. This is a supported inference, not proof that temperature alone causes every reactivation.
- B
We aren't told whether a rise or a fall in salinity helps wake the bacteria. Naming salinity as a possible factor doesn't tell us the direction of its effect.
- C
The research undermines the assumption that bacteria depend on humans to persist outside an outbreak. It doesn't establish that human hosts are still required for movement along seacoasts. That necessity is not supported.
- D
No comparison establishes that bacteria from human hosts are harder to culture than bacteria from seawater. The relevant difference is active versus dormant bacteria; collection location alone doesn't determine whether they will reproduce in a dish.
- E
The account doesn't establish that antibodies bind less readily during dormancy. The antibody test is useful precisely because it can reveal bacteria that culture methods miss. Nothing here identifies weaker binding in the dormant state.
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