Microbe Mission

Category: Life, Personal & Social Science

Format: Test

2026 Topic: Microbiology (Bacteria, Viruses, Fungi, Protists)

Participants: 2

What It Is

Microbe Mission is a written test event covering the biology, ecology, and applications of microorganisms across all four major groups: bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists. Teams answer questions and analyze data about microbe structure, function, disease mechanisms, and real-world applications in medicine, industry, and the environment.

What to Know

Bacteria:

• Cell structure: prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic, peptidoglycan cell wall, capsule, flagella, pili
• Shapes: coccus, bacillus, spirillum; Gram positive vs. Gram negative
• Reproduction: binary fission; horizontal gene transfer (conjugation, transformation, transduction)
• Metabolic diversity: autotrophs/heterotrophs, aerobic/anaerobic, chemolithotrophs
• Beneficial bacteria: nitrogen fixation, decomposition, microbiome, fermentation
• Pathogenic bacteria: virulence factors, toxins (endotoxins vs. exotoxins), antibiotic resistance

Viruses:

• Structure: capsid, envelope, nucleic acid types (DNA vs. RNA, single/double stranded)
• Replication cycles: lytic vs. lysogenic cycles in bacteriophages; viral replication in eukaryotes
• Major virus families and associated diseases
• Retroviruses: HIV/AIDS mechanism; reverse transcriptase
• Vaccines and antiviral mechanisms

Fungi:

• Cell structure, hyphae, mycelium, spore formation
• Major divisions: Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Zygomycota, Chytridiomycota
• Reproduction: sexual and asexual
• Ecological roles: decomposers, mycorrhizal associations, pathogens (human, plant)
• Useful fungi: yeast in fermentation, Penicillium, Aspergillus

Protists:

• Diversity: algae (green, red, brown, diatoms), protozoa, slime molds, oomycetes
• Pathogenic protists: Plasmodium (malaria), Trypanosoma, Giardia
• Ecological roles: phytoplankton, food web base, eutrophication

Applied Microbiology:

• Clinical microbiology: culturing, staining (Gram, acid-fast), sensitivity testing
• Industrial microbiology: biofuels, bioremediation, pharmaceutical production
• Food microbiology: fermentation, food safety, probiotics

Competition Format

30-minute written test for 2 participants. Questions include multiple choice, short answer, and data analysis (microscopy images, growth curves, experimental results).

Notes

• Microscopy images (identifying microbes from micrographs) are commonly included.
• Know Gram staining procedure and how to interpret results.
• The scope is broad — build a comprehensive study binder organized by organism type.