Foundational Microbiology · Virulence mechanism layer — molecular and cellular strategies bacteria use to colonize, invade, evade host defenses, and cause disease
By completing this question set, you will be able to trace the stages of bacterial infection from colonization through disease, mapping each stage to the specific virulence mechanisms that enable it. You will classify exotoxins by mechanism — superantigens, A-B toxins, pore-forming toxins, phospholipases, and exfoliative toxins — and for each category, explain the specific molecular target and predict the clinical consequence that follows. You will apply the ADP-ribosylation pattern to distinguish cholera toxin (Gs activation → cAMP rise), pertussis toxin (Gi inactivation → cAMP rise by different logic), and diphtheria toxin/Pseudomonas ExoA (EF-2 → protein synthesis arrest), explaining why the same enzymatic chemistry produces entirely different diseases.