Microorganisms Use Hydrogen Bonds to Attach Themselves to the Surfaces

question 78

Multiple Choice

Microorganisms use hydrogen bonds to attach themselves to the surfaces that they live on. Many of them lose hold of the surface because of the weak nature of these bonds and end up dying or being washed away. Why don't microbes just use covalent bonds instead?

• A) Covalent bonds depend on completely giving up or completely accepting an electron to form the bond. This isn't possible for many microbes without dramatically altering their basic molecular composition.
• B) Covalent bonds typically require enzymes to form/break, whereas hydrogen bonds don't. If covalent bonds were used, it would require much more energy and molecules to be contributed from the cell. Hydrogen bonds don't have these requirements.
• C) Bacteria grow in very moist environments, where water is freely available. Water is a supply of hydrogen atoms, so it makes sense for the bacteria to simply use hydrogen bonds for attachment.
• D) All the answer choices are correct.
• E) None of the answer choices is correct.

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