There is only one level of competition for Microbe Mission:

1. Microbe Mission : Grades 6, 7, and 8.

In addition to all the general contest rules stated by North South Foundation, the following rules are applicable for the Science Olympiad Competitions.

1. The judges are in complete control of the competition and their decisions are final.
2. Contestants are responsible to bring their own pencils and erasers.
3. Contestants are seated by the badge number order from left to right.
4. One 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper that may contain information on both sides in any form and from any source along with two stand-alone non-programmable, non-graphing calculators (Class II).
5. All sheets (including question and answer sheets) should be returned at the end of the contest. It is the responsibility of the contestant to write the badge number on the answer sheet.
6. Unclear and illegible writing might be open for misinterpretation. Contestants are expected to write clearly and legibly.
7. There will NOT be any partial credits for answers. There are NO negative points for any incorrect answers. If the final answer is incorrect, zero points are awarded, and if the answer is correct, one point is given.
8. No recording of any kind is allowed - violations will lead to automatic disqualification from any Science Olympiad for three years.

Phase I (Written):

1. Each contestant is given a booklet containing 25 questions and has 30 minutes to answer them.
2. The questions may be multiple choice type or need one/a few words as answer.
3. For multiple choice type question, the contestant has to choose the best answer from the choices and transfer the letter of choice to the answer sheet. There can be only one answer that is clearly written.
4. When necessary for few questions, one/more words must be legibly written as answers.

Tiebreaker Rules:

1. To break the ties in selecting the ranks, the scheme outlined below is followed in the order given:
   • Phase I scores
   • Phase I score among questions 21-25
   • Phase I score among questions 16-20
   • Phase I score among questions 11-15
   • Phase I score among questions 1-10
   • If the above steps fail to break the tie in question, the foundation may use additional measures including date of birth to resolve the tie.

Winners and Ranks:

1. The Foundation recognizes and awards only the top 3 ranks. No monetary awards are given.

The competition should cover all of the topics and not emphasize just one area such as microbial disease.

1. Understanding parts, functions, images and sample preparation in bright field, phase contrast, reflected, light/inverted microscopes, confocal microscopes and electron microscopes. Estimation/calculation of size based on scales in pictures or microscopic information and field of view determination.
2. Structure (e.g., size, organelles, membrane and cell wall composition, as applicable) & function of prions, viruses, viroids, bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotic microbes (e.g., fungi, algae, heterotrophiC protists, parasitic worms)

Structure and function of nuclei, mitochondria and chloroplasts & theory of symbiogenesis

1. Identification of bacterial cell shapes (i.e., rods, cocci, spirochetes); Gram stain procedure and difference between gram+, gram-, and acid fast bacteria v. Methods to culture bacteria (i.e., liquid vs. agar), interpreting bacterial growth curves, plate counts to quantify bacteria; defined vs. complex media, differential vs. selective media, the “Great Plate Count Anomaly”, differences between batch culture and chemostat growth. Using growth curves to identify limiting nutrients and optimal growth conditions
2. Techniques to determine antibiotic susceptibility, mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and resistance transfer, Distinguish between bacteriostatic and bactericidal antibiotics
3. Bacterial transcription, translation, and genome replication
4. Bacterial gene regulation as demonstrated in the lac operon and trp operons
5. Culture-independent methods to study microbial communities: 16/18s rRNA amplicon sequencing and metagenomics, basic sample preparation and data analysis procedures for these techniques
   • Contrasting photoautotrophic vs. heterotrophic metabolic strategies, describe metabolic strategies of green sulfur bacteria, iron oxidizing, heterotrophic, and cyanobacteria based on energy and carbonsource.

List and describe the steps of lytic and lysogenic virus replication

Mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer (i.e., transduction, transformation, conjugation)

1. Industrial applications of microbes – identify which microbes are commonly involved and their uses in: fermentation in bread and kombucha production, algal biofuels, bioremediation, & phage therapy
2. Describe types of microbial interactions, ie competition, cooperation, and parasitism
3. Causes and effects of microbial population explosions in the context of algal blooms, thrush, and enterocolitis.
4. Describe the structure and function of spores and cysts
5. Extremophiles (i.e., thermophiles, halophiles, psychrophiles) and their characteristics
6. Desrcibe the function and life cycle of the following organisms and agents:
   • Viruses: SARS-CoV-2 virus, HIV-1, Influenza A virus, Hepatitis B virus, T4 phage, Canine parvovirus 2, Mimivirus, Poliovirus, Banana bunchy top virus
   • Bacteria: Vibrio cholerae, Rickettsia rickettsii, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis,Haemophilus influenzae,
   • Fungi: Candida albicans, Saccharomyces spp, Dermatophytes
   • Worms: Taenia solium, Ancylostoma duodenale
   • Viroids: Potato spindle tuber viroid
   Control of lac and trp operons for research applications
   Functions of microbes in lakes and oceans, soil, and the gut microbiome