Certified Professional Food Safety (CP-FS) Practice Exam

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What term describes an organism that can survive with or without oxygen?

Obligate anaerobe
Facultative organism
Microaerophilic organism
Obligate aerobe

The correct answer is: Facultative organism

The term that describes an organism that can survive with or without oxygen is "facultative organism." These organisms possess the flexibility to thrive in both aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen) environments. This capability is due to their metabolic pathways, which allow them to switch between aerobic respiration when oxygen is available and fermentation or anaerobic respiration when oxygen is not present. This versatility is advantageous as it enables facultative organisms to adapt to varying environmental conditions and utilize different energy sources depending on the availability of oxygen. In contrast, obligate anaerobes cannot survive in the presence of oxygen at all, while obligate aerobes require oxygen for survival. Microaerophilic organisms need a reduced level of oxygen for growth but cannot thrive in atmospheric oxygen levels. Each of these categories describes specific survival mechanisms that do not offer the same flexibility as facultative organisms.