Nester’s Microbiology: A Human Perspective With Connect

Topic 4 DQ 1

Points

5

Status

Active

Assessment Description

Between viruses, fungi, and protozoans, which would you consider to be most harmful and most beneficial to mankind and why? Substantiate with examples for each.

Nester’s Microbiology: A Human Perspective With Connect

Read Chapters 12 (Sections 12.1 and 12.2) and 13 (Sections 13.1–13.3, 13.5 (just overview of animal virus replication) and 13.6–13.7) in Nester’s Microbiology: A Human Perspective.

Protozoa Drive the Dynamics of Culturable Biocontrol Bacterial Communities

Read “Protozoa Drive the Dynamics of Culturable Biocontrol Bacterial Communities,” by Müller, Scheu, and Jousset, from PLOS ONE (2013).

Coronavirus Infections—More Than Just the Common Cold

Required

Read “Coronavirus Infections—More Than Just the Common Cold,” by Paules, Marston, and Fauci, from JAMA (2020)

Global Health Concern Stirred by Emerging Viral Infections

Read “Global Health Concern Stirred by Emerging Viral Infections,” by Luo and Gao, from Journal of Medical Virology (2020).

Snakes Could Be the Original Source of the New Coronavirus Outbreak in China

Read “Snakes Could Be the Original Source of the New Coronavirus Outbreak in China,” from United News of Bangladesh (2020).

First FDA-Approved Vaccine for the Prevention of Ebola Virus Disease, Marking a Critical Milestone in Public Health Preparedness and Response

Read “First FDA-Approved Vaccine for the Prevention of Ebola Virus Disease, Marking a Critical Milestone in Public Health Preparedness and Response,” from PR Newswire (2019).

Some soil bacteria protect plants against soil-borne diseases by producing toxic secondary metabolites. Such beneficial
biocontrol bacteria can be used in agricultural systems as alternative to agrochemicals. The broad spectrum toxins
responsible for plant protection also inhibit predation by protozoa and nematodes, the main consumers of bacteria in soil.

Therefore, predation pressure may favour biocontrol bacteria and contribute to plant health. We analyzed the effect of
Acanthamoeba castellanii on semi-natural soil bacterial communities in a microcosm experiment. We determined the
frequency of culturable bacteria carrying genes responsible for the production of the antifungal compounds 2,4-
diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG), pyrrolnitrin (PRN) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in presence and absence of A. APA