https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2018.04.001 SUMMARY: Mimiviruses are giant viruses that co-evolved with eukaryotic hosts and virophages. Virophages are tiny viruses that hijack the viral factories giant viruses set up inside the host. Just as the eukaryotic host and virophages have evolved a sort of symbiotic relationship to defend against giant virus attacks, giant viruses have also evolved a… Continue reading Cas4-like Protein in Giant Viruses
Category: Inheritance 2: Genes and Growth (MS)
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
Amoebae, Giant Viruses, and Virophages
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2017.00527 SUMMARY: In 2003, scientists discovered that giant viruses infected amoebas. These giant viruses are so big that they were mistaken for bacteria for the longest time. It wasn’t until scientists realized they contained no ribosomal DNA that these organisms were reclassified as viruses. From there, even more giant viruses were discovered. Some of the… Continue reading Amoebae, Giant Viruses, and Virophages
Using NAC Against Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria
N-acetyl Cysteine Coated Gallium Particles Demonstrate High Potency against Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 SUMMARY: Antibiotic resistant bacterial infections are on the rise, especially in hospitals. One of the culprits is the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa (POA1). Researchers are quickly running out of antibiotics to use against resistant strains. The problem has reached the point where colistin, a… Continue reading Using NAC Against Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria
Sexual reproduction in parasitic protists
Sexual reproduction and genetic exchange in parasitic protists SUMMARY: Sexual reproduction is often murky in parasites because it’s difficult to observe. There are two other ways to determine if an organism has sex: differences in genomes and genes for meiosis. However, in parasites, there are exceptions to this rule in that some organisms may have… Continue reading Sexual reproduction in parasitic protists
Chloroplast Division
Chloroplast Division SUMMARY: Chloroplast division in plants is still a fairly unknown topic when it comes to specific cellular/molecular mechanisms. This paper describes, step by step, all the proteins and enzymes involved in helping chloroplasts divide (FtsZ, Min system, ARC6, etc.) It also compares the division of chloroplasts to binary fission in various prokaryotes (FtsZ… Continue reading Chloroplast Division
Meiotic Genes in Colpodean Ciliates Support Secretive Sexuality
Meiotic Genes in Colpodean Ciliates Support Secretive Sexuality SUMMARY: Researchers compared the genomes of two ciliates: one known to have sex, and another that has not been observed to have sex under laboratory conditions. Genes for meiosis were found in both classes of ciliates. Also, structures such as the micronuclei and macronuclei indicate that perhaps… Continue reading Meiotic Genes in Colpodean Ciliates Support Secretive Sexuality