Midterm II Flashcards
____ is the staple food of 35% of the world
Wheat
Wheat Rust
A fungus that targets wheat plants,
there are more than one kind of wheat rust
Sexual recombination of wheat rust occurs on what plant?
Barberry bush
For Wheat Rust, no Barberry Bush =
no sex
is Wheat Rust an obligate Parasite?
Yes
Obligate Parasite
Needs a host to survive and reproduce
Why does Wheat Rust require Burberry for survival?
Sexual reproduction introduces variation in genes necessary to attack plant defenses. If no variation, then the rust can’t infect the wheat
1953 Wheat Rust Epidemic
Rust spores produced in Kansas, spread to Minnesota and North Dakota by wind. 40% loss of spring wheatcrop.
Economic effects of crop damage are a function of
who you are, and your local governments attitude and resources
How does Wheat Rust survive the wind over long period of time when migrating/ dispersing?
Thick, pigmented walls, prevent it from being burnt by sun or dried out
How are scientists responding to wheat rust?
Building rust-resistant forms of Wheat
Is wheat rust ancient?
Yes
Which phylum do wheat rust’s belong to?
Basidiomycota
Goddes of Rust
Ceres
Coffee Rust has caused ___$ of damage in Latin America since 2012
1 billion
Chestnut Blight
Chestnut blight killed trees on east coast rapidly
By 1940, it was everywhere
Chryphonectria Parasita
Introduced from Asia, doesn’t hurt Chinese Chestnuts, but kills American Chestnuts
How does Chestnut Blight kill chestnut trees
Creates a canker that kills the tree
How many trees died during Chestnut Blight
4 billion trees died in 40 years
What factors might affect the introduction of a genetically engineered tree released in the wild?
A. Genetic variation in the chestnut blight fungus
B. Interbreeding with susceptible chestnut trees
C. Unforeseen effects of the genetic modifications
D. The difference in generation times between the trees and the blight fungus
E. Habitat loss due to human activity
hmmm don’t know…seems like all but maybe not B
Tar Spots
Each tar spot on a tree is a point of infection
If especially strong, tar spots might defoliate a tree
Usually trees just grow back leaves
How do tar spots disperse?
After spending the winter on a leaf on the ground, tar spot explodes/opens and sends its spore adrift.
Every tree has some type of ___
disease
____ and ____ are engaged in a constant, slow, evolutionary battle
Trees and fungus
How do agriculturists manage plant disease (3 things)
Breed new varieties that can resist pathogens
Treating crops w fungicides
Crop rotation to decrease spores in soil
Most devastating disease often introduced from ____ ____
Foreign lands
Sudden Oak Death
Caused by fungus Phytophthora Ramorum
2012 Outbreak, Fungal meningitis
People got infection from steroids prescribed at doctors office. The steroids contained 4 different molds
Company responsible for 2012 outbreak
New England Compounding Center
Difference between a Compounder and a Manufacturer
Compounder- makes single dose for specific patients that have special needs
Manufacturer- Produces mass quantities of standard drugs
Coccidioidomycosis
Makes lots of spores,
lives in mouse poop
Inhaled spores can cause disease
Coccidioidomycosis is usually fatal or nonfatal?
Nonfatal
Cocci epidemic in 2013 occurred where?
California state prisons, infection rate was 1000x higher than elsewhere in the state
How are cocci spores usually transported
Along w/ dust by wind
Ringworm & Athlete’s Foot
Fungus diseases of the superficial layers of skin
Caused by several different fungi that have
evolved with us over a long time
Can be spread person to person, or by animals
Will ringworm or athletes foot kill you?
No, just gnarly
Why is using drugs to fight fungal infection difficult?
Fungal cells are a lot like human cells
Hard to kill fungal cells w/o harming host
Two major kinds of antifungal drugs?
Amphotericin B Azole drugs (itraconozole)
How to fight mycoses?
Avoid exposure to pathogens
Antifungal drugs
Immune system boosters
Why are deaths by fungal infection increasing?
Suppressed immunity
Increased travel and trade
Fungi have acquired resistance to antifungal drugs
Malassezia
Common fungus that grows on almost all humans and most animals
Examples of Malassezia
Dandruff
Discoverer of Penicillin?
Alexander Fleming in 1928 in London
Penicillin is a drug made by
some species of Penicillium
How does penicillin work
The mold grows and kills the bacteria that surrounds it
What effect did Penicillin have on deaths in WII
Decreased, because penicillin cured bacterial pneumonia, which was a big killer of US troops during WWI
What is a beta-lactam antibiotic?
A drug like penicillin that inhibits bacterial cell-wall formation
___% of people are allergic to Penicillin?
10%
Do all species of Penicillium make Penicillin?
No, some even make mycotoxins!
Cyclosporine
Key drug used to facilitate transplanted organs
What does cyclosporine do?
Suppresses body’s rejection of transplanted organs
Insulin
Grown in culture, used to fight diabetes
Where in our bodies is insulin produced?
Pancreas
In the past, how was commercial insulin grown?
Using pancreas of cows and pigs
What was the problem w using animal pancreas’ for insulin production
Humans had allergies to the animal proteins present
What was the solution to the commercial Insulin issue
Use Yeast to grow Insulin.
How is Yeast used to grow insulin
Human insulin genes injected into yeast, yeast make proteins like their human relatives do, so this works. Yeast then excretes proteins that are purified and readied for human use
What is Reishi?
Fungus that helps with heart health, blood sugar, cholesterol
Turkey Tail Fungus
Can fight Cancer, inflammation, viruses
Cordycepin
Immunomodulating compound, strengthens body
Where does yeast come from in Pruno-making?
The air!
Raw Morels are ____, but when cooked, morels become ____
Poisonous, Edible
Phenology means
Fruiting season
All mushrooms have a ______ phenology
distinct
Phenology is currently being effected by
Climate Change
Many mushrooms experience fruiting seasons in the fall because ________
Tree roots, which mingle with mushrooms, are rich with nutrients in the fall..
Meadow mushrooms: Agaricus (edible) has a _____ colored sport print while deadly mushrooms with similar phenotype always have a ____ spore print
Brown, white
Poisons— different mushrooms contain _____ toxins
Different
True or false: there is no truly reliable kitchen, field, or lab test to determine a mushrooms toxicity
TRUE!
Mycophagist
One who eats mushrooms
Amanita bisporigera (destroying angel) has a _____ spore print
WHITE
Amatoxins
Ridiculously powerferful toxins found in mushrooms responsible for 90% of mushroom deaths
Amatoxins blocks ____________ from forming and stops creation of ______
RNA Polymerase, proteins and enzymes
How do Amatoxins kill people?
Liver failure!
Why are many tasty mushrooms unable to be cultivated in lab ?
Because they have a mycorrhizal relationship with tree roots. Without them they can grow, but the won’t fruit.
Truffles belong to which phylum
Ascomycota
Truffles lead to the discovery of what cool symbiotic relationship?
Mycorrhizae! Symbiosis between mushrooms and tree roots.
Mushrooms contain which taste?
Umami
Maria Sabina
Shaman from latin America who introduced westerners to Psychedelic mushrooms
All magic mushrooms belong to which genus
Psilocybe
Entheogen
An entity that generates the divine from within
Active component of magic mushrooms?
Psilocybin
Drawbacks to shrooms
1/4 of users experience a panic attack related to shroom consumption
Existing schizophrenia can be triggered
Shrooms contain the compounds similar to _______
Serotonin
Psilocin bonds to the same brain receptors as _______
Serotonin
Federal laws apply to ______ within mushrooms not the spores themselves….though some states outlaw the spores the spores as well
chemicals
Magic Mushrooms look like ______ which contains deadly _____
Galerina, Amatoxins
How does a tree make its biomass?
By capturing CO2
What happens to the CO2 in a tree when wood rot takes hold of a tree?…..What is this process called?
CO2 is released? Carbon cycling
What are lichen?
Lichens are a mutualistic partnership between algae and fungi. Together, they make a distinctive structure.
How are Lichen named?
They are called by the name of the fungi and the name of the algae is left off.
What is the third component in Lichen?
Yeast!
What does the yeast in Lichen do?
It helps to create the lichens surface
Lichens grow _____ly
slowly
____% of plants form symbiotic relationship with fungi
90
How do plants benefit from Mycorhizzae
Increased absorption of nutrients and water
More access to nitrogen and phosphorous
Protection from diseases
Can grow in places they otherwise could not
How is Mycorhizzae a “network”?
Can receive information from other plants about threats
Nutrient sharing between different kinds of plants
Two kinds of Mycorhizzae
Endomycorhizzae
Ectomycorhizzae
Ectomycorhizzae
Fungus surrounds root cells
Effects mostly trees and shrubs
Mostly mushrooms and cup fungi
Which Phylum do cup fungi belong to
Ascomycota
Which phylum do tasty mushrooms typically belong to?
Basidiomycota
Endomycorhizzae
Occurs within root cells
Most herbaceous plants
Phylum Glomeromycota
Most common mushrooms used in food are all a variation of the species
Agaricus bisporus
