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Symbiotic Bacteria
Symbiotic bacteria are bacteria living in symbiosis with another organism or each other. For example, rhizobia living in root nodules of legumes provide nitrogen fixing activity for these plants. Symbiosis was first defined by Marko de Bary in 1869 in a work entitled "Die Erscheinung der Symbiose" in which he defined the term as "namely, the living together of parasite and host". The definition of symbiosis has evolved to encompass a sustained relationship between two or more different organisms "over a considerable fraction of the life of the host." In addition, this relationship is often beneficial for at least one of the organisms involved. There are three main types of symbiotic relationships: commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism. Commensalism is when one organism benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefits. Mutualism is when both organisms benefit. Lastly, parasitism is when one organism benefits while the other organism is harmed. Organisms can also be involved in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symbiosis
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic. The organisms, each termed a symbiont, must be of different species. In 1879, Heinrich Anton de Bary defined it as "the living together of unlike organisms". The term was subject to a century-long debate about whether it should specifically denote mutualism, as in lichens. Biologists have now abandoned that restriction. Symbiosis can be obligatory, which means that one or more of the symbionts depend on each other for survival, or facultative (optional), when they can generally live independently. Symbiosis is also classified by physical attachment. When symbionts form a single body it is called conjunctive symbiosis, while all other arrangements are called disjunctive symbiosis."symbiosis." Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vitamins
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism, either at all or not in sufficient quantities, and therefore must be obtained through the diet. Vitamin C can be synthesized by some species but not by others; it is not a vitamin in the first instance but is in the second. The term ''vitamin'' does not include the three other groups of essential nutrients: minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. Most vitamins are not single molecules, but groups of related molecules called vitamers. For example, there are eight vitamers of vitamin E: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Some sources list fourteen vitamins, by including choline, but major health organizations list thirteen: vitamin A (as all-''trans''-retinol, all-''trans''- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kissing Bug
The members of the Triatominae , a subfamily of the Reduviidae, are also known as conenose bugs, kissing bugs (so-called from their habit of feeding from around the mouths of people), or vampire bugs. Other local names for them used in The Americas include ''barbeiros'', ''vinchucas'', ''pitos'', ''chipos'' and ''chinches''. Most of the 130 or more species of this subfamily feed on vertebrate blood; a very few species feed on invertebrates. They are mainly found and widespread in the Americas, with a few species present in Asia and Africa. These bugs usually share shelter with nesting vertebrates, from which they suck blood. In areas where Chagas disease occurs (from the southern United States to northern Argentina), all triatomine species are potential vectors of the Chagas disease parasite ''Trypanosoma cruzi'', but only those species that are well adapted to living with humans (such as ''Triatoma infestans'' and ''Rhodnius prolixus'') are considered important vectors. Also, p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triatoma
''Triatoma'' is a genus of assassin bug in the subfamily Triatominae (kissing bugs). The members of ''Triatoma'' (like all members of Triatominae) are blood-sucking insects that can transmit serious diseases, such as Chagas disease. Their saliva may also trigger allergic reactions in sensitive individuals, up to and including severe anaphylactic shock. Species These are species according to reliable sources. While most species are found in the New World, a few are known from the Old World. NOTE: ''The designation (Tc) signifies that the species is associated with Trypanosoma cruzi''. * '' Triatoma amicitiae'' Lent, 1951 * '' Triatoma arthurneivai'' Lent & Martins, 1940 * '' Triatoma bahiensis'' Sherlock & Serafim, 1967 * '' Triatoma baratai'' Carcavallo & Jurberg, 2000 * '' Triatoma barberi'' Usinger, 1939 * '' Triatoma bolivari'' Carcavallo, Martínez & Pelaez, 1984 * '' Triatoma boliviana'' Avendaño, 2007 * '' Triatoma bouvieri'' Larrousse, 1924 * '' Triatoma brailovskyi'' Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chagas Disease
Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by ''Trypanosoma cruzi''. It is spread mostly by insects in the subfamily ''Triatominae'', known as "kissing bugs". The symptoms change over the course of the infection. In the early stage, symptoms are typically either not present or mild, and may include fever, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, or swelling at the site of the bite. After four to eight weeks, untreated individuals enter the chronic phase of disease, which in most cases does not result in further symptoms. Up to 45% of people with chronic infections develop heart disease 10–30 years after the initial illness, which can lead to heart failure. Digestive complications, including an enlarged esophagus or an enlarged colon, may also occur in up to 21% of people, and up to 10% of people may experience nerve damage. is commonly spread to humans and other mammals by the bite of a kissing bug. The disease may also be spr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paratransgenesis
Paratransgenesis is a technique that attempts to eliminate a pathogen from vector populations through transgenesis of a symbiont of the vector. The goal of this technique is to control vector-borne diseases. The first step is to identify proteins that prevent the vector species from transmitting the pathogen. The genes coding for these proteins are then introduced into the symbiont, so that they can be expressed in the vector. The final step in the strategy is to introduce these transgenic symbionts into vector populations in the wild. One use of this technique is to prevent mortality for humans from insect-borne diseases. Preventive methods and current controls against vector-borne diseases depend on insecticides, even though some mosquito breeds may be resistant to them. There are other ways to fully eliminate them. “Paratransgenesis focuses on utilizing genetically modified insect symbionts to express molecules within the vector that are deleterious to pathogens they trans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antibiotic
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of such infections. They may either kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria. A limited number of antibiotics also possess antiprotozoal activity. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses such as the common cold or influenza; drugs which inhibit viruses are termed antiviral drugs or antivirals rather than antibiotics. Sometimes, the term ''antibiotic''—literally "opposing life", from the Greek roots ἀντι ''anti'', "against" and βίος ''bios'', "life"—is broadly used to refer to any substance used against microbes, but in the usual medical usage, antibiotics (such as penicillin) are those produced naturally (by one microorganism fighting another), whereas non-antibiotic antibacterials (such as sulfonamides and antiseptics) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academia
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and Skills, skill, north of Ancient Athens, Athens, Greece. Etymology The word comes from the ''Academy'' in ancient Greece, which derives from the Athenian hero, ''Akademos''. Outside the city walls of Athens, the Gymnasium (ancient Greece), gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning. The sacred space, dedicated to the goddess of wisdom, Athena, had formerly been an olive Grove (nature), grove, hence the expression "the groves of Academe". In these gardens, the philosopher Plato conversed with followers. Plato developed his sessions into a method of teaching philosophy and in 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trichonympha
''Trichonympha'' is a genus of single-celled, anaerobic parabasalids of the order Hypermastigia that is found exclusively in the hindgut of lower termites and wood roaches. ''Trichonympha''’s bell shape and thousands of flagella make it an easily recognizable cell. The symbiosis between lower termites/wood roaches and ''Trichonympha'' is highly beneficial to both parties: ''Trichonympha'' helps its host digest cellulose and in return receives a constant supply of food and shelter. ''Trichonympha'' also has a variety of bacterial symbionts that are involved in sugar metabolism and nitrogen fixation. Etymology The word ''Trichonympha'' is a compound of the New Latin word ‘tricho’ and the word ‘nympha’. ‘Tricho’ in its simplest form refers to hair, and in this case makes reference to the many flagella of ''Trichonympha''. The ending ‘nympha’ was chosen by Joseph Leidy in 1877 when he first observed ''Trichonympha'' because their flagella reminded him of nymphs fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bathymodiolus
''Bathymodiolus'' is a genus of deep-sea mussels, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae. Many of them contain intracelluar chemoautotrophic bacterial symbionts. Species Modern (non-fossil) species within the genus ''Bathymodiolus'' include: * '' Bathymodiolus childressi'' Gustafson, Lutz, Turner & Vrijenhoek, 1998 * ''Bathymodiolus japonicus'' Hashimoto & Okutani, 1994 * ''Bathymodiolus marisindicus'' Hashimoto, 2001 * ''Bathymodiolus platifrons'' Hashimoto & Okutani, 1994 * ''Bathymodiolus septemdierum'' Hashimoto & Okutani, 1994 * ''Bathymodiolus tangaroa'' Von Cossel & Marshall, 2003 * ''Bathymodiolus thermophilus'' Kenk & Wilson, 1985 There also are several fossil species, which are usually only tentatively assigned to hydrothermal vent and hydrocarbon seep-inhabiting mussel genera due to their conservative shell morphology and ongoing taxonomic revision of this group.Saether, K.P., Little, C.T.S., Campbell, K.A., Marshall, B.A., Collins, M. & Alfaro, A.C. 2010. Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Tube Worm
''Riftia pachyptila'', commonly known as the giant tube worm and less commonly known as the Giant beardworm, is a marine invertebrate in the phylum Annelida (formerly grouped in phylum Pogonophora and Vestimentifera) related to tube worms commonly found in the intertidal and pelagic zones. ''R. pachyptila'' lives on the floor of the Pacific Ocean near hydrothermal vents, the vents provide a natural ambient temperature in their environment ranging from 2 to 30 °C, at the same time it can tolerate extremely high hydrogen sulfide levels. These worms can reach a length of , and their tubular bodies have a diameter of . Its common name "giant tube worm" is, however, also applied to the largest living species of shipworm, ''Kuphus polythalamius'', which despite the name "worm", is a bivalve mollusc rather than an annelid. Discovery ''R. pachyptila'' was discovered in 1977 on an expedition of the American bathyscaphe DSV ''Alvin'' to the Galápagos Rift led by ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydrothermal
Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water (Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, ''water'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. and θέρμη, ''heat'' ). Hydrothermal circulation occurs most often in the vicinity of sources of heat within the Earth's crust. In general, this occurs near volcanic activity, but can occur in the shallow to mid crust along deeply penetrating fault irregularities or in the deep crust related to the intrusion of granite, or as the result of orogeny or metamorphism. Seafloor hydrothermal circulation Hydrothermal circulation in the oceans is the passage of the water through mid-oceanic ridge systems. The term includes both the circulation of the well-known, high-temperature vent waters near the ridge crests, and the much-lower-temperature, diffuse flow of water through sedim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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