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Post by felixwillford on Aug 6, 2008 15:47:22 GMT -5
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/117396.phpParasite - A Chivalrous Oomycete That Steals Fitness From Fecund Hosts And Benefits The Poorest One?Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry Article Date: 06 Aug 2008 - 4:00 PDT Are parasites always harmful to their hosts? By definition, indeed, but hosts sometimes experience higher fitness in presence than in absence of their parasites. Symbiotic associations form a continuum of interactions, from deleterious to beneficial effects. We investigated the outcome of infection by the oomycete Hyaloperonospora arabidopsis on its host Arabidopsis thaliana. ( Remember from previous post that the arabidopsis was sent up in space)This system exhibits a wide range of parasite impact with, surprisingly, deleterious effects on high fecundity hosts and, at the opposite extreme, seemingly beneficial effects on the least fecund one. This phenomenon might result from varying levels of tolerance among host lines and even overcompensation for parasite damage.
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Post by felixwillford on Aug 6, 2008 15:53:56 GMT -5
users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/A/Arabidopsis.htmlArabidopsis thaliana: another "model organism" This little plant has become to plant biology what Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans are to animal biology. Arabidopsis is an angiosperm, a dicot from the mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is popularly known as thale cress or mouse-ear cress. While it has no commercial value — in fact is considered a weed — it has proved to be an ideal organism for studying plant development. Some of its advantages as a model organism: It has one of the smallest genomes in the plant kingdom: 115,409,949 base pairs of DNA distributed in 5 chromosomes (2n = 10). Very little of this is "junk" DNA so most of the DNA encodes its 25,498 genes. Transgenic plants can be made easily using Agrobacterium tumefaciens as the vector to introduce foreign genes. The plant is small — a flat rosette of leaves from which grows a flower stalk 6–12 inches high. It can be easily grown in the lab in a relatively small space. Development is rapid. It only takes 5– 6 weeks from seed germination to the production of a new crop of seeds. It is a prolific producer of seeds (up to 10,000 per plant) making genetics studies easier. Mutations can be easily generated (e.g., by irradiating the seeds or treating them with mutagenic chemicals). It is normally self-pollinated so recessive mutations quickly become homozygous and thus expressed. Other members of its family cannot self-pollinate. They have an active system of self-incompatibility. Arabidopsis, however, has inactivating mutations in the genes — SRK and SCR — that prevent self-pollination in other members of the family. However, Arabidopsis can easily be cross-pollinated to do genetic mapping and produce strains with multiple mutations. Many of the findings about how plants work — described throughout these pages — were learned from studies with Arabidopsis. (Photo courtesy of Nicole Hanley Markelz of the Plant Genome Research Outreach Program at Cornell University)
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Post by felixwillford on Aug 6, 2008 16:00:31 GMT -5
Check out the photo of the C. elegans!!!!(it too was taken in space) users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/C/Caen.elegans.htmlCaenorhabditis elegansCaenorhabditis elegans is a microscopic (~1 mm) nematode (roundworm) that normally lives in soil. It has become one of the "model" organisms in biology because: ( read the rest on LINK above and see photo!)
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Post by felixwillford on Aug 6, 2008 16:11:23 GMT -5
A water mold from a streamen.wikipedia.org/wiki/OomycetesOomycetes also known as Water molds (or water moulds: see spelling differences) are a group of filamentous, unicellular Heterokonts, physically resembling fungi. They are microscopic, absorptive organisms that reproduce both sexually and asexually and are composed of mycelia, or a tube-like vegetative body (all of an organism's mycelia are called its thallus). The name "water mold" refers to their earlier classification as fungi, which stemmed from their preference for conditions of high humidity and running surface water, although they are now known to have evolved separately and show a number of differences. For instance, their cell walls are composed of cellulose rather than chitin and generally do not have septations. Also, in the vegetative state they have diploid nuclei, whereas fungi have haploid nuclei.Instead, water molds are related to organisms such as brown algae and diatoms, making up a group called the heterokonts. The name comes from the common arrangement and structure of motile cells, which typically have two unequal flagella. Among the water molds, these are produced as asexual spores called zoospores, which capitalize on surface water (including precipitation on plant surfaces) for movement. They also produce sexual spores, called oospores, that are translucent double-walled spherical structures used to survive adverse environmental conditions. A few produce aerial asexual spores that are distributed by wind. The water molds are economically and scientifically important because they are aggressive plant pathogens (see plant pathology). Some species can cause disease in fish. The majority can be broken down into three groups, although more exist.The Phytophthora group is a genus that causes diseases such as dieback, late blight in potatoes (the cause of the Great Hunger or Potato Famine of the 1840s in Ireland), sudden oak death, rhododendron root rot, and Ink Disease in the American Chestnut. The Pythium group is even more prevalent than Phytophythora and individual species have larger host ranges, usually causing less damage. Pythium damping off is a very common problem in greenhouses where the organism kills newly emerged seedlings. Mycoparasitic members of this group (e.g. P. oligandrum) parasitize other oomycetes and fungi, and have been employed as biocontrol agents. One Pythium species, Pythium insidiosum is also known to infect mammals. The third group are the downy mildews, which are easily identifiable by the appearance of white "mildew" on leaf surfaces (although this group can be confused with the unrelated powdery mildews) Water mould attacking an aquatic insect nymph.Classification of OomycetesTraditionally, this group was thought to include types of fungi, and indeed fungi themselves were once believed to be closely related to plants. However, further research has concluded that this is not true and that fungi are more closely related to animals. Many species of Oomycetes are still described or listed as types of fungi and may sometimes be referred to as pseudofungi, or lower fungi. Oomycetes are actually members of the chromistans, which are in turn part of the larger Kingdom Protoctista.
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Post by felixwillford on Aug 6, 2008 16:20:08 GMT -5
pmgn.vbi.vt.edu/O M G N
Oomycete Molecular Genetics Research Collaboration Network Because of their economic impact as plant pathogens, molecular, genetic and genomics studies are well advanced in Phytophthora species. These organisms have served as lead species for the entire Stramenopiles lineage, a major radiation of crown eukaryotes, distinct from plants, animals and fungi. The Phytophthora molecular genetics community has developed with a strong culture of collaboration and communication, and sharing of techniques and resources. With the recent blossoming of genetic and genomic tools for Phytophthora, many new investigators, from a variety of backgrounds, have become interested in Phytophthora molecular genetics. The goals of the Phytophthora Molecular Genetics Research Collaboration Network is to facilitate the integration of these investigators into the community and to further strengthen the cooperative culture of this community. A particular emphasis is placed on training and integrating junior faculty and faculty from institutions under-represented in the U.S. research infrastructure. The network's activities have been supported by a $497,467 grant (5/1/02 - 4/30/07 ) from the NSF Research Collaboration Networks in Biology program. The proposed network is open to all researchers with an interest in Phytophthora molecular genetics, either at an experimental or a computational level. Investigators new to the field are especially welcome. Please contact Brett Tyler with a brief description of your research interests if you wish to become a member of the network. Genome Annotation Workshop Series, Virginia Bioinformatics Insitute, August 2007. Funded by NSF Research Collaboration Networks in Biology grant EF# 0130263
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Post by kamefromsky on Aug 6, 2008 17:07:43 GMT -5
oomyGod
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Post by felixwillford on Aug 7, 2008 15:29:21 GMT -5
Yeah, That water mold photo to me is similar looking to "maybe" those white spots seen under the microscope when we look at our samples.
I thought they were energy, maybe they are mold?
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Post by felixwillford on Aug 7, 2008 15:33:33 GMT -5
The nymph being attacked reminds me of Godog's frog. Are the fibers mold/fungus attacking us?
I keep thinking of that 17 year old who died from the fungal infection that took over her body.
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Post by toni on Aug 7, 2008 16:03:43 GMT -5
Kmarie, lots of great reading here, thanks.
You know at the very onset I was back and forth with a (C. Elegans) *expert* ...and he kept insisting "nematodes" like this cannot survive in human tissue. Well...maybe they can, and maybe not, but I know he didn't know about Morgellons.
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Post by felixwillford on Aug 7, 2008 16:26:58 GMT -5
Both C. Elegans and Arabidopsis BOTH went to space combined with all the topics we discussed here regarding diatoms, agrobacterium, Fungi, and Oomycetes (not knowing where to classify them)......
.............and add to that Protoctista from Skytroll's posts also being involved!!!!
Somehow all this science ties together to create disease.
NOW, we even know that Genetic Engineering for the Oomycetes is being funded by the NSF..................
Why can't the NSF fund Morgellons?
Just my thoughts.
To me Morgellons is a real Scientific mystery and not simply a MEDICAL mystery!
Because Morgellons is just as much of a Science problem-- Maybe writing to the NSF will help get that point across to them thus possibly promoting more funding.
I will do that!
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Post by skytroll on Aug 7, 2008 20:54:20 GMT -5
Thanks Kmarie,
I plan to write to the AMA to get this in studies in universities as well.
Handing out flyers for the bike run and locally got a young person talking, and said many high schoolers got this last winter, local school. The first thing he asked was, is this water related, and I said it could very well be.
So, awareness on a local level, it takes guts, but it can be done.
Get photos of flyer and make one, then pass around, whereever you see bikers, walk up to them, they are very very friendly, another place is VFW halls, where the vets hang out.
Stores will take flyers and post them, gas stations, come on get busy. We HAVE to help the young people, many are very confused about this and want help.
We plan to do other events as well.
Stay tuned!
Skytroll
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Post by felixwillford on Aug 7, 2008 22:35:53 GMT -5
Sky,
You are right about the schools, I have talked with school nurses (even though they are a rare breed due to many budget cuts) and sent emails with information.
ALso, wrote to a website that had a news letter for summer camps earler this spring.
I have a freind who is a Camp Nurse in the Summer. And these children are out there in the Soil and Swimming in pools.
I was shocked when my local County health department did not know of it.
I believe we are all doing what we can depending on our circumstances.. Terrible that many swimming pools contain that Crypto parasite and if you google parasite.
JUST LOOK AT ALL THE CONTAMINATED POOLS, SWIMMING HOLES and Lakes!!!!
BTW, a young boy died yesterday or today from an ambeoba parasite from swimming. It was in his brain.
Morgellons will definately be heard of all over with the fundraiseer and the CDC study, and more parents are going to figure out that those bites on their children are not simple mosquiteos (sp?) anymore causing the itching.
I used to date a fellow here in Indiana who would go on those yearly bike trips with a group of people who were into motorcycles. I have not talked to him in a while and.............he does not know I have morgellons, but he may even be going to that one in Utah since he goes to so many different places during the summer with his bike club. I could mail him the flyer, because he lives about 50 miles out from where I live in Indiana.
I sure hope there is a way to restore the Earth, Water and Soil and AIR space.
Kmarie
Cleaning up is going to cost alot of money!
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