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Full-Text Articles in Virology
Characterizing The Microbiome Of Floral Nectar Of Asclepias Syriaca And Other Asclepias Species, Heather Natterer
Characterizing The Microbiome Of Floral Nectar Of Asclepias Syriaca And Other Asclepias Species, Heather Natterer
Undergraduate Honors Theses
In recent decades, Danaus plexippus (the monarch butterfly) has experienced a drastic decrease in population size due to urbanization, climate change, and habitat loss. The primary habitat and food source of D. plexippus is plant species that are within the genus Asclepias (milkweed). The preservation and propagation of Asclepias spp. is necessary to combat D. plexippus’s population declines. A plant’s reproductive success is dependent upon its ability to attract pollinators, which is linked to the plant’s nectar qualities. We propose that, in turn, these nectar qualities may be influenced by the nectar microbiome. This study aims to better understand the …
Mysteries And Uncertainties In Tracing Cryptic Viral Infections, Melaina Jacoby
Mysteries And Uncertainties In Tracing Cryptic Viral Infections, Melaina Jacoby
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on Earth. Viral impacts are evident from the level of individual cells and population all the way up to ecosystems and global elemental cycles. Since bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) were first identified in the early twentieth century, the study of these fascinating entities has shown how viral dynamics within ecosystems can influence microbially-mediated processes at a large scale. Viral infections can impact hosts and host-mediated processes in in multiple ways, one of which is through cryptic infections. This state, in which a bacterium may harbor a cryptic phage infection, is known as …