Ocean and lake water typically contain 107 virions/mL. Does this mean that swimming in or drinking this water will make you sick? Why or why not? How do these viruses impact human and environmental health?
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: Although there are many virions per mL of ocean and lake water, the virus populations are dominated by bacteriophages. Bacteriophages are viruses that can only infect prokaryotic cells, thus the majority of the viruses in ocean and lake waters cannot infect human cells and would not make you sick. Perhaps ingesting lots of the bacteriophages could impact the bacteria in your colon, but this has never been documented as a cause of illness and would not be a viral infection. The bacteriophages found in the environment are an integral part of the natural ecology and help regulate bacterial populations. Bacteriophages also impact bacterial evolution through transduction and transmittance of new genes between bacteria.
You might also like to view...
What is one characteristic of a homeodomain?
A. It is a transmembrane protein B. It can bind to the minor groove of DNA C. It is a protein domain encoded by a homeobox D. It binds to DNA at random sequences.
Which is NOT a chromosomal aberration?
a. deletion b. extra chromosomes c. translocation (exchange of parts between nonhomologs) d. crossing over e. fewer chromosomes
You discovered a unicellular organism that lacks a nucleus and peptidoglycan. You suspect the organism is in the group
A) Animalia. B) Archaea. C) Bacteria. D) Fungi. E) Plantae.
Who was/were the first person(s) to propose sexual selection as an evolutionary mechanism?
a. Maynard-Smith c. Darwin and Wallace b. Darwin d. Fisher, Haldane, and Wright