This blog is devoted to BIOL 6988, a graduate level seminar in the biological sciences at Youngstown State University. While targeted towards graduate students, BIOL 6988 actively incorporates undergraduate participants in their scholastic endeavors in the biological sciences. This blog is intended as a educational tool not just for YSU students and faculty, but for anyone who wishes to contribute to an active-learning environment.
OH NOOO! I have to miss the greatest seminar of the semester!! Is the background material really supposed to be Carl Sagan's A Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark? I hope so, because every scientist should read this book!
Wow Thanksgiving week already... So, last Friday in Seminar the unparalleled Dr. Cooper presented about the Secretome of Talaromyces marneffei, AKA Penicillium marneffei. Penicillium is ubiquitous and seldom causes disease, with the exception of T. marneffei. What makes T. marneffei exceptional is its thermally dimorphic ability to grow as a yeast or filamentous.
Dr. Cooper’s work focused in on T. marneffei’s ability to survive in macrophages as he worked to identify gene products secreted by the fungi in its yeast stage. How do you think T. marneffei’s ability to grow as a yeast effect its pathology? Do you think finding proteins that are exclusively expressed in the yeast phase will allow us to better treat infections?
Dr. Cooper's lecture was pretty well executed. I noticed he likes to use jokes to draw the audience's attention to his presentation and to lighten the mood. Overall, I liked his presentation.
T. marneffei’s ability to grow as a yeast likely gives it certain selective advantages. Perhaps in the yeast phase, like other dimorphic pathogens, it is incapable of infecting cells. The ability to switch to a yeast form after infection would therefore be advantageous. Furthermore, the yeast form may be able to influence its host cell in ways its other form cannot, in order to increase T. marneffei’s fitness.
I would think that finding protiens that give T. marneffei a survival advantage while in the yeast phase would open up more treatment options. Identifying these proteins should give more options for drug treatment targets. It should also increase our understanding of T. marneffei which is important for selecting treatments.
I thought that Dr. Cooper's presentation was very informative and interesting as well. He kept things light by making jokes and he also explained his research very well to the audience.
I think that T. marneffei's ability to grow as a yeast is certainly advantageous but it also has some disadvantages for its pathology. The fact that it can grow dimorphically allows for when T. marneffei can develop into a yeast as well as where it can cause an infection.
I also think that finding proteins expressed in the yeast phase will allow for better treating infections because they can determine different stages of the yeasts development, which would help if certain infections are discovered at different stages of the infection's development.
I really enjoyed Dr. Cooper's presentation. It was very informational and interesting, as well as keeping the audience's attention by his jokes. I think that T. marneffei's ability to grow as a yeast is advantageous, because when in yeast form it cannot infect other cells. I also believe that finding and targeting proteins expressed in the yeast phase will allow for better treatment methods. Specifically targeting those proteins during infection can help improve the treatment and may speed up the healing process.
I also enjoyed Dr. Cooper's presentation last Friday. He displayed excellent speaking skills that helped the audience easily follow his presentation. As for the questions, T. marneffei's dimorphic ability to grow as a yeast or filamentous form is a beneficial trait to the fungus. It has the ability to grow as a parasitic form at physiological temperature, allowing it to adapt and survive, by becoming an infectious yeast (yeast like) form. As for the second question, I also agree that finding proteins that are exclusively expressed in the yeast phase will allow us to better treat infections. Identifying the proteins, followed by understanding their roles in the pathology of this yeast, should lead to methods of treatments.
I always enjoy listening to Dr. Cooper's presentations. Whether it be lecture or seminar, he always keeps things interesting. It was pretty cool to see how much he hopped around the country prior to settling down at YSU. I liked that he incorporated his family and their influence on his life. His jokes keep the energy up in the room and make for a nice environment.
As for the T. marneffei, finding proteins that grow in the yeast phase could definitely being helpful in developing treatments. Since yeast is the agent able to affect humans, I think this gives T. marneffei the upper hand in pathology. At least until scientists gain more insight! Being that it is dimorphic we need to have a firm grasp on both its phases to properly and effectively treat infections. Hiliari makes an intriguing point about targeting those proteins and possibly speeding up the healing process, definitely interesting and something to think about!
T. marneffei is a dimorphic fungi which allows it to reproduce as either a mycelial or in a yeast-like manner. This allows it to become pathogenic in physiological conditions from the transformation of the mycelial to a yeast state. In order to treat infections where infections are in the yeast phase looking for membrane proteins or even glycosylation patterns would allow for effective treatments. Looking for these specific markers would also help reduce the side effects when treating with antifungals.
After my food coma last week, submitting a response completely slipped my mind, so better late than never...
Dr. Cooper's lecture was very entertaining (nothing less was expected of course). I enjoyed his presentation and thought it was very well developed. His jokes kept the audience engaged and brought some lightness to the heavy science material.
T. marneffei's ability to grow as an yeast is advantageous, allowing it to persevere. Without it's ability to transition to a yeast form it may not be able to adapt to it's enviroment. In terms of pathogenicity, the yeast form might interact with the host differently causing a different type of infection within the host, or allow it to lay dormant waiting for the perfect conditions to reactivate.
Yes, finding proteins that are isolated to just the yeast phase is very beneficial. It would allow us to better understand T. marneffei in all stages and perhaps give insight to treatment options.
I loved your presentation! I found it very informative, yet delightfully amusing as well. I had looked into Dr. Cooper's work months ago, and found his work on Penicillium marneffei very interesting. It's ability to grow in the yeast phase is very interesting and I do believe the yeast phase of this can help develop treatments for it. It would be easier to diagnose these proteins and figure out a better treatment for this fungus, than to try and do it during its filamentous phase. It makes me wonder how many of these other yeast and fungi are capable of transforming according to the state they are in.
OH NOOO! I have to miss the greatest seminar of the semester!! Is the background material really supposed to be Carl Sagan's A Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark? I hope so, because every scientist should read this book!
ReplyDeleteHa! I was wondering if someone would actually catch on to this! And yes, indeed, it is an excellent book!
DeleteWow Thanksgiving week already...
ReplyDeleteSo, last Friday in Seminar the unparalleled Dr. Cooper presented about the Secretome of Talaromyces marneffei, AKA Penicillium marneffei. Penicillium is ubiquitous and seldom causes disease, with the exception of T. marneffei. What makes T. marneffei exceptional is its thermally dimorphic ability to grow as a yeast or filamentous.
Dr. Cooper’s work focused in on T. marneffei’s ability to survive in macrophages as he worked to identify gene products secreted by the fungi in its yeast stage. How do you think T. marneffei’s ability to grow as a yeast effect its pathology? Do you think finding proteins that are exclusively expressed in the yeast phase will allow us to better treat infections?
Dr. Cooper's lecture was pretty well executed. I noticed he likes to use jokes to draw the audience's attention to his presentation and to lighten the mood. Overall, I liked his presentation.
ReplyDeleteT. marneffei’s ability to grow as a yeast likely gives it certain selective advantages. Perhaps in the yeast phase, like other dimorphic pathogens, it is incapable of infecting cells. The ability to switch to a yeast form after infection would therefore be advantageous. Furthermore, the yeast form may be able to influence its host cell in ways its other form cannot, in order to increase T. marneffei’s fitness.
I would think that finding protiens that give T. marneffei a survival advantage while in the yeast phase would open up more treatment options. Identifying these proteins should give more options for drug treatment targets. It should also increase our understanding of T. marneffei which is important for selecting treatments.
I thought that Dr. Cooper's presentation was very informative and interesting as well. He kept things light by making jokes and he also explained his research very well to the audience.
ReplyDeleteI think that T. marneffei's ability to grow as a yeast is certainly advantageous but it also has some disadvantages for its pathology. The fact that it can grow dimorphically allows for when T. marneffei can develop into a yeast as well as where it can cause an infection.
I also think that finding proteins expressed in the yeast phase will allow for better treating infections because they can determine different stages of the yeasts development, which would help if certain infections are discovered at different stages of the infection's development.
I really enjoyed Dr. Cooper's presentation. It was very informational and interesting, as well as keeping the audience's attention by his jokes. I think that T. marneffei's ability to grow as a yeast is advantageous, because when in yeast form it cannot infect other cells. I also believe that finding and targeting proteins expressed in the yeast phase will allow for better treatment methods. Specifically targeting those proteins during infection can help improve the treatment and may speed up the healing process.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed Dr. Cooper's presentation last Friday. He displayed excellent speaking skills that helped the audience easily follow his presentation. As for the questions, T. marneffei's dimorphic ability to grow as a yeast or filamentous form is a beneficial trait to the fungus. It has the ability to grow as a parasitic form at physiological temperature, allowing it to adapt and survive, by becoming an infectious yeast (yeast like) form. As for the second question, I also agree that finding proteins that are exclusively expressed in the yeast phase will allow us to better treat infections. Identifying the proteins, followed by understanding their roles in the pathology of this yeast, should lead to methods of treatments.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy listening to Dr. Cooper's presentations. Whether it be lecture or seminar, he always keeps things interesting. It was pretty cool to see how much he hopped around the country prior to settling down at YSU. I liked that he incorporated his family and their influence on his life. His jokes keep the energy up in the room and make for a nice environment.
ReplyDeleteAs for the T. marneffei, finding proteins that grow in the yeast phase could definitely being helpful in developing treatments. Since yeast is the agent able to affect humans, I think this gives T. marneffei the upper hand in pathology. At least until scientists gain more insight! Being that it is dimorphic we need to have a firm grasp on both its phases to properly and effectively treat infections. Hiliari makes an intriguing point about targeting those proteins and possibly speeding up the healing process, definitely interesting and something to think about!
T. marneffei is a dimorphic fungi which allows it to reproduce as either a mycelial or in a yeast-like manner. This allows it to become pathogenic in physiological conditions from the transformation of the mycelial to a yeast state. In order to treat infections where infections are in the yeast phase looking for membrane proteins or even glycosylation patterns would allow for effective treatments. Looking for these specific markers would also help reduce the side effects when treating with antifungals.
ReplyDeleteAlso,
DeleteJokes 11/10
Talk 10/10
After my food coma last week, submitting a response completely slipped my mind, so better late than never...
ReplyDeleteDr. Cooper's lecture was very entertaining (nothing less was expected of course). I enjoyed his presentation and thought it was very well developed. His jokes kept the audience engaged and brought some lightness to the heavy science material.
T. marneffei's ability to grow as an yeast is advantageous, allowing it to persevere. Without it's ability to transition to a yeast form it may not be able to adapt to it's enviroment. In terms of pathogenicity, the yeast form might interact with the host differently causing a different type of infection within the host, or allow it to lay dormant waiting for the perfect conditions to reactivate.
Yes, finding proteins that are isolated to just the yeast phase is very beneficial. It would allow us to better understand T. marneffei in all stages and perhaps give insight to treatment options.
I loved your presentation! I found it very informative, yet delightfully amusing as well.
ReplyDeleteI had looked into Dr. Cooper's work months ago, and found his work on Penicillium marneffei very interesting. It's ability to grow in the yeast phase is very interesting and I do believe the yeast phase of this can help develop treatments for it. It would be easier to diagnose these proteins and figure out a better treatment for this fungus, than to try and do it during its filamentous phase.
It makes me wonder how many of these other yeast and fungi are capable of transforming according to the state they are in.