Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe fungal parasites and pathogens of plantsDescribe the different types of fungal infections in humansExplain why antifungal therapy is hampered by the similarity between fungal and animal cells

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Aspergillus fumigatus infection is difficult to diagnose and can develop into a dangerous condition called invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. The spores (conidia) from A. fumigatus are common in the air but normally our lung structure and immune system are protective. But events and illnesses that interrupt our immune system or damage our lungs can increase the risk of infection. Radiotherapy is one such event and its widespread application has increased the incidence of A. fumigatus infections. but the exact mechanism is poorly understood. A recent study in mice found that radiation destroyed the pulmonary epithelial barrier and increased the burden of A. fumigatus in the lungs. Further experiments determined that NLRP3 inflammasome signaling was triggering pyroptosis of the lung epithelial cells. Pyroptosis is a highly inflammatory type of programmed cell death where the cell bursts. Knocking out the gene for NLRP3 blocked pyroptosis, reduced the damage to the epithelial barrier, and reduced the A..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Wheat is one of the world’s most important crops. However, wheat production is currently threatened by various fungal diseases throughout the growing season. Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by _Fusarium graminearum_, is one of the most important fungal diseases of wheat causing serious wheat yield losses, as well as mycotoxin contamination. One approach to combating this type of infection is through autophagy. Autophagy is a highly conserved physiologic process critical for macromolecule turnover, stress response, and survival in eukaryotes and plays an important role in fungal pathogenesis. _Streptomyces hygroscopicus_ S89, a member of the natural wheat microbiota, has shown high efficiency in reducing mycelial growth of _F. graminearum_—possibly through autophagy. Researchers found that the antifungal compound rapamycin secreted by _S. hygroscopicus_ S89 stimulates autophagic flux and affects the acetylome of _F. graminearium_ by promoting the degradation of acetyltransferase Gcn5..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.