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:

"Although invisible to the naked eye, beds are teeming with microbial life, which might influence how the human body’s own microbial communities form and develop, especially in infancy. To explore this hypothesis, researchers analyzed 577 dust samples from the beds of infants, as well as 542 airway samples from a child cohort study. The diversity of bacteria and fungi detected in bed dust correlated with one another, suggesting an interplay between the two types of organisms in bed dust. Additionally, the microbial makeup of bacterial and fungal communities in bed dust was influenced by different environmental factors. Bacterial communities were influenced by type of home, living environment, sex of siblings, and pets, whereas fungal communities were influenced by type of home and sampling season. There was limited evidence of microbial transfer between bed dust and infant airways..."

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:

"The gut microbial community, called the gut microbiota, plays an important role in health for both humans and animals. The bacterial members of this community are the most numerous and consequently get the most attention in research. However, there are often overlooked but important fungi, viruses, archaea, and protozoa in the microbiota too. The fungal subset of a microbiota is called the mycobiota, and it is particularly understudied in birds. To close this gap, a recent study comprehensively characterized the mycobiota of chickens bred for meat. While gut bacterial communities typically stabilize with age, the chicken mycobiota was dynamic over time with no clear pattern of successive changes and low overall diversity. The upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract mycobiota was more diverse than the lower tract mycobiota, and just 25 core fungal groups accounted for more than 85% of the fungal population in each section of the GI tract..."

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

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:List the characteristics of fungiDescribe the composition of the myceliumDescribe the mode of nutrition of fungiExplain sexual and asexual reproduction in fungi

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Classify fungi into the five major phylaDescribe each phylum in terms of major representative species and patterns of reproduction

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the role of fungi in the ecosystemDescribe mutualistic relationships of fungi with plant roots and photosynthetic organismsDescribe the beneficial relationship between some fungi and insects

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

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the importance of fungi to the balance of the environmentSummarize the role of fungi in food and beverage preparationDescribe the importance of fungi in the chemical and pharmaceutical industriesDiscuss the role of fungi as model organisms

Students investigate decomposers and the role of decomposers in maintaining the flow of nutrients in an environment. Students also learn how engineers use decomposers to help clean up wastes in a process known as bioremediation. This lesson concludes a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

This article discusses the many lichens found in the Arctic and Antarctica and their unique characteristics.

In this 6th grade Science class, students learn how to build a compost pile, learn about organisms needed for decomposition, and begin to understand the purpose of compost in the garden.

In this 6th grade Science class, students learn how to build a compost pile, learn about organisms needed for decomposition, and begin to understand the purpose of compost in the garden.

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:

"Amphibians are one of the most vulnerable animal groups on the planet, with over 40% of their species threatened with extinction. A major driver of that vulnerability is the fungal pathogen _Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis_ (Bd). Bd is linked to the decline of at least 500 amphibian species, the greatest loss in biodiversity due to a pathogen ever recorded. The amphibian skin microbiome community structure has been linked to health outcomes of Bd infection, but the functional importance of the microbiota is not yet fully understood. To close this gap and potentially discover biomarkers or disease control methods, researchers investigated the microbiome of midwife toads. They examined both wild populations with naturally occurring Bd infection and controlled laboratory exposure. Infection with Bd led to changes in the microbial community structure, gene profile, and metabolic function in laboratory and wild toad populations..."

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

This nonfiction article, written for students in grades 4-5, explores lichens: a partnership between an alga and a fungus. Modified versions are available for students in younger grades.

A lecture will be hosted by the educator. The first four sections cover factual information and in the activity students will draw conclusions about spore germination. The last section will highlight a scientist and current trends in mycology.

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:

"The soil microbiome is composed of a complex and diverse fungal community, from plant pathogens that reduce plant performance to mutualistic fungal taxa that provide nutrients to plants. One class of mutualists is arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), key providers of phosphorus. Although plant hosts and abiotic parameters are known to affect AMF, it remains unknown how fungivorous predators affect AMF communities. A recent study explored the connections between AMF, fungivorous protists and nematodes, and plant performance. In a 17-year field experiment comparing four manure treatments in a low-fertility red soil, researchers found that manure addition increased AMF biomass along with the density of fungivorous nematodes. More AMF was digested by nematodes in high-manure treatments, and network analysis indicated that predation stimulated AMF biomasses and modified community composition..."

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:

"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.