Related papers: Bacteriophage effect on parasitism resistance
Bacteriophages, phages for short, are viruses of bacteria. The majority of phages contain a double-stranded DNA genome packaged in a capsid at a density of ~500 mg/ml. This high density requires substantial compression of the normal B form…
Viruses like influenza have long coevolved with host immune systems, gradually shaping the evolutionary trajectory of these pathogens. Host immune systems develop immunity against circulating strains, which in turn avoid extinction by…
A critical step in the bacteriophage life cycle is genome ejection into host bacteria. The ejection process for double-stranded DNA phages has been studied thoroughly \textit{in vitro}, where after triggering with the cellular receptor the…
Microbiomes are complex systems comprised of many interacting species. Species can survive harsh or changing conditions by rapid adaptation, a process accelerated by the exchange of genetic material between different species through…
Antipredator behavior is present in many biological systems where individuals collectively react to an imminent attack. The antipredator response may influence spatial pattern formation and ecosystem stability but requires an organism's…
Biopolymers are vital structures for many living organisms; for a variety of bacteria, adhesion polymers play a crucial role for the initiation of colonization. Some bacteria express, on their surface, attachment organelles (pili) that…
The emergence of the phenomenon known as ABR (anti-bacterial resistance), is the result of the gradual decrease in the efficacy of antibiotics and the increase in the cost of producing new antibiotics. Hence, alternative solutions to…
Viral fibers play a central role in many virus infection mechanisms since they recognize the corresponding host and establish a mechanical link to its surface. Specifically, bacteriophages have to anchor to bacteria through the fibers…
Giant viruses contain large genomes, encode many proteins atypical for viruses, replicate in large viral factories, and tend to infect protists. The giant virus replication factories can in turn be infected by so called virophages, which…
The ladybird $\textit{Eriopis connexa}$ (Germar, 1824), a voracious aphid predator, faces challenges from insecticide applications, compromising biological control. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of studies analysing…
The striking variety of macroscopic morphologies displayed by bacterial colonies depends on microscopic environmental and behavioural details in a manner that is currently not well understood. A surprising example is sibling inhibition,…
Bacteria and their viruses ("bacteriophages") coexist in natural environments forming complex infection networks. Recent empirical findings suggest that phage-bacteria infection networks often possess a nested structure such that there is a…
Understanding how a diversity of plants in agroecosystems affects the adaptation of pathogens in a key issue in agroecology. We analyze PDE systems describing the dynamics of adaptation of two phenotypically structured populations, under…
Bacteria and their bacteriophages are the most abundant, widespread and diverse groups of biological entities on the planet. In an attempt to understand how the interactions between bacteria, virulent phages and temperate phages might…
Co-infecting parasites and pathogens remain a leading challenge for global public health due to their consequences for individual-level infection risk and disease progression. However, a clear understanding of the population-level…
Network ecology is a rising field of quantitative biology representing ecosystems as complex networks. A suitable example is parasite spreading: several parasites may be transmitted among their hosts through different mechanisms, each one…
Natural decomposition of organic matter is essential in food systems, and compost is used worldwide as an organic fermented fertilizer. However, as a feature of the ecosystem, its effects on the animals are poorly understood. Here we show…
Single molecule experiments on bacteriophages show an exponential scaling for the dependence of mobility on the length of DNA within the capsid. It has been suggested that this could be due to the "capstan mechanism" -- the exponential…
Spatial extent is a complicating factor in mathematical biology. The possibility that an action at point A cannot immediately affect what happens at point B creates the opportunity for spatial nonuniformity. This nonuniformity must change…
The anisotropy of a trap potential can impact the density and variance of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in an opposite manner. We exemplify this effect for both the ground state and out-of-equilibrium dynamics of structureless bosons…