CHOICE 1

The overall objective of this course unit is to deepen students’ understanding of the concepts necessary for studying symbiotic interactions, whether parasitic or mutualistic. To this end, we will examine both the specific characteristics and the ubiquity of the parasitic lifestyle across the tree of life. We will discuss the defense mechanisms of host organisms, the concepts of favoring and manipulation, the consequences of host-symbiont interactions on life history traits, and the influence of these interactions on the diversification of organisms.

The lab sessions will provide an opportunity to explore these concepts in greater depth using examples of major interactions involving symbionts (viruses, bacteria, and unicellular and multicellular eukaryotes) and a variety of hosts (both unicellular and multicellular).

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This course unit consists primarily of lectures covering the molecular aspects of infectious diseases (bacteriology, virology, parasitology)

Bacteriology: The nature of infectious agents. Methods for studying pathogenesis (in vivo, in vitro, in silico, and post-genomic research technologies) Strategies of pathogenic bacteria for survival within hosts: Bacterial adhesion to eukaryotic cells, antigenic variation and phase variation, invasion of non-phagocytic eukaryotic cells, mechanisms of resistance to phagocytosis, mechanisms of bacterial survival within phagocytic cells, regulation of membrane permeability, bacterial secretion systems (types I, II, III, IV, V, and VI), iron acquisition mechanisms, bacterial exotoxins, bacterial biofilms, examples of environmental regulation (thermoregulation, quorum sensing, etc.).

Parasitology: Organization and cellular physiology of major pathogens within parasitic unicellular eukaryotes (invasion and modification of the host cell; metabolic characteristics and therapeutic targets); Genetics and Molecular Biology (genome organization, antigenic variation); Pathophysiology and evasion of the immune response

Virology: Molecular mechanisms of the viral life cycle; Expression of viral genomes; Viral transformation; Viral replication strategies; Plasticity of viral genomes; Structural significance of viruses in host-virus interactions; 

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