BIOL 2200 Chapter Notes - Chapter Pg. 471-478: Koelreuteria Paniculata, Soapberry, Methicillin

• School: University of Virginia
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIOL 2200
• Professor: Jessamyn Manson

Document Summary

While darwin had a good idea about evolution, he failed to provide sufficient evidence. In florida, soapberry bugs primarily feed on a native species: the balloon vine. The bugs use their hollow tube to eat the seeds within the fruit. In central florida the balloon vine has become rare, so the bugs instead feed on the goldenrain tree, originally from asia. Soapberry bugs feed best when their beak length matches a depth of the seed. As a result of natural selection, the soapberry bugs from central florida have shorter beaks than those from southern florida. There are several strains of drug-resistant pathogens, such as mrsa strain of staph (the flesh-eating strain) The bacteria had an enzyme that could destroy penicillin. Methicillin deactivates a protein that bacteria use to synthesize a cell wall. Some bacteria had a mutation where they could synthesize cell walls even in the presence of methicillin.