BIO-2510: INTRODUCTION TO MICROBIOLOGY WITH LAB

Final Project

OVERVIEW

The purpose of this project is to connect topics from the course to the COVID-19 global pandemic. You
will be asked to find appropriate sources to research and answer several questions related to the disease
COVID-19, along with its causative agent, SARS-CoV-2. Some of the topics covered will be how the virus
is spread and how the body responds to the infection. You will use this information to prepare both a
written response to several questions and a short presentation that will be recorded and shared with the
rest of the class.

Course objectives covered in this paper/project include CO 6, CO 7, and CO 8

GENERAL PLAN

In November of 2019, several patients were admitted to hospitals near Wuhan, China with pneumonia-
like symptoms. Initial tests for common causes of respiratory diseases came back negative, suggesting a
pathogen that had not been seen before in the human population. Before it could be contained, this
respiratory pathogen, later named SARS-CoV-2, had spread to others in Wuhan and then out to
surrounding communities. Over the next several months, cases of this new illness, named COVID-19,
would spread around the world, resulting in millions of cases and deaths.

Part One
Using your textbook and the resources listed below, answer the following questions regarding COVID-19
and SARS-CoV-2.

● Centers for Disease Control: COVID-19

● World Health Organization: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic

In addition to the links provided, include at least two additional sources, one of which must be peer-
reviewed, to write a paper that addresses the questions.

Your paper should be formatted in APA style and should include an introduction, conclusion, and a
references section.

SARS-CoV-2 Identification

1. Early in the pandemic, researchers suspected that COVID-19 was caused by a virus. What are

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 some ways that they could confirm that a virus, and not bacteria, was responsible for this
disease?

2. What type of microscopy would be needed to view SARS-CoV-2? Why? What cell type or
organelle would be of an equivalent size to this virus?

3. Based on the Baltimore classification of viruses, which groups would SARS-CoV-2 fall within?
What type of genetic material does it contain? Are there any related viruses that cause disease in
humans?

SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Genetics

4. Based on your response to question three, draw the replication cycle of SARS-CoV-2.

5. How could SARS-CoV-2 be cultivated? What biological materials would be needed?

6. If viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 are unable to metabolize organic molecules, where do they get
the energy to undergo replication?

7. As discussed above, SARS-CoV-2 has an RNA genome. Discuss three differences between RNA
and DNA.

8. During the course of the pandemic, several variants of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus have
become dominant strains circulating through human populations. Discuss the steps that are
involved with the formation of a variant and its increase in prevalence.

COVID-19 Treatments

9. One of the few drugs that have been found to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 is remdesivir.
How does this drug inhibit viral replication?

10. Predict which physical or chemical methods of control would be effective against viruses like
SARS-CoV-2. List two physical or chemical methods and their mechanism of action.

11. What are at least two suspected reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2, besides humans?

12. How can SARS-CoV-2 be transmitted? For each of the possible transmission mechanisms,
discuss whether or not this is a potential source of transmission.

a. Direct contact
b. Indirect contact
c. Vehicle
d. Vector

13. Why is quarantine an important tool used by public health to reduce the spread of COVID-19?

14. How can herd immunity prevent the spread of viruses within a human population?

Copyright © 2023 by Thomas Edison State University. All rights reserved.

 15. Some of the first vaccines developed for COVID-19 were RNA vaccines. After the administration
of the vaccine, how does this result in an immune response if exposed to the actual virus?

Part Two
After completing the written assignment, use your responses to prepare a short presentation, using
Microsoft PowerPoint or other similar software. Your presentation should summarize what you have
learned about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.

Record your presentation by screencasting your slides and presenting as you would in front of the class.
Follow the linked instructions for creating a video presentation recording using Kaltura.

Your presentation should be at least seven minutes in length and contain a minimum of seven slides, not
including a slide of your references, formatted in APA style.

WRITING AND RESEARCH RESOURCES

The following links provide online writing and research aids to help you with your paper assignments.

● OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue University

● Writer's Handbook, the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
● APA Style Guidelines
● Information Literacy for TESU Students (an online guide from the New Jersey State Library to
assist you in starting your research, searching databases for articles, citing sources, using ILLiad
to request books or articles, etc.)

Copyright © 2023 by Thomas Edison State University. All rights reserved.