Department of Applied Biology
University of Hull
Target audience: Second year biologists studying Environmental Plant Pathology.
These two Macintosh based Hypercard stacks form a complementary set that links lecture material in the form of a self paced revision tutorial and practical material in the form of a computer aided simulation.
This simple HyperCard stack allows undergraduates to revisit and build upon material presented in the lecture course. A series of 35mm slides of infected plants, some of which are also used in the lectures have been scanned and then linked to text and navigation buttons in the HyperCard stack. The material is cross indexed by means of both 'hot words' and index cards into categories of symptoms, hosts and virus groups.
One of the classic experiments in plant virology is to identify an unknown virus by using a combination of simple techniques; an examination of the host range of the virus, determination of its structure by transmission electron microscopy and identification of any serological relationship with other known viruses.
This HyperCard stack simulates this process. The undergraduate is presented with a description of an infected plant, and must choose a range of plant species to inoculate with the infected sap. Based on the results of this and the results of an EM examination they can try a range of anti viral antisera. Analysis of their results, using virus data sheets included in the stack, should allow them to identify the unknown virus.
Awaiting software, in the meantime please contact the author.