Describe normal microbiota and explain how they help provide protection against disease.
Normal microbiota are bacteria that naturally habitat the human body without causing harm. There are two forms, residential and transient. Residential microbiota are the organisms that have been with you since the day you were born and shall remain with you for the rest of your life; meanwhile, transient microbiota are the harmless bacteria that you come in contact with on a daily basis. These can easily be removed from the body meaning that transient microbes only stay with you for a short period of time. Both forms of normal microbiota are usually found on the surface of the skin, mucous membranes, digestive tract, upper respiratory system, intestines,
urethra, and the vagina. The natural microbes have a symbiotic relationship with the human body. Humans provide residential microbes with a place to live and food to eat, such as cellular waste and dead body cells. Residential microbes provide protection from dangerous pathogens by making the human body an unbearable place to live; these microbes ultimately take up space, consume all food resources, and alter the body’s pH levels. Residential microbes also make the body less likely to succumb to disease by providing the body with essential nutrients (biotin, vitaminB_5, folic acid, and vitamin K) that help the body with certain metabolic processes.
They can be found anywhere and identifying them becomes crucial to understanding their characteristics and their effects on other living things, especially humans. Biochemical testing helps us identify the microorganism present with great accuracy. The tests used in this experiment are rudimentary but are fundamental starting points for tests used in medical labs and helps students attain a better understanding of how tests are conducted in a real lab setting. The first step in this process is to use gram-staining technique to narrow down the unknown bacteria into one of the two big domains; gram-negative and gram-positive. Once the gram type is identified, biochemical tests are conducted to narrow down the specific bacterial species.
The gut microbiota obtains its nutrients from various sources such as consumed dietary ingredients and host-derived requirements like epithelial cells and mucus. Microorganisms utilize these substrates to produce energy to modulate cellular processes, metabolism and growth. The gut encompasses pathways for carbohydrate, lipid and amino acid metabolism (6). Interestingly, the gut flora’s metabolic action is both adaptive and renewable. Through the synthesis of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), B vitamins and vitamin K, commensal bacteria mutualistically interact with intestinal epithelial cells to promote differentiation, proliferation and absorption from the bowel. Jointly, this metabolic mechanism preserves valuable energy and digestible substrates for the host, all while supplying energy and nutrients for growth (9). SCFAs (mainly acetate, butyrate and propionate) are the final products of the carbohydrate fermentation of dietary fibers, and exhibit many positive influences in countering metabolic and inflammatory disorders, for instance, obesity, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease. This is accomplished via the activation of G-protein-coupled receptors and alteration of transcription factors (17, 18). The microbial assembly of SCFAs, TMA, acetaldehyde and inflammatory regulators control the metabolic fitness of the host through pathways that affect gut motility, immune function and satiety (19). An example of a lipid metabolic activity that relates the gut flora to dyslipidemia (excessive amount of lipids) is the hydrolysation of bile salts, which are steroid acids manufactured in the liver from cholesterol and secreted in bile to accelerate absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, along with the metabol...
Microbiology with Diseases by Body System (Hardcover) & MasteringMicrobiology, 3rd edition, Bauman, R. W., Benjamin- Cummings Publishing Company, 2012, San Francisco, CA. ISBN 9780321716378. OR
Enteric bacteria are major microorganisms that colonise human’s gastrointestinal tract- a long tube containing specialised sections such as the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, intestines, rectum and the anus. Gut bacteria make up approximately 95 percent of the total cells in the body, with the colon containing the densest microbial communities (Gibson, Rastall and Fuller 2008: 52). Human gastrointestinal tract consists of 100 different prokaryotic species, and with two bacterial species, firmicutes and bacteroicidetes dominating them (Brooker et al. 2011: 559).
There are numerous types of bacteria that can be found in every environment. Each bacterium has different morphology which includes shape, texture and pigment production. These bacteria also have different food requirements which are important in being able to identify a microorganism. Microorganisms are a diverse group containing all bacteria a single cell prokaryotic organism that is found in every type of environment, archea single cell microorganism that lacks nuclei and almost all microorganisms are protozoa a unicellular eukaryotic organism. By identifying the causative agent of a bacterium within an individual, an antibiotic can be developed to prevent health issues. Microorganisms are also used to make certain food products for human consumption. An example of this would be the production of yogurt. It has probiotics that help with digestive abnormalities amongst other things. Probiotics are microorganisms that are consumed to provide health benefits in the body. Probiotics work by replacing the disturbed microbe with ones that are useful to digest. With the methods that wer...
Every human has microbiomes that are personalized for the individual and are extremely important to maintaining a good health standing, however, these microbiomes can be capable of contracting a disease. One of the most common areas for these microbiomes to contract something that could be harmful to the person’s health is called the oral microbiomes, which are found in the mouths of humans. Within the biofilms of the oral cavity, rests these oral microbiomes that maintain a healthy equilibrium in the mouth. However, if not taken care of properly, oral microbiomes can be taken over by a pathogen that can quickly turn the state of the person’s mouth from a healthy equilibrium to a very unhealthy equilibrium (1). Some bacteria found in the oral cavity can be an extremely danger.
Eukaryotic microorganisms can be defined as organisms whose cells contain a nucleus and other organelles enclosed in membranes. It is said that all multicellular organisms are eukaryotes which mostly comprises of animals, plants, and fungi. They are known to be much larger than prokaryotes which contain no nucleus because they are multinucleated organisms. Eukaryotes were said to have developed about 1.6 – 2.1 billion years ago. But that is only an approximation. We would not be here if eukaryotic microorganisms did not exist. These organisms tend to share a common origin and could be treated as a super kingdom, empire, or domain. Lastly, many unicellular organisms are also eukaryotes e.g protozoa. The types of eukaryotes are algae, yeast, fungi and protozoan.
Hats off to bacteria! This article summarizes that bacteria are good for our body and help us function a lot better. Bacteria live in our guts, in our mouths, and on our skin. Overuse of antibiotics has disturbed the bacterial ecosystem, possibly so much that it is irreversible. In 1999 Lawrence Brandt a professor of medicine and surgery at the Albert Einstein College of medicine had success when trying to help a patient combat diarrhea induced by clostridium difficile. A patient developed diarrhea after taking a course of antibiotics for sinusitis; nothing could shake her C.difficile infection. Brandt reasoned the initial antibiotic treatment had killed gut bacteria that promote digestive health; not knowing which strain to replace, he transplanted stool form her husband. That night she reported marked improvement- for the first time in six months. This procedure has helped patients, but hopefully in the future doctors will be able to administer the particular strain of bacteria that is needed. 99% of the bacteria we harbor are resistant to culture in the lab. It was this impossible to study bacteria until the last decade or so, when DNA sequencing techniques allowed researchers to obtain gene sequences from as little as one bacterial cell. With this researchers found that bacteria cells in our bodies outnumber our human cells. Bacterial exposure throughout our lifetime is needed for our wellbeing, thinking, and functioning, contributing to conditions such as diabetes, obesity, allergies, asthma, and atherosclerosis, as well as to anxiety and mood and cognition disorders. These conditions have become more prominent because of our obsession with sanitation has eliminated the exposure to bacteria humans used to routinely get throu...
Every day, I would drag myself to school, do my work, get home, do homework, then go to bed. For years, on and on every single day using the same method, repeating the same pattern. “Go to page 247 in your textbook.” “Find the circumference of the circle provided.” “Identify the organisms as prokaryotic or eukaryotic.” I felt that my life couldn’t get any worse, that everybody had it better off than me. I hated every single hour of the day, every single day of the week. I used to wear a fake mask to make it seem like everything was okay, all was well, when all I was doing was living a lie. Then I read your book, “Finding Spirit Bear”. My english teacher assigned us the book as an assignment for class, which I sped through, just to get it over
Bacterial cells, like plant cells, are surrounded by a cell wall. However, bacterial cell walls are made up of polysaccharide chains linked to amino acids, while plant cell walls are made up of cellulose, which contains no amino acids. Many bacteria secrete a slimy capsule around the outside of the cell wall. The capsule provides additional protection for the cell. Many of the bacteria that cause diseases in animals are surrounded by a capsule. The capsule prevents the white blood cells and antibodies from destroying the invading bacterium. Inside the capsule and the cell wall is the cell membrane. In aerobic bacteria, the reactions of cellular respiration take place on fingerlike infoldings of the cell membrane. Ribosomes are scattered throughout the cytoplasm, and the DNA is generally found in the center of the cell. Many bacilli and spirilla have flagella, which are used for locomotion in water. A few types of bacteria that lack flagella move by gliding on a surface. However, the mechanism of this gliding motion is unknown. Most bacteria are aerobic, they require free oxygen to carry on cellular respiration. Some bacteria, called facultatibe anaerobes can live in either the presence or absence of free oxygen. They obtain energy either by aerobic respiration when oxygen is present or by fermentation when oxygen is absent. Still other bacteria cannot live in the presence of oxygen. These are called obligate anaerobes. Such bacteria obtain energy only fermentation. Through fermentation, different groups of bacteria produce a wide variety of organic compounds. Besides ethyl alcohol and lactic acid, bacterial fermentation can produce acetic acid, acetone, butyl alcohol, glycol, butyric acid, propionic acid, and methane, the main component of natural gas. Most bacteria are heterotrophic bacteria are either saprophytes or parasites. Saprophytes feed on the remains of dead plants and animals, and ordinarily do not cause disease. They release digestive enzymes onto the organic matter. The enzymes breakdown the large food molecules into smaller molecules, which are absorbed by the bacterial cells. Parasites live on or in living organisms, and may cause disease. A few types of bacteria are Autotrophic, they can synthesize the organic nutrients they require from inorganic substances. Autotrophic bacteria are either photosynthetic or Chemosynthetic. The photosynthetic bacteria contain chlorophyll that are different from the plant chlorophyll. In bacterial photosynthesis, hydrogen is obtained by the splitting of compounds other than water.
The term “microbiology” refers to the branch of study that deals with microorganisms. Microbiology is extremely important in today’s time for the crucial information that the study provides. Human’s have had a long and cruel history of disease and sickness, for example the bubonic plague, but microbiology gives scientists the ability to observe, study, and prevent sickness like the bubonic plague to ever happen again. At the center of microbiology lies the bacterial cell, one that differs from those of a plant or animal because it lacks a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles which, in turn are traded for pili, flagella, and in some cases a cell capsule. Bacteria that are capable of causing illness or disease are called pathogens, pathogens work by releasing toxins in the body or directly damaging the host’s cells. An article by Lise Wilkinson explains that the earliest categorizations of bacterial cells first occurred in the late eighteen-hundreds to the early nineteen-hundreds by scientists (at the time) O. Muller and C. Ehrenburg (Wilkinson, 2004). The observation and identification of unknown bacteria that emerge is crucial because these new bacteria might be pathogenic and cause illness so it is very important that the bacteria is identified as soon as possible in order to either prevent the upcoming illness or treat it. While the common person is unable to identify if they are carrying bacteria (which is very likely), specialized tests that are ran in a lab can identify different types of bacteria and can even help
Microbes are major key components in both are homes and industrial food preparation. There are number of lactic acid which is a form of bacteria which is a large group of beneficial bacteria used in certain foods while they are getting prepared such as yogurt, cheese, sour cream, butter milk and other type of fermented milk products. Things such as vinegars are produced by bacterial acetic acid fermentation. Yeast is also major use in the making of beer and wine and also for the leaving of breads. This also involves fermentations to convert corn and other vegetable carbohydrates to also make beer, wine or gasohol but also bacteria is the agents of are other foods. Other fermented foods will include things such as soy sauce, olives and cocoa. (Microbes and human life, 2013) Single cell proteins are known as dried cells of microbes which are used in protein supplement shacks. They are also called “novel food” and “minifood”. The production of this requires micro-organisms which then serve as the protein source and then the substrate which is biomass which they grow on them. There are a number of both these sources that we are able to use for the production of single cell protein (SCP). The micro-organisms used belong to the following groups of Algae, Fungi and bacteria. (Slide Share, 2012)
They’re out there! You can’t see them but they can see you. Right at this very moment they are living on and in your body, and there is nothing you can do about it!
Microbes are microscopic life forms, usually too small to be seen by the naked eye. Although many microbes are single-celled, there are also numerous multi-cellular organisms. The human body has 10-100 trillion microbes living on it, making it one giant super-organism. Since the first link between microbes and diseases was made, people have been advised to wash their hands. Scientists, however, have recently started to investigate more closely how the microbes that call the human body home affect our health. While some microbes cause disease, others are more beneficial, working with our bodies in many subtle ways.