13.3

Question 0

The gut flora of a baby delivered by Caesarean section and is then bottle-fed will be very different from that of a baby that is delivered

Answer 0

Vaginally and is breasted

Question 1

The gut of a newborn baby will be colonised by the bacteria that are encountered during

Answer 1

Birth and feeding

Question 2

After just a few weeks of breast feeding, over 90% of a breasted baby’s intestinal flora is made up from

Answer 2

Bifidobacteria

Question 3

Bifidobacteria are known to make the baby’s gut acidic, helping to prevent

Answer 3

Infection by pathogenic bacteria that may enter the gut

Question 4

Bifidobacteria do not survive well on the proteins that are found in the formula milk given to bottle fed babies, and this can mean that formula-fed babies may be more

Answer 4

Susceptible to infection by pathogenic bacteria than breast fed babies

Question 5

If susceptible infants are given formula mil that contains strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria, their risk of infection from the pathogenic bacteria is

Answer 5

Reduced

Question 6

Foods that contain these Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria are called

Answer 6

Probiotics

Question 7

The baby’s gut flora will continue to change as solid foods are introduced into the diet, allowing the growth of

Answer 7

Different types of bacteria

Question 8

A course of antibiotics will hopefully destroy the pathogenic bacteria that are making a person ill. However the antibiotics will also wipe out members of the normal gut flora, and this can prevent the

Answer 8

Gut from functioning normally

Question 9

Losing the guy’s ‘good’ bacteria can allow populations of potentially harmful gut bacteria to

Answer 9

Increase in size because they no longer have to compete with the ‘good’ bacteria for nutrients or space

Question 10

These pathogenic bacteria can cause symptoms such as diarrhoea and it can take many weeks for the populations of normal gut flora to become

Answer 10

Re-established

Question 11

The varied diet of early human ancestors would have allowed them to develop much more

Answer 11

Diverse bacterial communities in the gut than modern humans

Question 12

The obsession of eradicating bacteria (good and bad) because of the fear of spreading disease has resulted in large amounts of antibacterial agents being introduced into the environment of bacteria to

Answer 12

Destroy them

Question 13

The frequent use of antibacterial agents such as antibiotics can select for populations of bacteria that are

Answer 13

Resistant to them and cause strains of pathogenic bacteria untreatable with antibiotics

Question 14

A diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables and non-processed food will introduce a huge variety of commensal gut flora to the many

Answer 14

Ecological niches available in the human gut

Question 15

This competition of commensal gut flora can prevent the growth if populations of

Answer 15

Potentially pathogenic bacteria that may also pass through this diverse ecosystem