Lecture 12 Flashcards
What type of symbiosis occurs between us and the microbiome?
Mutualism
Mutualism
Both species benefit from interaction
Commensalism
1 species benefits, the other does not benefit nor gets harmed (neutral)
Parasitism
1 member is harmed
What are the sources of microbial transmission from mother to child?
-Mouth
-Uterus
-Vagina
-Breastmilk
What is meconium?
First bowel movement a newborn has
-bacteria found in babies feces came from mother
-S.epidermis, E.coli, Enterobacter species, E.faecalis
Why is there a large amount of Lactobacillus species in the vagina of a woman during pregnancy?
Lactobacillus maintains vagina pH below 4 & prevents pathogenic microbes from colonizing such as Candida/yeast since they grow when vagina has a pH above 4
True or false: Delivery mode does not shape the types of initial microbiota an infant has
False
-delivery mode does affect an infants initial microbiota
Babies born through vaginal delivery…
Acquire a microbiome that resembles their own mother’s vaginal microbiota
Babies born through C-section…
Acquire a microbiome that resembles their mother’s skin microbiome
Babies born via vaginal delivery have an increase of which bacteria?
Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium
Why do newborns have Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium? What is their significance
-Lactobacillus: breaks down lactose which is important b/c babies drink breastmilk
-Bifidobacterium: Breaks down human oligosaccharides since babies can’t do it themselves and breaks down urea which releases nitrogen that can be used in DNA, proteins, macromolecules etc
True or false: antibiotics do not alter the gut microbiota
False
-antibiotics alter the gut microbiota
True or false: infants treated with antibiotics show more diversity compared to treated ones
False
Infants treated with antibiotics show less diversity compared to untreated infants
