lecture 30 Flashcards
why are bacteria good for our guts
they provide us with vitamins, the vitamins that we don’t get from them are the ones we eat in our food
how does penicilin kill bacteria
Penicilin targets the peptidoglycan making enzymes, ie the transpeptidase enzyme is targeted and destoryed.
which means the tetrapeptides can no longer be cross-linked.
how many bacterial and archaea phyla are there
92 bacterial phyla and 26 archaeal
what was the aim of the human microbiome project
to characterise the microbial communities found in all the body sites. Taking these communities and finding if there is a correlation between changes in the microbiome and changes in human health.
The emphasis of areas was on oral, skin, vaginal, gut and nasal/ lung.
how many microorganisms were found in our microbiome
10,000, with 500-1000 just in our gut
what were some of the goals of the human microbiome project
To develop a reference set of microbial genome sequences and perform preliminary characterisation of the human microbiome.
To explore the relationship between disease and changes in the human microbiome, this was the main driver.
To develop new technology and tools for analysis
To establish a resource repository
what was found as a result of the human microbiome project, niche
These species had strong niche specialisation for different sites. So highly specialised means they are found in mainly one site. So when a different site was sequenced there were different microbes to other sites.
what was found in the human microbiome project, uniqueness
While we all have the same genus and species in each area, but we each individually have different strains of microbes in the microbiome. Your microbiome is not the same as mine. So we all have Streptococcus viridians, but we each have different strains
the microbiome of each person at a given site varies, but what is constant
the metabolic potential of the microbiome so metabollicaly everyones microbiome is the same really
what about how the human microbiome makes it less universal
the fact that it was only done in western countries, so the microbiome won’t be universal as different areas live in different conditions.
what does the microbiome do for us, how is it helpful, what does it do
Competition by commensal microbes protects us from pathogens.
Commensals have been in equilibrium with body immune system, so they are adpated to body so pathogens cant get in.
Blocks colonisation niches
Out competes the pathogens for nutrients
Modifies environment to change virulence factors.
Makes environment hostile
Lowers PH
why do taking general antibiotics leave us vulnerable to pathogens
general antibiotics as they get rid of the whole microbiome generally to hopefully remove the bad bit, which leads to pathogens being able to colonise us. the pathogens may be able to colonise as there is no longer high competition in these areas of the body, as the previous species are now gone.
microbial communities are dominated by how many phyla and they are
4, Firmicutes
v Bacteroidetes
v Actinobacteria
v Proteobacteria
wheres the highest density of microbes in human body,
in our gut, so the gastrointestinal tract
whats a functional food
a food claimed to have a health-promoting or disease-preventing property beyond the basic function of supplying nutrients
