Unit 5 Flashcards
What is a microbiome
Total community of microorganisms in an environment or location on the body
What is normal flora
Microorganisms that are present either in or on an animal that is “healthy” that undergoes constant change
The relationship between normal flora and the host is described as
Symbiosis
What is symbiosis
An association of two or more different species of organisms
In microbiology this refers to:
Bacteria/fungi/yeast and animals/plants
What are ectosymbionts
Organisms that live on the host
What are endosymbionts
Organisms that live in the host
What is mutualism and give an example
Type of symbiosis When both organism benefits from the relationship
Ex. Rumen bacteria
What is commensalism
Type of symbiosis where only one of the organisms benefits from the relationship and the other is neither helped or harmed
The commensal is the organism that is helped
What is competition
Occurs when 2 or more organisms share a space and have to compete for the available resources (space and nutrients)
What are two possible outcomes of competition
One will out compete the other
Both will exists in lower levels
What are the 4 roles of normal flora
Aids in digestion
Provide essential nutrients
Stimulates the immune response
Protects against infection
Why is normal floras role in digestion important in ruminants
To digest insoluble fiber from plants
How does normal flora provide essential nutrients
GI flora synthesize vitamins and essential amino acids
How does normal flora stimulate the immune response
Maintains a low level of ongoing immune activity so they can respond faster to infection
How does normal flora protect against infection by more virulent microbes
Through competition
Altering pH to inhibit growth
Producing anti-microbial factors that prevent colonization
Maintain low level of immune activity
Bind to and block pathogenic bacteria from binding to receptors on cell surfaces
What are bacteriocins
Antimicrobial factors produced by normal flora
What are the 2 ways normal flora in controlled
Competition
Immune system: balance between immune system and normal flora
What are 3 instances of disturbance of the normal flora
When there is too much notmal flora
When there us too little normal flora
When normal flora moved to a new location it is not normally found
What is the most common cause of overgrowth of normal flora
Decreased function if the immune system
What are some other causes of overgrowth of normal flora
When normal flora moves to a new location
What is it called when normal flora cause disease
The normal flora are now called an opprotunistic pathogen
The disease is called an opprotunistic infection
What are the two examples of loss of normal flora
Can be a decrease in overall numbers of bacteria or decreased number of different species
What does a loss of normal flora result in
Lack of competition
Lack of bacteriocins
More space for pathogenic bacteria (allows colonization)
What are some examples of loss of normal flora
Oral antibiotics causes Clostridial enteritis
Loss if skin bacteria leads to yeast overgrowth
True or false
Animals grown in labs without normal flora have a very low risk of infection
FALSE
They have a very high risk
Where are normal flora found in the nose
Only in the nostrils
describe the normal flora in the oro-nasopharynx
Combination of aerobic or anaerobic bacteria, mostly non-pathogenic unless the get onto tissues that are sterile (sinuses, middle ear, brain)
Describe normal flora in the trachea
Transiently colonized by bacteria from the oronasopharynx, continually removed by the mucociliary elevator
What is the role of the mucociliary elevator
The mucus traps microbes and particles
Cilia on the mucosal epithelial cells sweep the mucus upwards to the oral cavity where it is spit out or swallowed
Keeps microbes out of the lower airways
What does damage to the trachea cause and what are some examples of possible damage
Viral infection, smoke inhalation
Increases risk of infection
Describe the normal flora in the lower respiratory tract
Generally sterile (no normal flora)
Transiently colonized by bacteria from the upper resp. Tract but often cannot establish
What are 3 ways microbes are continuously removed from the lower respiratory tract
Mucociliary elevator
Phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages (WBCs in alveoli)
Lysozyme in mucus (hydrolyzes bonds in peptidoglycans of bacteria)
What are some risk factors of microbial colonization in the lower respiratory tract
Acute or chronic aspiration
Damage to the mucus generating cells and cilia of the respiratory tract
What is acute or chronic aspiration from and what are the risk factors
Inhaling infectious materials into the lungs, normally from the oral cavity or esophagus/stomach
Increased risk with megaesophagus, gastroesophageal reflux, chronic vomit, cleft palate
What are some causes of damage to the mucus generating cells and cilia of upper respiratory tract
Traumatic/chemical injury (smoke inhalation)
Primary viral infections (kennel cough shipping fever in cattle)
Inflammation (asthma)
Why is there very few normal flora on the skin
Due to the hostile environment from:
Dryness
Oils (pH of sweat is antibacterial)
Sloughing of skin cells (also sloughs bacteria)
Tends to be transiently colonized