HOST BACTERIAL INTERACTION Essay

Submitted By afrik
Words: 1711
Pages: 7

Approaches to studying bacterial host interactions What they really tell us www.inhabitat.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS i

1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1

2 HOST-BACTERIA INTERACTION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………1
2.1 BENEFICIAL AND NON BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP………………………………………………………………………….2

3 DEFENSE SYSTEM: HOST AND BACTERIA……………………………………………………………………………………………..2

3.1 HOST DEFENSE SYSTEM……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3 3.2 BACTERIAL DEFENSE SYSTEM……………………………………………………………………………………………………..4 4 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………5

5 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6

1 INTRODUCTION

“Bacteria are classified as microscopic unicellular prokaryotic organisms categorized by the lack of a membrane-bound nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. There are considered the only form of life on earth for 2.5 million years. They are embossed with molecules that are unique to them not found in animal cell. They are also further classified as either Gram positive or Gram negative which endow them with variable features such as virulence factor.”
Bacteria are extraordinarily pliable to various environmental conditions as can be seen in the forms of life, including the human body they invade. Bacteria are steadily associated with the body surfaces of animals. The human body harbors many bacterial cells on its external surfaces and internal surfaces. Such surfaces includes the gastrointestinal tract which harbors the larger number of bacterial colony than there are human cells that make up the animal. They can also be found thriving in extreme places such as depths of ocean, in arctic ice and glaciers, in hot spring.” [1]

2 HOST- BACTERIAL INTERACTION

“Host-bacteria interaction are communication going on between pathogen and their host. This interaction borders on the ability of these pathogens to establish themselves in places devoid of the hosts normal flora. Bacterium have evolved to adapt in their host and also devised ways to combat the threats posed by the environment. They are able to withstand this threat by controlling the host through precise modulations and the use of their virulence factor. The end result of the relationship between a human host and a pathogen, be it in association with the normal flora or an exogenous pathogen, depends on specific point of interest to both the host and the pathogen.” [2]

2.1 BENEFICIAL AND NON BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP

“Some bacterial are in beneficial relationship with their host. These bacteria are called normal floral and in counting, they account for and are more abundant than the non-beneficial ones. Beneficial bacterial also constitute first line of defense because they prevent the establishment of bacteria colonies. In the gastrointestinal tract comprises of more than one trillion beneficial bacteria, mostly microorganisms that are anaerobes, which can survive in the absence of oxygen. The vast majority of these bacteria inhabit the large intestine, or colon, where they are restricted to its walls away from other parts of the body. In the intestine, these bacterium assists in the fermentation of indigestible fiber in the food, breaking it down into smaller molecules that are degraded and passed out as feces.
On the other hand, non-beneficial as the name implies are the exact opposite of beneficial bacterium. These are pathogenic ones that are harmful to their host and can maneuver through the barriers of normal floral, bypass the epithelia barrier and make it straight to the bloodstream where they cause disease for the host. What sets them apart from the normal floral can be found in their gene which confers on them their virulence factor. While we develop the normal floral after birth, pathogens can make it into their host through different ports of entry. Some make it in through the mouth and to the intestines and cause