Page:Bacteria, why do they make me sick?.pdf/13

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Dr. Gino Corsini Acuña
Science Communication Center

In this way, drinking purified or chlorinated water, having a diet with a high or low content of fiber, sugar or fat, may select different intestinal bacteria due to their capacity to use mineral and essential nutrients.

MICROBIOME

The microbiome is defined as the microorganisms located normally in different parts of the body of multicellular organisms, such as the human body. In this way, the normal microbiome characterizes health, and its alterations may indicate there is a disease. These changes may be harmless when the microbiome and its basic functional properties remain present, but when these functions are lost, diseases may appear.

The information obtained from the study of the different microbiome has added a new concept of disease, one that is caused by a community of microorganisms and not by a particular pathogen. This new definition goes beyond the traditional infectious diseases and it may include immune and metabolic disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and celiac disease.

Most of the bacteria that colonize the

bowel belong to the phylum Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. To establish their niche, some bacteria use antibacterial peptides, bacteriocins or metabolite that prevents the proliferation of other competitive species. These molecules are also beneficial to the host because they eliminate invasive bacteria such as Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Clostridium difficile, Bacillus cereus, and other pathogens.

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