CH391L/S13/Probiotics

Probiotics

A probiotic (from the Latin, pro-, "in favor, for" and the Greek , biōtikós, "pertaining to life")refers to live microorganism that provides a benefit to the host, either directly or indirectly, by via interactions with the hosts cells or the host's microbiota. Such microorganism will interact by producing bioactives, biological compounds and macromolecules, that will produce such benefit.Although the concept of a probiotic has evolved since the the last century and the the first years of the current century that it acquired the current definition and we can see the health benefits humans can gain from he understanding of such interactions. Some research currently ongoing include the Human Microbiome Project[], and the use on single organisms to prevent disease. For example, the use of fecal transplantation for antibiotic-associated diarrea[].

Probiotics: Why we care.

To understand the reason why we care about probiotics, at how we gained our current understanding of the microbiota and the relation that exists mainly by studying the gut microbiota.

=== Gut microbiome and its benefits ====

• The gut flora can be seen as a collection of bacteria[] This currently has been expanded to include also archea, fungi, and viruses.
• The gut microbiome is described as a complex system of microbe-microbe and host-microbe interactions that exist in stable populations.
• The advent of antiomicrobials and antibiotics that cause dysbiosis [] and leads to observation of "bacterial barrier" that prevents other microorganisms to colonize the gut.

iGEM 2009: Stanford's Approach to Probiotics

http://2009.igem.org/Team:Stanford/ProjectPage

Probiotics and the Media links

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/02/140146780/probiotic-bacteria-chill-out-anxious-mice http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8261808/Designer-probiotic-yogurts-could-help-people-lose-weight.html

References

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8. Leemhuis H, Kelly RM, Dijkhuizen L. Directed evolution of enzymes: library screening strategies. IUBMB Life, 2009.