Morphology

Question 1

What is microbiota?

Answer 1

Particular community of microbes residing in environment

Question 2

What is microbiome?

Answer 2

The genes which are carried by the microbiota

Question 3

When was the NIH Human Microbiome Project launched?

Answer 3

2007

Question 4

What did the NIH Human Microbiome Project characterize?

Answer 4

Microbial communities from 300 healthy individuals

Question 5

What are the sites characterized in the NIH Human Microbiome Project?

Answer 5

• Nasal passages
• Oral cavity
• Skin
• Gastrointestinal tract
• Urogenital tract

Question 6

What is taxonomic profiling?

Answer 6

16s rRNA gene sequencing

Question 7

What is functional profiling?

Answer 7

Metagenomic shotgun sequencing

Question 8

What was the goal of Phase 2 of the NIH Human Microbiome Project in 2014?

Answer 8

Create integrated longitudinal datasets from both microbiome and host from three different cohort studies of microbiome-associated conditions

Question 9

What area of research is the gut microbiome associated with?

Answer 9

Human health and disease

Question 10

What are AMR genes?

Answer 10

Antimicrobial resistant genes

Question 11

What does richness refer to in a microbial community?

Answer 11

Number of species in a community

Question 12

What does diversity refer to in a microbial community?

Answer 12

Includes a measure of number of species in a community and abundance

Question 13

What factors affect the gut microbiome?

Answer 13

• Diet
• Birth mode
• Age
• Drugs

Question 14

How do drugs affect the microbiome?

Answer 14

Transform drug structure via enzymes, change bioavailability, activity, and toxicity

Question 15

What is one effect of antibiotics on the gut microbiome?

Answer 15

Selects for new mutations and gene transfers conferring resistance

Question 16

What are potential outcomes of antibiotic use on the microbiota?

Answer 16

• Lower bacterial diversity
• Gene expression altered
• Protein activity and metabolism changed
• Increased susceptibility to infections

Question 17

What is dysbiosis?

Answer 17

Microbial gut dysbiosis: change types and number of microbial populations

Question 18

What is a pathobiont?

Answer 18

Potentially pathological organism that lives as a non-harming symbiont

Question 19

What is symbiosis?

Answer 19

Relationship where two or more species live closely together

Question 20

What does IBD stand for?

Answer 20

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Question 21

What are two types of IBD?

Answer 21

• Crohn’s disease
• Ulcerative disease

Question 22

What are common symptoms of IBD?

Answer 22

• Pain
• Cramps
• Swelling
• Diarrhoea
• Weight loss
• Extreme tiredness

Question 23

What is the treatment approach for IBD?

Answer 23

• No cure
• Treat symptoms
• Immunosuppressants
• Biologics
• Antibiotics
• Diet
• Surgery

Question 24

What are regulatory T cells responsible for?

Answer 24

Suppressing the immune system

Question 25

What do effector T cells do?

Answer 25

Execute immune functions

Question 26

What is the role of dendritic cells?

Answer 26

Antigen presenting cells

Question 27

What is the function of macrophages?

Answer 27

Engulf foreign materials and initiate immune response

Question 28

What are cytokines involved in?

Answer 28

Cell signaling in the immune system

Question 29

What do Paneth cells help regulate?

Answer 29

Intestinal flora

Question 30

What is the microbiome-gut axis?

Answer 30

The connection between the gut microbiome and various body systems

Question 31

What is the role of the vagus nerve in the microbiome?

Answer 31

Transmit signals from microbial activity in the gut to the brain

Question 32

What are microbial metabolites?

Answer 32

Substances produced by gut bacteria that can influence brain function

Question 33

What is produced by gut bacteria that influences brain function?

Answer 33

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA)

Question 34

What influences serotonin production?

Answer 34

Microbial metabolites

Question 35

What is tryptophan metabolism a precursor for?

Answer 35

Serotonin and kynurenine metabolites

Question 36

How does gut microbiota influence the immune system?

Answer 36

Affects cytokine production and neuroinflammation

Question 37

What axis does gut microbiota influence related to stress?

Answer 37

Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis

Question 38

What are methods for preventing and treating gut dysbiosis?

Answer 38

* Prebiotics * Probiotics * Antimicrobial stewardship * Diet * Faecal microbiota transplantation

Question 39

What is faecal microbiota transplantation?

Answer 39

Transfer of healthy bacteria from faecal matter of a healthy donor to the intestine of a patient

Question 40

What conditions is faecal microbiota transplantation recommended for?

Answer 40

* Recurrent C. difficile infection * IBD * Autoimmune disorders * Allergic disorders * Metabolic disorders