Normal Flora

Definition :-
 Also called “Human microbiota”.

 Normal flora are the microorganisms that live on another living

organism (human or animal) or inanimate object without causing
disease.

 So it is not a single bacterium, but it is large amounts of bacteria

that varies depending on the place.
Anatomical areas :-

 Skin
 Propionibacterium acnes, is a Gram positive bacterium that
inhabits the skin, and they live in pores and glands where oxygen
levels are lower

 Respiratory system
 Staphylococcus aureus, infamous Gram positive bacterium,
best known for its role in hospitals, as it causes MRSA (Methicillin
Resistant Staphylococcus aureus), it is a serious disease as it makes the
human resistant to all commercially available antibiotics.
Cont’d
 GIT
 Small Intestine has less concentration of bacteria in it, that is because the fast flow of food,
thus the role of the bacteria is not so important as the enzymes do the majority of work .
 But in the colon it is vise versa, as the flow is slower, which give a chance for bacteria to
reproduce and digest the indigested food by fermentation as the cellulose, thus the bacteria
do the majority of the work.

 It is also found in :-
 Vagina, uterus and placenta
 Urethra and the bladder
 Mouth and stomach
Function of normal flora :-

 Digestion of substrates
 Production of vitamins
 Stimulation of cell maturation
 Stimulation of the immune system
 Aid in intestinal transit
 Colonization resistance
Microbiomes :-
 The human microbiome is defined as the collection of
microbes, bacteria, viruses, and single-cell eukaryotes - that inhabits the
human body.
 Microbes in a healthy human adult are estimated to outnumber human cells
by a ratio of ten to one, and the total number of genes in the microbiome
exceeds the number of genes in the human genome by a factor of at least 200.
Function of microbiomes :-