MICROBIOME

Introduction to Health and Exercise Science

천나영
Claudia Guillen
Yeo Ker Yi
 TABLE
of contents

01. Introduction 04. Fecal Transplants

02. Significance of Microbiome 05. Microbiome and Mental Health

03. Various types of Microbes 06. Maintaining healthy Microbiome

Microbiome

The collection of all microbes, such as

bacteria, fungi, viruses, and their genes, that
naturally live on our bodies and inside us.
Human
Microbiome
The microorganisms living on and inside the
human body, primarily in the gut, but also on
the skin, in the mouth, and other areas.
 Early Discoveries in Microbiology
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
• Often referred to as the "Father of
Microbiology"
• Discovered "animalcules"
• Provided the earliest evidence of
the microbial world
Louis Pasteur
• Proved that microorganisms are
responsible for fermentation and
spoilage
• Proposed that microorganisms
are the cause of many diseases
Robert Koch
• Developed methods for
isolating and culturing bacteria
• Identified specific pathogens
responsible for diseases like
tuberculosis and cholera
 Key Milestones in Microbiome Research
Microbiome and Disease Associations
Human Microbiome Project (HMP) (2007)
• Research to uncover links between
• Phase 1: Focused on identifying and
microbiome composition and various health
cataloguing the microbiomes of healthy
conditions
individuals across five major body sites
Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Fecal
• Phase 2: Examined the role of the microbiome
Microbiota Transplantation (FMT)
in specific diseases, such as IBD, pregnancy-
• Growing interest in manipulating the
related conditions, and preterm birth.
microbiome to improve health led to the
development and use of probiotics and
prebiotics
 Significance of Microbiome
Digestive Health Immune System Regulation
• aids in the digestion and absorption of nutrients from • regulate immune response
• protecting the body from pathogens
food
• breaks down complex carbohydrates and fibres • maintaining immune tolerance to prevent autoimmune
• produce essential nutrients like Vitamin K, B12 diseases

Mental Health & Brain Function Metabolic Function

• produces neurotransmitters and influences the production
of hormones that affect mood, behaviour, and cognitive
function
• associated with mental health disorders like anxiety,
depression, and neurodegenerative diseases
• influences energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, and
regulation of blood sugar levels
• linked to metabolic disorders such as obesity and type 2
diabetes
Various Types
of Microbes
There are several types of microbes, which
include bacteria, archaea, protozoa, fungi,
algae, lichens, slime molds, viruses, and
prions.
 Bacteria
01 Ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one
biological cell.

Archaea
A domain of single-celled organisms. These microorganisms lack
cell nuclei and are therefore prokaryotic. 02
Protozoa
03 Unicellular eukaryotes that have a relatively complex internal
structure and carry out complex metabolic activities
 Fungi
04 Any of a wide variety of organisms that reproduce by spores,
including the mushrooms, molds, yeasts, and mildews.

Algae
Any of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic, eukaryotic
organisms. 05
Lichens
06 A symbiosis of algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of
multiple fungi species.
 Slime molds
07 An informal name given to a polyphyletic assemblage of unrelated
eukaryotic organisms.

Viruses
A submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the
living cells of an organism. 08
Prions
09 A prion is a type of protein that can trigger normal proteins in the
brain to fold abnormally.
Fecal Transplants

An experimental treatment in which fecal

bacteria from a healthy individual are
introduced in a recipient with the aim to
establish a healthy diverse microbiome within
the gut.
 History of
Fecal Transplants
About 1700 years ago, a Chinese researcher gave his
patients with severe diarrhoea, a ‘yellow soup’, containing
stool and water. This ‘soup’ was taken orally.

The delivery approach has evolved, and the first official

fecal transplantation in humans was performed in 1958.
 Fecal Transplant
Therapy Process

1. Taking healthy bacteria from the stool of a donor

2. Processing the stool
3. Delivering it to a sick recipient
Fecal Transplant Therapy Delivery Methods

Colonoscopy Upper Endoscopy Enema Oral capsule

Passing a slim tube Passing a tube from the Delivers therapeutics Capsules containing
with a tiny camera mouth or nose, through through a tube inserted freeze-dried, live fecal
attached into the colon esophagus, and into into the rectum microbiota to be
through the rectum stomach or small consumed orally
intestine
The Effects of
Fecal Transplant
In a study from Arizona State University, researchers
investigated the impact of fecal transplant on gut microbiota
composition and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
symptoms. Investigators reported that gastrointestinal
symptoms and ASD behaviour improved.
Remarkably, two years post-treatment, most improvements
in gut microbiota were maintained, and autism-related
symptoms improved even more. A professional evaluator
also found a 45% reduction in core ASD symptoms.
Microbiome and
Mental Health
Within the human body, there is a gut-brain
axis (GBA), which is a bi-directional
connection between the brain and the gut.
Gut Microbiome
• When you are a baby your gut microbiome is developing and as
you grow older and eat more foods it keeps growing
• Each person has a unique microbiome from all of the bacteria
they acquired growing up
• Changing your diet can change your bacterial makeup in as little
as 24 hours
• There is a balance of both pathogenic and symbiotic bacteria
 Disturbances in
Microbiome
• Changes in diet, stress levels and duration, antibiotics and other factors can lead to
dysbiosis, or an imbalance in the microbiome
• There is a special barrier in the intestine that stops food particles and bacteria from
entering the blood stream and only allows nutrients.
• In dysbiosis the barrier becomes permeable (leaky-gut syndrome) and this allows
bacteria and molecules in the blood stream that should non be there.
• This affects the immune system, body and brain
⚬ This has been linked to inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, anxiety,
asthma, depression, and other conditions.
How Maintain a Good Microbiome

1
Eat a variety of foods to
2
Eat vegetables, beans, legumes,
3
Eat fermented foods
increase gut microbiome fruit, and whole grains to supply • They are rich in probiotics
diversity nutrients (live bacteria and other
• They contain a high content of organisms that provide
fiber and complex carbs health benefits)
(prebiotics). They cannot be • Examples: Yoghurt, Miso,
digested by human cells but Kombucha
feed the gut bacteria
How Maintain a Good Microbiome
4
Eat polyphenols and foods rich
in antioxidants
• Polyphenols are compounds
in plant foods that have an
anti-inflammatory effect
promote growth of
beneficial gut bacteria
5
Take probiotic supplements to
6
Fecal transplants to restore the
restore balance in gut microbiome gut microbiome after a bacterial
with beneficial bacteria and yeast infection causes an imbalance
for those whose microbiomes have (ex. clostridium difficile)
been impacted by medication,
disease, etc.
THANK
YOU!
 References

• https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/science/microbiome#:~:text=Introduction,to%20human%20health%20and
%20wellness.
• https://microbenotes.com/microbiology-history-scientists/
• https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/Types-of-Microbes.aspx#:~:text=There%20are%20several%20types
%20of,time%20outside%20their%20host%20cells.
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/24494-bacteria
• https://zoe.com/learn/the-gut-microbiome-and-your-health
• https://www.omixon.com/fecal-transplantation/
• https://www.health.qld.gov.au/newsroom/features/the-links-between-your-gut-microbiome-and-mental-health-is-your-bug-
half-affecting-your-mental-wellbeing