Probiotics and Symbiosis: Microbial Ecology and Human Health

Microbial ecology is the study of microorganisms, which include bacteria, viruses, and microscopic plants and animals, and how they relate to one another and their environment. Basically, in the health industry, someone who works in microbial ecology will be concerned with the behavior of microbes. Microorganisms are interesting because they are just as diverse in their relationships as living things that are higher functioning organisms.

Have you ever thought of how bacteria and viruses have lived since the beginning of time itself, and they continue to thrive? Part of the reason is that microbes form symbiotic relationships with one another, so in a human way it is kind of like being married or having close friendships. In many ways we humans are the symbiotic hosts.

An example of a symbiotic relationship is when microbes live in harmony with other living things. Many microbes live in harmony with other living things, such as bacteria and algae. Algae need Vitamin B-12 to be healthy, but they can't make it on their own, so a symbiotic relationship with a certain kind of bacteria allows for the manufacture of Vitamin B-12. These different species live together in a mutual give and take relationship without ever doing harm to one another.

Symbiosis takes place between microbes and humans. Often when we get sick and need to take antibiotics to kill the harmful bacteria that is making us sick, the medication also kills the beneficial bacteria that keeps us healthy. Beneficial bacteria are called probiotics, and they are found in cultured foodstuffs, such as buttermilk, yogurt and yogurt based drinks. Probiotics are the healthy organisms and we are the host. Men and women on antibiotic therapy often get yeast infections. Women get vaginal yeast infections and men get the same infection, but it is called jock itch. Often the doctor prescribing the antibiotic will advise his patient to drink buttermilk or eat yogurt to prevent a yeast infection. The probiotics in yogurt are very similar to the normal flora found in the body, therefor probiotics help put back the normal flora that were killed by the antibiotic therapy.