Download Reading/Writing Assignment for BIOL 250 Food

Reading/Writing Assignment for BIOL 250
Food Microbes, LABs and Probiotics: SPRING, 2017
Read the article entitled “Fermented Foods, Lactobacilli and Health” (pdf on web site) and answer the
following questions about the article’s content. Be prepared to discuss the answers in class (April 20)
and to see the questions again on an exam.
Why do Lactobacilli (or LAB) make good model organisms for the studies described in this article?
Are Lactobacilli part of the “normal” human flora?
What is a “probiotic” based on the WHO definition.
What is meant by “multiple lineages” of microbes in fermented foods?
The authors paraphrase experimental results to indicate that the number of gene families found
increased with each Lactobacillus species genome sequenced. How does this suggest that the genetic
potential of these organisms is not yet completely uncovered?
What are some ways that LAB altered foods have an impact on human health?
What are three broad mechanism through which probiotic organisms might act in the human digestive
tract?
You are not required to turn in your answers to these questions. We will have our class discussion of the
article and the questions on April 20. Be prepared for an in-class writing assignment on April 20.