Microbiota

Research and post about a microbe that is part of the human microbiome.
The only real restriction for this discussion post is that whatever microbe you choose should be a regular part of the human microbiome and should NOT be primarily a pathogen in the human body (though it is worth noting that some some members of the microbiome can be pathogenic under certain circumstances – E. coli is a great example of a microbe that is usually a helpful member of your microbiota but can also be a horrible disease).

Briefly research and then describe a microbe found in the human microbiome. Your post should include all of the following:

What microbe are you investigating? What type of microbe is it (bacteria, fungus, etc)?
Where does this microbe live on you?
The Microbiota video that you watched from the last module described microbes of the microbiota as fitting into one of three categories:
Ones that essentially take up space instead of more problematic bacteria and are ignored by the immune system
“Guests” that harm us, but we have not been able to get rid of entirely
Microbes that help us in different ways
Which category would you say that your microbe fits into and why, based on information from your source(s)? In your answer to this question, you might consider: What are the positive effects of this microbe? Are there ever any negative effects of this microbe?

Something else interesting you found out about the microbe.

Most of your post should be focused on the third part of this prompt – your characterization of the microbe and reasoning for that characterization. There is not necessarily a “right” or “wrong” answer to this question, but your reasoning for why you think your microbe fits into a certain category should be logical and based on information that you got from your sources.

As always, make sure to post a link to your source(s). As with all discussion posts where you cite outside sources, make sure that you are not quoting directly from your source. All information from the source should be paraphrased, in your own words.

Response Expectations

Your discussion post will be graded on:

1) Did you address all parts of the prompt?

2) Did you include your source(s) in a way that it can be looked up by another student or the instructors? Did you paraphrase, instead of directly quoting your source(s)?

3) Was your post constructive and appropriate in tone?

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