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(TOPIC) VIRUSES, BACTERIA AND PARASITES IN THE DIGESTIVE TRACT

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VIRUSES, BACTERIA AND PARASITES IN THE DIGESTIVE TRACT

What are viruses, bacteria, and parasites? Viruses, bacteria, and parasites are living organisms that are found all around us. They exist in water and soil, on the surfaces of foods that we eat and on surfaces that we touch, such as countertops in the bathroom or kitchen. Some bacteria live in our bodies and do not cause problems. Other kinds of bacteria (as well as parasites and viruses) can make us quite ill if they invade our bodies. Bacteria and viruses can live outside of the human body (for instance, on a countertop) sometimes for many hours or days. Parasites, however, require a living host in order to survive. Bacteria and parasites can usually be destroyed with antibiotics. On the other hand, antibiotics cannot kill viruses. Children with viral illnesses can be given medications to make them comfortable, but antibiotics are ineffective against treating these infections. Bacteria, viruses, and parasites can cause a wide variety of illnesses, and can infect any of the organs of the body. Viruses are often responsible for respiratory illnesses (such as the common cold) and digestive illnesses (such as diarrhea). Bacteria can infect any part of the body, but often cause diarrhea when they invade the digestive tract.

PARASITE
Parasite is an organism that depends on another organism, known as a host, for food and shelter. As an example, tapeworms live in the digestive system of a large variety of animals. The tapeworms have no digestive system of their own, but absorb nutrients through their skin from partially digested food as it passes through the host. A parasite usually gains all the benefits of this relationship. In contrast, the host may suffer from various diseases, infections, and discomforts as a result of the parasitic attack. In some cases, however, the host may show no signs at all of infection by the parasite. The life cycle of a typical parasite commonly includes several developmental stages. During these stages, the parasite may go through two or more changes in body structure as it lives and moves through the environment and one or more hosts. Parasites that remain on a host's body surface to feed are called ectoparasites, while those that live inside a host's body are called endoparasites. Parasitism is a highly successful biological

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adaptation. More parasitic species are known than nonparasitic ones. Parasites affect just about every form of life, including nearly all animals, plants, and even bacteria.

The study of parasites

Parasitology is the study of parasites and their relationships with host organisms. Throughout history, people have coped with over 100 types of parasites affecting humans. Parasites have not, however, been systematically studied until the last few centuries. With his invention of the microscope in the late 1600s, the Dutch scientist Anton von Leeuwenhoek (16321723) was perhaps the first person to observe microscopic parasites. As Westerners began to travel and work more often in tropical parts of the world, medical researchers had to study and treat a variety of new infections, many of which were caused by parasites. By the early 1900s, parasitology had developed as a specialized field of study. Typically, a parasitic infection does not directly kill a host. The stress placed on the organism's resources can affect its growth, ability to reproduce, and survival. This stress can sometimes lead to the host's premature death. Parasites, and the diseases they cause and transmit, have been responsible for tremendous human suffering and loss of life throughout history. The majority of parasitic infections occur within tropical regions and among low-income populations. However, almost all regions of the world sustain parasitic species, and all humans are susceptible to infection.

Infectious diseases
An infectious disease, or infection, is a condition that results when a parasitic organism attacks a host and begins to multiply. As the parasite multiplies, it interferes with the normal life functions of the host more and more. The host begins to feel ill as a symptom of the parasite's invasion and activities. In many cases, the host's immune system (which fights foreign bodies in the body) may be able to respond to the parasite and destroy it. In many other cases, however, the parasitic infection may over-whelm the immune system, resulting in serious disease and even death. Until a century ago, infections were the primary means of human "population control" worldwide, often killing enormous numbers of people in epidemics of diseases such as bubonic plague and typhoid fever. Even today, infections actually cause more deaths during war and famine than do actual injuries and starvation. Fortunately, many infectious diseases can now be treated by means of antibiotics and other drugs and by a variety of preventative methods. Almost all infections contracted by humans pass from other humans or animals. Some infections originate from outside the body, among them a cold from kissing someone with a cold; rabies from a dog bite; hepatitis B from a contaminated needle entering the bloodstream; hepatitis A from germs transferred from fingers to mouth after touching a dirty toilet seat; measles, mumps, and the flu from tiny moisture particles that exit the mouth and nose when a person sneezes, coughs, or talks; syphilis from an infected sex partner; tetanus from a soil-contaminated wound; salmonella from ingesting undercooked eggs, meat, and poultry; and many diseases ranging from the relatively innocent to the fatalsuch as gastroenteritis, cholera, and dysenteryfrom drinking or bathing in contaminated water. Endogenous (caused by factors within the organism) infections occur when the host's resistance is lowered, perhaps by malnutrition, illness, trauma, or immune depression. Weakening of the host's immune system may permit normally harmless organisms already present in or on the host or in the environment to cause illness.

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Types of parasites
The major types of organisms that cause parasitic infections include species of protozoa, helminths or worms, and arthropods. Protozoa. Protozoa are single-celled organisms that carry out most of the same physiological functions as more complex organisms. More than 45,000 species of protozoa are known, many of which are parasitic. As parasites of humans, this group of organisms has historically been the cause of more suffering and death than any other category of diseasecausing organisms. Intestinal protozoa occur throughout the world. They are especially common in areas where food and water sources are subject to contamination from animal and human waste. Typically, protozoa that infect their host through water or food do so while in an inactive state, called a cyst. A cyst consists of a protozoan encased in a protective outer membrane. The membrane protects the organism as it travels through the digestive tract of a previous host. Once inside a new host, the parasite develops into a mature form that feeds and reproduces. Amebic dysentery is one of the most common parasitic diseases. It often afflicts travelers who visit tropical and subtropical regions. The condition is characterized by diarrhea, vomiting and weakness. It is caused by a protozoan known as Entamoeba histolytica. Another protozoan that causes severe diarrhea is Giardia lamblia. This organism was originally discovered by Leeuwenhoek and has been well-publicized as a parasite that can infect hikers who drink untreated water. Other types of parasitic protozoa infect the blood or tissues of their hosts. These protozoa are typically transmitted through another organism, called a vector. A vector is an organism that carries a parasite from one host to another host. In many cases, the vector is an invertebrate, such as an insect that itself feeds on a host and then passes the protozoan on through the bite wound. Some of the most infamous of these protozoa are the ones that cause malaria and African sleeping sickness. Helminths. Helminths are wormlike organisms including nematodes (roundworms), cestodes (tapeworms), and trematodes (flukes). Leeches are also helminths and are considered ectoparasitic, since they attach themselves to the outside skin of their hosts. One of the most infamous nematodes is Trichinella spiralis. At one stage of its life cycle, this nematode lives in the muscle tissue of animals, including swine. Eventually, these organisms make their way into the intestinal tissue of humans who happen to ingest infected, undercooked pork. The largest parasitic roundworm, common among humans living in tropical developing countries, is Ascaris lumbricoides. This roundworm can grow to a length of 35 centimeters (15 inches) within the small intestine of its host. A parasitic roundworm that affects dogs is Dirofilaria immitus, or heartworm. This worm infects the heart tissues and eventually weakens stage that embeds in the muscle and connective tissue of the animal. Infected animals that are processed for meat but improperly cooked still harbor the parasite, which are passed on when consumed by humans. The tapeworms develop into adults that attach to the intestinal lining of the host. Trematodes, or flukes, are another class of helminths that have parasitic species. Adult flukes are typically flat, oval-shaped worms that have a layer of muscles just below the skin. These muscles

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allow the worm to expand and contract its shape and, thus, move its body. Flukes usually have an oral sucker, sometimes ringed with hooks. They use the sucker to attach themselves to the host's tissues. Some of the most infamous flukes are species of the genus Schistosoma that cause the often-fatal disease known as schistosomiasis. These flukes infect human hosts directly by burrowing into the skin of a person wading or swimming in infected water. One species, S. mansoni, enters the bloodstream as an immature worm and can be carried through various organs, including the lungs and heart, before maturing in the liver. Arthropods. Arthropods are organisms characterized by exterior skeletons and segmented bodies. Examples include the crustaceans, insects, and arachnids. The arthropods are the most diverse and widely distributed animals on the planet. Many arthropod species serve as carriers of bacterial and viral diseases, as intermediate hosts for protozoan and helminth parasites, and as parasites themselves. Certain insect species are the carriers of some of humanity's most dreaded diseases, including malaria, typhus, and plague. As consumers of agricultural crops and parasites of our livestock, insects are also humankind's number-one competitor for resources. Mosquitoes are the most notorious carriers of disease and parasites. Female mosquitoes rely on warm-blooded hosts to serve as a blood meal to nourish their eggs. During the process of penetrating a host's skin with their long, sucking mouth parts, saliva from the mosquito is transferred into the bite area. Any viral, protozoan, or helminth infections carried in the biting mosquito can be transferred directly into the blood stream of its host. Among these diseases are malaria, yellow fever, filariasis, elephantiasis, and heartworm. Flies also harbor diseases that can be transmitted to humans and other mammals when they bite to obtain a blood meal for themselves. For example, black flies can carry Onchocerciasis (which causes river blindness), sandflies can carry leishmaniasis and kala-azar, and tsetse flies can carry the trypanosomes that cause sleeping sickness. Livestock, such as horses and cattle, can be infected with a variety of botflies and warbles that infest and feed on the skin, throat, nasal passages, and stomachs of their hosts. Fleas and lice are two of the most common and irritating parasitic insects of humans and livestock. Lice commonly live among the hairs of their hosts, feeding on blood. Some species are carriers of typhus fever. Fleas usually infest birds and mammals, and can feed on humans when they are transferred from pets or livestock. Fleas are known to carry a variety of devastating diseases, including the plague. Another prominent class of arthropods that contains parasitic species is the arachnids. Included in this group are spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites. Mites are very small arachnids that infest both plants and animals. One common type of mite is the chigger, which lives in grasses. As larvae, they may grab onto passing animals and attach themselves to the skin, often leading to irritating rashes or bite wounds. Scabies are another Ticks also live their adult lives among grasses and short shrubs. They are typically larger than mites. The adult female tick attaches itself to an animal host for a blood meal. Tick bites themselves can be painful and irritating. More importantly, ticks can carry a number of diseases that affect humans. The most common of these diseases include Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever, and Lyme disease.

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Control of parasites
Many parasitic infections can be treated by a variety of medical procedures, such as the use of antibiotics. The best way of controlling infection, however, is prevention. Scientists have developed and continue to test a number of drugs that can be taken as a barrier to certain parasites. Other measures of control include improving sanitary conditions of water and food sources, proper cooking techniques, education about personal hygiene, and control of intermediate and vector host organisms.

BACTERIA
Our digestive tract has tons of bacteria. Some are beneficial and promote good health. These are called probiotics (meaning 'for life'). Other bacteria are harmful to our health. These are the bacteria that often require the need for antibiotics (meaning 'against life'). Probiotics are present in many cultured foods such as yogurt and kefir. Humans have consumed these foods for centuries. Much research confirms the multitude of beneficial aspects which probiotics confer to good health. These include: However, there is also bad bacteria that can overrun out bodies and cause illness and havoc with health. There are several ways bad bacteria can get started. Using too many antibiotics without probiotics can lead to bad bacteria overgrowth. A poor diet can also encourage bad bacteria growth. Poor elimination of waste, chronic constipation, and not enough fiber in the diet can lead to bad bacteria. Here is some info on how diet impacts bacteria growth (a nice article which also promotes their product and not specifically endorsed by this site) Bad bacteria appears to be much easier to get rid of than yeast overgrowth. Bacteria is characterized by:

aggression, moodiness, irritability, 'anger' for no apparent reason sleep problems but not with the inappropriate giggling or laughter really foul smelling stools or body odor (we are talking incredible STENCH); bad breath; stinky sweat ammonia odor frequently occurs with constipation (infrequent painful stools, streaking/smearing in underwear, etc); see encopresis/chronic constipation

Bacteria is composed of proteins. If you are needing to treat a bad bacteria problem, you might want to add strong proteases, such as Peptizyde. Protease enzymes tend to have a synergistic effect with antibiotics making the bacteria control more effective.

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Strong proteases can impact bacteria killing them off. While No-Fenol can be quite helpful with bacteria and colon problems, the die-off from No-Fenol is not nearly as pronounced as No-Fenol on yeast. No-Fenol contains cellulases which act on yeast but not bacteria. Yeast is composed of proteins and celluloses (much more cellulases involved).

Cellular structure

Structure and contents of a typical Gram positivebacterial cell

Intracellular structures
The bacterial cell is surrounded by a lipid membrane, or cell membrane, which encloses the contents of the cell and acts as a barrier to hold nutrients, proteins and other essential components of the cytoplasm within the cell. As they are prokaryotes, bacteria do not tend to have membrane-bound organelles in their cytoplasm and thus contain few large intracellular structures. They consequently lack a nucleus,mitochondria, chloroplasts and the other organelles present in eukaryotic cells, such as the Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum.[44] Bacteria were once seen as simple bags of cytoplasm, but elements such as prokaryotic cytoskeleton,[45][46] and the localization of proteins to specific locations within the cytoplasm[45] have been found to show levels of complexity. These subcellular compartments have been called "bacterial hyperstructures".[47] Micro-compartments such as carboxysome[48] provides a further level of organization, which are compartments within bacteria that are surrounded by polyhedral protein shells, rather than by lipid membranes.[49] These "polyhedral organelles" localize and compartmentalize bacterial metabolism, a function performed by the membrane-bound organelles in eukaryotes.[50][51] Many important biochemical reactions, such as energy generation, occur by concentration gradients across membranes, a potential difference also found in a battery. The general lack of internal membranes in bacteria means reactions such as electron transport occur across the cell membrane between the cytoplasm and

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the periplasmic space.[52] However, in many photosynthetic bacteria the plasma membrane is highly folded and fills most of the cell with layers of light-gathering membrane.[53] These light-gathering complexes may even form lipid-enclosed structures called chlorosomes in green sulfur bacteria.[54] Other proteins import nutrients across the cell membrane, or to expel undesired molecules from the cytoplasm.

Carboxysomes are protein-enclosed bacterial organelles. Top left is an electron microscope image of carboxysomes in Halothiobacillus neapolitanus, below is an image of purified carboxysomes. On the right is a model of their structure. Scale bars are 100 nm.[55] Bacteria do not have a membrane-bound nucleus, and their genetic material is typically a single circularchromosome located in the cytoplasm in an irregularly shaped body called the nucleoid.[56] The nucleoid contains the chromosome with associated proteins and RNA. The order Planctomycetes are an exception to the general absence of internal membranes in bacteria, because they have a membrane around their nucleoid and contain other membrane-bound cellular structures.[57] Like all living organisms, bacteria contain ribosomes for the production of proteins, but the structure of the bacterial ribosome is different from those of eukaryotes and Archaea.[58] Some bacteria produce intracellular nutrient storage granules, such as glycogen,[59] polyphosphate,[60]sulfur[61] or polyhydroxyalkanoates.[62] These granules enable bacteria to store compounds for later use. Certain bacterial species, such as the photosynthetic Cyanobacteria, produce internal gas vesicles, which they use to regulate their buoyancy allowing them to move up or down into water layers with different light intensities and nutrient levels

Metabolism
Bacteria exhibit an extremely wide variety of metabolic types.[84] The distribution of metabolic traits within a group of bacteria has traditionally been used to define their taxonomy, but these traits often do not correspond with modern genetic classifications.[85] Bacterial metabolism is classified into nutritional groups on the basis of three major criteria: the kind of energy used for growth, the source of carbon, and

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the electron donors used for growth. An additional criterion of respiratory microorganisms are the electron acceptors used for aerobic or anaerobic respiration.[86] Nutritional types in bacterial metabolism

Nutritional type

Source of Source of carbon Examples energy

Phototrophs

Sunlight

Organic compounds Cyanobacteria, Green sulfur (photoheterotrophs bacteria, Chloroflexi, or Purple bacteria ) or carbon fixation (photoautotrophs)

Lithotrophs

Organic Inorganic compounds Thermodesulfobacteria, Hydrogenophilac compound (lithoheterotrophs) eae, orNitrospirae s or carbon fixation (lithoautotrophs)

Organic compounds Organic (chemoheterotroph Bacillus, Clostridium or Enterobacteriace Organotrop compound s) or carbon ae hs s fixation (chemoautotrophs)

Carbon metabolism in bacteria is either heterotrophic, where organic carbon compounds are used as carbon sources, or autotrophic, meaning that cellular carbon is obtained by fixing carbon dioxide. Heterotrophic bacteria include parasitic types. Typical autotrophic bacteria are phototrophic cyanobacteria, green sulfur-bacteria and some purple bacteria, but also many chemolithotrophic species, such as nitrifying or sulfur-oxidising bacteria.[87] Energy metabolism of bacteria is either based on phototrophy, the use of light through photosynthesis, or onchemotrophy, the use of chemical substances for energy, which are mostly oxidised at the expense of oxygen or alternative electron acceptors (aerobic/anaerobic respiration).

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Filaments of photosyntheticcyanobacteria Finally, bacteria are further divided into lithotrophs that use inorganic electron donors and organotrophsthat use organic compounds as electron donors. Chemotrophic organisms use the respective electron donors for energy conservation (by aerobic/anaerobic respiration or fermentation) and biosynthetic reactions (e.g. carbon dioxide fixation), whereas phototrophic organisms use them only for biosynthetic purposes. Respiratory organisms use chemical compounds as a source of energy by taking electrons from the reduced substrate and transferring them to a terminal electron acceptor in a redox reaction. This reaction releases energy that can be used to synthesise ATP and drive metabolism. In aerobic organisms, oxygen is used as the electron acceptor. In anaerobic organisms other inorganic compounds, such as nitrate, sulfate or carbon dioxide are used as electron acceptors. This leads to the ecologically important processes of denitrification, sulfate reduction and acetogenesis, respectively. Another way of life of chemotrophs in the absence of possible electron acceptors is fermentation, where the electrons taken from the reduced substrates are transferred to oxidised intermediates to generate reduced fermentation products (e.g. lactate, ethanol, hydrogen, butyric acid). Fermentation is possible, because the energy content of the substrates is higher than that of the products, which allows the organisms to synthesise ATP and drive their metabolism.[88][89] These processes are also important in biological responses to pollution; for example, sulfate-reducing bacteria are largely responsible for the production of the highly toxic forms of mercury (methyl- and dimethylmercury) in the environment.[90] Nonrespiratory anaerobes usefermentation to generate energy and reducing power, secreting metabolic by-products (such as ethanol in brewing) as waste. Facultative anaerobes can switch between fermentation and different terminal electron acceptors depending on the environmental conditions in which they find themselves. Lithotrophic bacteria can use inorganic compounds as a source of energy. Common inorganic electron donors are hydrogen, carbon monoxide, ammonia (leading to nitrification), ferrous iron and other reduced metal ions, and several reduced sulfur compounds. Unusually, the gas methane can be used by methanotrophic bacteria as both a source of electrons and a substrate for carbon anabolism.[91] In both aerobic phototrophy and chemolithotrophy, oxygen is used as a terminal electron acceptor, while under anaerobic conditions inorganic compounds

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are used instead. Most lithotrophic organisms are autotrophic, whereas organotrophic organisms are heterotrophic. In addition to fixing carbon dioxide in photosynthesis, some bacteria also fix nitrogen gas (nitrogen fixation) using the enzyme nitrogenase. This environmentally important trait can be found in bacteria of nearly all the metabolic types listed above, but is not universal.[92]

Growth and reproduction

Unlike multicellular organisms, increases in the size of bacteria (cell growth) and their reproduction by cell division are tightly linked in unicellular organisms. Bacteria grow to a fixed size and then reproduce through binary fission, a form of asexual reproduction.[93] Under optimal conditions, bacteria can grow and divide extremely rapidly, and bacterial populations can double as quickly as every 9.8 minutes.[94] In cell division, two identical clone daughter cells are produced. Some bacteria, while still reproducing asexually, form more complex reproductive structures that help disperse the newly formed daughter cells. Examples include fruiting body formation by Myxobacteria and aerial hyphae formation by Streptomyces, or budding. Budding involves a cell forming a protrusion that breaks away and produces a daughter cell. In the laboratory, bacteria are usually grown using solid or liquid media. Solid growth media such as agar plates are used to isolate pure cultures of a bacterial strain. However, liquid growth media are used when measurement of growth or large volumes of cells are required. Growth in stirred liquid media occurs as an even cell suspension, making the cultures easy to divide and transfer, although isolating single bacteria from liquid media is difficult. The use of selective media (media with specific nutrients added or deficient, or with antibiotics added) can help identify specific organisms.[96] Most laboratory techniques for growing bacteria use high levels of nutrients to produce large amounts of cells cheaply and quickly. However, in natural environments nutrients are limited, meaning that bacteria cannot continue to reproduce indefinitely. This nutrient limitation has led the evolution of different growth strategies (see r/K selection theory). Some organisms can grow extremely rapidly when nutrients become available, such as the formation of algal (and cyanobacterial) blooms that often occur in lakes during the summer.[97] Other organisms have adaptations to harsh environments, such as the production of multiple antibiotics by Streptomyces that inhibit the growth of competing microorganisms.[98] In nature, many organisms live in communities (e.g. biofilms) which may allow for increased supply of nutrients and protection from

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environmental stresses.[40] These relationships can be essential for growth of a particular organism or group of organisms (syntrophy).[99] Bacterial growth follows three phases. When a population of bacteria first enter a highnutrient environment that allows growth, the cells need to adapt to their new environment. The first phase of growth is the lag phase, a period of slow growth when the cells are adapting to the high-nutrient environment and preparing for fast growth. The lag phase has high biosynthesis rates, as proteins necessary for rapid growth are produced.[100] The second phase of growth is the logarithmic phase (log phase), also known as the exponential phase. The log phase is marked by rapid exponential growth. The rate at which cells grow during this phase is known as the growth rate (k), and the time it takes the cells to double is known as the generation time (g). During log phase, nutrients are metabolised at maximum speed until one of the nutrients is depleted and starts limiting growth. The final phase of growth is the stationary phase and is caused by depleted nutrients. The cells reduce their metabolic activity and consume non-essential cellular proteins. The stationary phase is a transition from rapid growth to a stress response state and there is increased expression of genes involved in DNA repair, antioxidant metabolism and nutrient transport.[101]

GENETICS
Most bacteria have a single circular chromosome that can range in size from only 160,000 base pairs in the endosymbiotic bacteriaCandidatus Carsonella ruddii,[102] to 12,200,000 base pairs in the soil-dwelling bacteria Sorangium cellulosum.[103] Spirochaetes of the genusBorrelia are a notable exception to this arrangement, with bacteria such as Borrelia burgdorferi, the cause of Lyme disease, containing a single linear chromosome.[104] The genes in bacterial genomes are usually a single continuous stretch of DNA and although several different types of introns do exist in bacteria, these are much more rare than in eukaryotes.[105] Bacteria may also contain plasmids, which are small extra-chromosomal DNAs that may contain genes for antibiotic resistance or virulence factors. Bacteria, as asexual organisms, inherit identical copies of their parent's genes (i.e., they are clonal). However, all bacteria can evolve by selection on changes to their genetic material DNA caused by genetic recombination or mutations. Mutations come from errors made during the replication of DNA or from exposure to mutagens. Mutation rates vary widely among different species of bacteria and even among different clones of a single species of bacteria.[106] Genetic changes in bacterial genomes come from either random mutation during replication or "stress-directed mutation", where genes involved in a particular growth-limiting process have an increased mutation rate.[107] Some bacteria also transfer genetic material between cells. This can occur in three main ways. Firstly, bacteria can take up exogenous DNA from their environment, in a process called transformation. Genes can also be transferred by the process of transduction, when the integration of a bacteriophage introduces foreign DNA into the chromosome. The third method of gene transfer is bacterial conjugation, where DNA is transferred through direct cell contact. This gene acquisition from other bacteria or the environment is called horizontal gene transfer and may be common under natural

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conditions.[108] Gene transfer is particularly important in antibiotic resistance as it allows the rapid transfer of resistance genes between different pathogens. [109] Bacteriophages Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. Many types of bacteriophage exist, some simply infect and lyse their host bacteria, while others insert into the bacterial chromosome. A bacteriophage can contain genes that contribute to its host's phenotype: for example, in the evolution of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Clostridium botulinum, the toxin genes in an integrated phage converted a harmless ancestral bacterium into a lethal pathogen. [110] Bacteria resist phage infection through restriction modification systems that degrade foreign DNA,[111]and a system that uses CRISPR sequences to retain fragments of the genomes of phage that the bacteria have come into contact with in the past, which allows them to block virus replication through a form of RNA interference.[112][113] This CRISPR system provides bacteria withacquired immunity to infection.

BEHAVIOR
Secretion Bacteria frequently secrete chemicals into their environment in order to modify it favorably. The secretions are often proteins and may act as enzymes that digest some form of food in the environment. Bioluminescence A few bacteria have chemical systems that generate light. This bioluminescence often occurs in bacteria that live in association with fish, and the light probably serves to attract fish or other large animals.[114] see Milky seas effect Multicellularity Bacteria often function as multicellular aggregates known as biofilms, exchanging a variety of molecular signals for inter-cell communication, and engaging in coordinated multicellular behavior.[115][116] The communal benefits of multicellular cooperation include a cellular division of labor, accessing resources that cannot effectively be utilized by single cells, collectively defending against antagonists, and optimizing population survival by differentiating into distinct cell types.[115] For example, bacteria in biofilms can have more than 500 times increased resistance to antibacterial agents than individual "planktonic" bacteria of the same species.[116] One type of inter-cellular communication by a molecular signal is called quorum sensing, which serves the purpose of determining whether there is a local population density that is sufficiently high that it is productive to invest in processes that are only successful if large numbers of similar organisms behave similarly, as in excreting digestive enzymes or emitting light. Quorum sensing allows bacteria to coordinate gene expression, and enables them to produce, release and detect autoinducers orpheromones which accumulate with the growth in cell population. [117]

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Movement

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Many bacteria can move using a variety of mechanisms: flagella are used for swimming through water; bacterial gliding and twitching motility move bacteria across surfaces; and changes of buoyancy allow vertical motion.[118]