Question

A BUG AGAINST OBESITY: The fastest spreading illness in the developed world is obesity. While willpower and nutrition choices are certainly important for controlling obesity, increasing evidence supports the hypothesis that elements of the microbiome are also important. Using synthetic biology approaches, develop a "probiotic" bacterium that can safeguard against obesity. You may use one of two approaches. First, you can design an organism that will consume excess calories, leaving only the appropriate amount for the host. In this case, make sure to take into consideration the fact that the host also needs a number of other nutritional factors -- N, P, Fe, vitamins -- and the bacterium must make sure to leave these behind as it consumes "calories". The second approach is to design a bacterium that will target and kill specific strains of bacteria known to enhance obesity -- mostly enteric Firmicutes (e.g. "Gram-positive" bacteria). These bacteria must be able to both FIND (by swimming towards them) and KILL these bacteria with specificity -- i.e., they leave all the other "normal flora" intact.

*** Try to answer this question in as descriptive as possible with about 500 words or more with a diagram****

Answer 1

The activity of probiotics might be associated with their ability to alter the intestinal microbiota, remodeling of energy metabolism, alter the expression of genes related to thermogenesis, glucose metabolism, and lipid metabolism, and change the parasympathetic nerve activity.Restoration of the compositional profile and richness of the gut microbiota may result in rescuing the obese phenotype and associated metabolic defects. One way of accomplishing this is through the use of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics.A link between microbiota and obesity l Firmicutes and Actinobacteria to produce conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Altered production of this fatty acid is concerning in the context of obesity because CLA has been shown to have several anti-obesity effects, including increased energy metabolism, energy expenditure.