Mucin Gene Study

Introduction: This experiment is going to test the ability of antacids and how they absorb acid to see which is a better buffer. An antacid neutralizes acid, and this helps the most with heartburn. Heartburn is where stomach acid is regurgitated back into the esophagus, and this causes a burning feeling in the chest (Oxford University Press, 2017). A buffer is a source of hydroxide ions that can absorb hydrogen ions, which in turn keeps the pH stable (Mader, 2017). In this experiment, the different antacids that are being tested to absorb the hydrogen ions from stomach acid are the buffers. The pH scale helps determine how acidic or basic a solution

1. List whether the student was positive or negative for each characteristic and include whether the characteristic is dominant or recessive. (6 points)

Most pathogens prefer to grow in pH neutral conditions; many of the cavities in the body are protected from an invasion by a high pH. An example of this is the stomach, which is very acidic and kills ingested pathogens.

Even though H. pylori is a "neutralophile", it can survive in the very acidic environment in the human stomach due to a variety of acidic-adaptive mechanisms, such as the ability to utilize urease to break down urea

IgA – antibodies that are secreted across mucus layer to prevent microbes from penetrating cell bodies

Prior to the development of DNA technology and the sequencing of organismal genomes, Charles Darwin suggested that the “tree” of life can be traced back to a single root (Koonin and Wolf, 2012). While Darwin’s theory was primitive, it laid the groundwork for the phylogenetic trees that are currently studied in science classrooms around the world. The three-domain tree, containing Eukarya, Archea, and Bacteria, soon became too simplistic due to the realization that some bacteria possessed the ability to exchange genetic information by horizontal gene transfer (Koonin and Wolf, 2012).

These droplets enter the nasal cavity of a second host where small hairs and a mucus membrane are present. They trap microbes before they can penetrate further into the body; however some microbes evade capture and continue into the lower respiratory tract. The respiratory tract, consisting of mucus and ciliated epithelial cells, catches more foreign particles and sweeps them up and out towards the pharynx (see Figure 1), where it is swallowed in to the stomach. The gut flora within the stomach secretes chemicals such as lactic acid which lower the pH,

Surface mucous cells are the protective epithelial cells that line the surface of the stomach including the gastric pits. The function of the surface mucous cells is to serve as a physical and chemical barrier. The surface mucous cells secretes a bicarbonate-rich mucus that forms a thick gel-like coat that adheres to the surface epithelium and protects the gastric tissue from abrasion and the acid content of the stomach (The Stomach, n.d.).

Molecular Cell Biology, 7th Edition, 2013, Lodish, Berk, Kaiser, Krieger, Bretscher. Ploegh, Amon, and Scott. W.H. Freeman and Company (ISBN-13: 978-1-4292-3413-9)

protein in the cell membrane. This gene disturbs the function of the chloride channels, restricting

mucus can block the ducts of the pancreas, and that prevents the enzymes from reaching the

Cholera remains a drastically severe disease, killing hundreds of people each outbreak. When ingested, it attaches to the mucosal lining of the intestines and disrupts the normal flow of ions so that there is more sodium, chloride, and water in the intestinal lumen than normal and results in massive diarrhea. Cholera has made a global impact and been endemic in almost all parts of the world. Cholera control strongly emphasizes sanitation, clean drinking water, isolation, and careful food preparation. Two ways our body works against cholera as a self-limiting disease are sloughing cells and the secretory immunoglobulin (sIgA) antibody produced by mucus throughout our body. There are

Prolonged exposure to acidic refluxate can erode the mucosa of the oesophagus, promoting inflammatory cell infiltrate and finally causing necrosis of the epithelial cells (Johnston, 2015). The native squamous cell epithelium is injured and is repaired. In some cases the squamous cell epithelium is replaced by columnar epithelium in a metaplastic process which is most likely an adaptative response. This columnar epithelium is more tolerant of low pH. The altered tissue resembles intestinal epithelium as it often contains intestinal crypts and goblet cells (Mondiano, 2007).

These mutations, no matter what process that has led to their occurrence, block the action of antibiotics by interfering with their mechanism of action (1). Currently, antibiotics attack bacteria through one of two mechanisms. In both mechanisms the antibiotic enters the microbe and interferes with production of the components needed to form new bacterial cells. Some antibiotics act on the cell membrane, causing increased permeability and leakage of cell contents. Other antibiotics interfere with protein synthesis in cells. They block one or more of the steps involved in the transformation of nucleic acids into proteins.

active once the immune system becomes weakened where the once quiescent bacterium has multiplied and has developed in the lungs and has begun destroying lung tissue (Encarta, 2005). Although bacterium may not be antibiotic resistant at first, it can become resistant by mutating and changing its genetic structure and in turn, reproducing rapidly (Davies, 1999). When this happens, it signifies that one’s body has become antibiotic resistant, in which particular drugs no longer function properly and no longer does its job correctly.