A rough calculation based on an alimentary surface area of 1.5 m2, assuming a microbic density of 109 per cm2, would yield a total of 1.5 x 1013, or 15 trillion microbes.




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The normal microbiota in the human intestine prevent growth of harmful bacteria. For example, E. coli bacteria produce bacteriocins that inhibit the growth of pathogenic Salmonella and Shigella. This relationship between E. coli and Salmonella is called: