Introduction: Have you ever had a probiotic drink? If not, I have a couple here that you can try.

Did you
know that probiotic drinks are beneficial for your digestive health because it contains viable bacteria
called lactobacillus. But have you ever wondered how these healthy bacteria live and thrive inside your
body? For my speech today, I will walk you through the process of these bacteria’s reproduction and
how they benefit their hosts, meaning, us.

Thesis: Asexual reproduction is happening in our body and it helps our normal human flora flourish
which prevents us from the pathogens in the environment.

Preview: My speech would begin by addressing the different types of asexual reproduction and how
other living organisms benefit from it. Then we will transition on how we can see asexual reproduction
in humans since we are so used to the idea that we only survive by sexual reproduction. Then we will
introduce the benefits of the human flora in our body. Then we will link asexual reproduction and how
the microbiota in our body reproduces and strengthens our immunity against pathogens.

The Body: Body Point 1: There are different types of asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is a
reproduction method used by organisms who doesn’t need to have sexual intercourse to produce an
offspring. Usually, organisms who rely on asexual reproduction to pass on genes from one generation to
another, the parents are exactly like their offspring because there is no variation in their DNA. According
to Cornell University’s article in Binary Fission and Other Forms of Reproduction in Bacteria, published in
March 7, 2017, there are five main types of asexual reproduction. First are spores, second is binary
fission, third is vegetative reproduction, fourth is budding, and then fragmentation. For this speech I will
only focus on Binary Fission, this is where prokaryotes, meaning bacteria, produce internally to divide.
Each partial cell reproduces into two developed cells. This method is beneficial because the cells
produced have identical genetic properties.

Transition 1: With the foundation that we have built about asexual reproduction and how there are
different types of it, most importantly binary fission, we will proceed to investigate the organisms doing
this type of reproduction in our bodies.

Body Point 2: Asexual reproduction is evident in human beings. Although we are used to believing that
only sexual reproduction exists in us, we are wrong. According to Intestinal Microbiota and Antibiotic
Resistance: Perspectives and Solutions, published on May 31, 2018. We grow healthy bacteria inside our
gut. These bacteria reproduce asexually to grow a population inside our body. Binary fission is beneficial
for these gut bacteria or our human normal flora because it doesn’t require too much energy to start
the reproduction. Meaning, they can reproduce without ever slowing down. The human flora in our
body does asexual reproduction and they repopulate rapidly. Moreover, the human normal flora is not
only present in our gut, but they also reproduce through binary fission in our skins, hairs, and the warm
parts in our body.

Transition 2: Now that we have meticulously investigated the process of asexual reproduction of the
human flora, through binary fission, we will investigate the benefits of this reproduction and how it
affects the host these healthy bacteria live in.

Body Point 3: There are a lot of benefits the human flora do to our body. Like mentioned in my
introduction, the lactobacillus bacteria are healthy bacteria that aids our digestion and immune system.
According to Microbiome and the Immune System, published on October 24, 2018, the microbiome aids
our immune system in a mutual aim to thrive, defining the unstable equilibrium of the healthy
individual. The microbiome in our bodies helps digestion of large polymer compounds like fats, proteins,
lipids, and many more. They help absorb nutrients and they speed up the chemical reaction processes
happening in our bodies. Like the conversion of energy so that we stay active for the day. A fun fact is
that the healthy bacteria in our body outweighs our brain! Because they reproduce endlessly. How does
it work exactly? The good bacteria feeds on our body’s nutrient intake, and as they release waste. These
are converted healthy nutrients for our body to take. The healthy bacteria also prevent us from deadly
pathogens outside our environment.

Transition 3: The benefits of the microbiota or healthy bacteria in our body are endless. As we have
heard, there are a lot of helpful things these bacteria can do to our body. With that said, we will now put
two and two together. Meaning how does asexual reproduction helps our microbiota reproduce to help
our immune system

Body Point 4: The process of reproducing asexually has a big impact on how the microbiota in our body
reproduces and strengthens our immunity against pathogens. Binary fission speeds up the repopulation
process of these bacteria. Meaning, they won’t ever reduce in their population count. The higher the
population the more helpers our immune system get! According to Potential Clinical Usefulness of Gut
Microbiome, Published on October 1, 2018. Most of our microbiome lives in our guts. Meaning they
really help with our food intake and the nutrients that we get from it. That’s why probiotics are
important, if we drink probiotic drinks we add up to the population of the healthy bacteria in our body.
But the important thing is the higher number of populations, the more likely can the healthy bacteria kill
the pathogens, like the flu, or other deadly viruses that goes into our bodies. Of course, it’s not an
option against getting vaccines but, it is our primary source of protection. Without it, we would be sick
every week.

Restate Thesis: That’s how asexual reproduction is happening in our body and how it helps our normal
human flora flourish which prevents us from the pathogens in the environment.

Summary: Now we learned that there are different types of asexual reproduction and how other living
organisms benefit from it. We transitioned on how we can see asexual reproduction in humans since we
are so used to the idea that we only survive by sexual reproduction. We introduced the benefits of the
human flora in our body. Then we linked asexual reproduction and how the microbiota in our body
reproduces and strengthens our immunity against pathogens.

Conclusion: The next time you drink a probiotic drink, think of it as watering the healthy bacteria in your
gut so they can grow and protect you from harmful pathogens. The 500 plus microorganisms resides in
our digestive system and it’s like we are a walking house for these organisms. Also, the next time you
consume food, think, if it will harm your body, or it will help you.