What are oppurtunistic microorganisms, why are they important?

Answer 1

They are microorganisms searching for an opportunity. They aren't important.

Answer 2

Opportunistic microorganism: A bacteria, virus, or fungus that takes advantage of certain opportunities to cause disease. Those opportunities are called opportunistic conditions. These microorganisms are often ones that can lie dormant in body tissues for many years, such as the human herpes viruses, or that are extremely common but usually cause no symptoms of illness. When the immune system cannot raise an adequate response, these microorganisms are activated, begin to multiply, and soon overwhelm the body's weakened defenses.
i dont see how oppurtunistic microorganisms could be good

Answer 3

"Opportunistic microorganism: A bacteria, virus, or fungus that takes advantage of certain opportunities to cause disease. Those opportunities are called opportunistic conditions. These microorganisms are often ones that can lie dormant in body tissues for many years, such as the human herpes viruses, or that are extremely common but usually cause no symptoms of illness. When the immune system cannot raise an adequate response, these microorganisms are activated, begin to multiply, and soon overwhelm the body's weakened defenses."

Answer 4

I think some of the other answers may give you a definition of opportunistic (microorganisms that take advantage of the "right" situation to grow and sometimes cause disease / infections...); but they are important. We have opportunistic microorganisms in our body that are crucial to normal biologic function. For example, in our intestinal track, we find the bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) which helps in the digestion of food in the intestines...this bacteria, given the "right" conditions and in the urinary tract for instance, can cause MEAN infections, but we need it nonetheless.

Many of these organisms can cause disease in humans, but are necessary in nature especially for the breakdown of dead things. Think about a world without some of these bacteria...we would have dead bodies of people and animals stacked everywhere around us.

Answer 5

These microbes grow and multiply when the area's natural microbes are reduced for some reason -- such as when a person takes an antibiotic and kills off many of their body's usual microbes along with the disease bacteria they are trying to kill. Opportunistic organisms like yeast can colonize quickly because they don't have the usual competition.