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ByPatBailey UC Davis researchers have shown that an en- zyme produced by benefi- cial microbes in babies' in- testines is able to harvest specific sugar compounds from human breast-milk and cow's milk. The dis- covery identifies the sug- ars — rather than associ- ated protein compounds — as the key to nourishing those important, health- promoting microbes. "These sugar com- pounds selectively pro- vide incredible nutrient support specifically for the growth of the infant gut microbes," said lead researcher David Mills, a professor of food science and technology at UC Da- vis. The study results appear April 15 online in Applied and Environmental Micro- biology, a journal of the American Society of Mi- crobiology. Advancingearlier discoveries In previous studies, Mills and colleagues had shown that glycoproteins from human milk may be a source of sugar for the ben- eficial microbes in the in- fant gut. Glycoproteins are compounds with both pro- tein and sugar molecules called oligosaccharides. The researchers also had earlier demonstrated that one such gut microbe — a bacterial subspecies called Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis (B. infantis) — produced an enzyme called EndoBI-1 that could split the oligo- saccharides away from the glycoproteins. But there was no defin- itive answer as to whether it was the sugar or the pro- tein components of the gly- coproteins that were sup- porting growth of B. in- fantis. New findings In the new study, the re- searchers set out to deter- mine whether the oligo- saccharides could, as they suspected, be a sole nutri- ent source for B. infantis in the infant gut. They used the EndoBI-1 enzyme to separate the oligosaccha- rides from the glycopro- teins found in bovine co- lostrum — the "first milk" produced by a lactating cow. Cow's milk was used for the study because it was readily available in significant volumes. The researchers found that oligosaccharides sep- arated out from the cow's colostrum fueled rapid growth of the B. infantis bacterium. However, the oligosaccharides from the cow's milk did not support growth of a related bacte- rium found in the intes- tines of adult humans. The study also showed that B. infantis did not grow on milk proteins from which the sugars had been separated out, clearly indicating that the oligo- saccharides were the com- pounds that fed those spe- cific bacteria. Mills noted that B. in- fantis has many genes that are involved with break- ing down glycoproteins in mother's milk in order to release the oligosaccha- rides. "Mother's milk co- evolved over millions of years with mammals and the beneficial gut micro- biota that the milk helped nourish," he said. "And milk is the only food that co-evolved with humans to make us healthy." In addition to solving the protein-or-sugar ques- tion related to the role of glycoproteins in feeding B. infantis, the findings also suggest that cow's milk could be a source of se- lective oligosaccharides, which might be used to make therapeutic prebiot- ics for infants. UCDAVIS Protein-trapped sugar compounds nourish infant microbes PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thankyou! JEAN BARTON COURTESYPHOTO Anne Willard McNabb plays checkers with her great-grandson, Bryce Borror, Christmas 2004. My mother, Anne Wil- lard McNabb, wrote "Hay- ing on the Ranch" for her Creative Writing Class for Seniors. It was held at the Salvation Army headquar- ters on Walnut Street, co- ordinated by JoAnn Kre- itzberg. Mother wrote "Meeting JoAnn was an inspiration. Her candid expressions for jogging our memories, stirred memories for all of us. Remember our lesson, "the five senses? See, hear, touch, taste, smell!" Kreitzberg was quoted in the Daily News clip- ping in spring of 1997, "Our senior citizens com- prise a living library. They hold volumes of hopes, dreams, romances, adven- tures, mysteries and even failures that should be re- corded for the generations that follow." "Write as you would talk. No one can write your life story better than you can!" Mother wrote "I was born on a farm, grew up on a farm, married and lived on a farm, retired on a farm. "I have lived through several stages of harvest- ing hay. "In my pre-teen years I saw my maternal grand- father and his neigh- bor make the outer edges around their small hay fields with the scythe. They cut a swath around the field next to the stone wall fence, with each fellow swinging their scythes. "Next would be the team of farm horses pull- ing a mowing machine. This would be followed by the rake drawn by horses. "The horses would walk in this swath drawing the mower, the blade to their left. When the hay was dry in the afternoon the loose hay was hauled to the barn. The loose hay was picked up by a giant fork on a track in the barn and unloaded. "1929 -Hay was har- vested with a horse drawn mower. A six foot cutter bar. Then horse raked into probably knee high rolls/ ridges across the field. "The loose hay was pitched on the horse drawn hay wagon that had a frame in front and back. A man on the wagon placed each fork of hay that the fellow on the ground tossed high on the load. "The loaded wagon drawn to the barn where a big fork would unload the hay, draw it high to the peak of the barn, to the track high in the eve. Carry the hay on the track to the bent (sp) and there dumped in the hay loft above and to one side of the horse mangers below. "1930-'40s — The ranch progressed to a tractor to pull the mower, raked, then a baler bales the hay in the field. Haul and stacked in the barn for cattle. "1950-'60s — The swather that cut and rolled the hay in windrows across the fields. In a few days the baler moved in. Hay was still hauled to the barn, bale by bale, with a flat-bed truck and teen-age boys doing the labor. "2002 — This hay sea- son a custom hay contrac- tor from Lassen County came mid-spring with his fleet of swathers, balers and harrow beds to har- vest hay for several weeks for our neighbors. "The three swathers moved into the fields, cut- ting the oats and perma- nent pasture fields. A few days later, a fleet of bal- ers baled 1,400 bales in a short afternoon. This was followed in a few days by the harrow beds, pick- ing up the bales, weav- ing the bales into a 27 bale stack, drove off the field to be made into a stack nine bales high, outside the barn. "Their equipment was too large for our 19th cen- tury, 1880 barn." San Francisco China Town in 1930s "Streets and stores very colorful, with cable car route. "Meat market had plump, picked (feathers re- moved) chickens hanging in their shops; no refrig- eration. "However, I saw the same thing in Vestals Meat Market (Walnut- Washington Streets, Red Bluff). Also quarters of beef hung from the ceiling in his shop, and saw dust on the floor." Cable Cars in San Francisco "Two simple clangs means 'Let's go' on the lit- tle cable cars. Crowds of people seem to impatiently scramble to get on the ca- ble car. "We, my daughters and 4-H friends, like typical tourist were among the waiting groups to ride the little cable car up the slow, steep ride. Like a popular song 'halfway to the stars.' "It has been written be- fore the automobile, before the San Francisco earth- quake in 1906, more than 600 cable cars, horses & buggy, two seated car- riages, carriages with the driver sitting on top out- side while passengers sat inside, competed on the San Francisco streets to transport people in the city. "Cable car lines criss- crossed downtown San Francisco; Market Street over Nob Hill to Fisher- man's Wharf. Market runs east-west, cable car lines run from Market north, with a line through China Town. Are you 94? "I planned to have an X-ray picture taken, then later a luncheon date, so was dressed in an attrac- tive attire, reading a news- paper. "I sat in the waiting room for several clinics and cafeteria. "Noted a young atten- dant with a clip board came out from behind a door, look us over and dis- appear. "A third time she ap- peared and spoke my name. "I arose, picked up my cane and followed her. In the quiet hall she said 'Are you 94 years old?' I said 'yes.' She said 'I was look- ing for someone who is much older.' "She made my day." Jean Barton has been writing her column in the Daily News since the early 1990s. She can be reached by e-mail at jbarton2013@ gmail.com. 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