[The Little Human and the Microbe Series]
Microbes' "Sprinkles"

You noticed something else in the sea of fermentation.

The microbes weren't just eating intently.

Before eating,

they seemed to be sprinkling something on what they were about to eat.

You: "Hey, Microbe, what are you sprinkling?"

Microbe: "Huh? Oh, this?

This is a special 'dissolving powder' we make ourselves.

We don't have mouths,

so we can't eat big food as it is.

So, first, we sprinkle this powder to dissolve the food into goo outside our bodies,

and then we absorb it."

You: "Whoa! You dissolve it outside your body?

So, you don't chew or anything?"

Microbe: "Chew?

We can't, we don't have teeth. How do you guys eat?"

You: "We put food in our mouths,

chew it many times with our teeth to make it small,

and then swallow it."

Microbe: "Whoa! With teeth?

You keep munching it in your mouth forever?

That sounds kinda tough."

The two of them pondered for a moment,

struck by how different their ways of eating were.

The microbe spoke up.

"Don't you guys sprinkle anything on your food?"

You: "Oh, yeah, we do.

Like putting toppings on ice cream, or sprinkling 'furikake' on rice."

Microbe: "'Furikake'? What's 'furikake'?"

You: "Ah, 'furikake' is like a flavored powder.

I'm Japanese, and in Japan, people often sprinkle it on their rice."

Microbe: "Oh, I see.

Our 'dissolving powder' is a special powder we make called 'enzyme'.

It's a bit different from your 'furikake',

but sprinkling something on food is similar, huh?"

You: "Yeah, it is.

But dissolving it outside the body is still strange."

And they looked at each other, puzzled.

The microbe said as if struck by an idea.

"But hey, if you think about it,

aren't we doing something similar?

You guys use teeth to chew food and make it small, right?

Since we don't have teeth,

we use this 'enzyme' powder to dissolve the food and make it small instead.

We're both making it small so our bodies can absorb it."

You: "Oh, I get it! The purpose is the same!

To make the food small. That makes sense!"

Microbe: "See? This enzyme powder is amazing, you know.

Big food turns into goo in no time. Watch this."

The microbe then released the 'enzyme' powder from its body

and sprinkled it on the food it was about to eat.

 

You could see the food quickly dissolve and become smaller.

You: "Wow! That's right! It's like magic."

Microbe: "I know, right?

But your 'chewing' looks like magic to us too.

Still, making food smaller

so the body can take in nutrients – that's something we both do."

You: "Yeah! We really are similar after all."

Microbe: "We are."

The two smiled happily at each other.