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MCB 1
What is microbiology?
study of organisms and agents too small to be seen by the naked eye (<1mm)
study of organisms that can exist as single cells, contain a nucleic acid genome for at
least some part of their life cycle, and are capable of replicating that genome
- includes recently discovered microorganisms such as Epulopiscium and Thiomargarita
- also include viruses, which microbiology texts traditionally discuss along
with living organisms
Importance of microorganisms:
first living organisms on planet
live everywhere life is possible
more numerous than any other kind of organisms
global ecosystem depends on their activities
influence human society in many ways
Basic Microbiology
Interest on the microorganisms and their biology
Fields: Virology - viruses
Bacteriology - bacteria
Phycology - algae
Mycology - fungi
Protozoology - protozoa
Morphology/particular functional process
Microbial physiology/biochemistry
Microbial genetics/molecular biology
Applied Microbiology
Medical microbiology
Immunology
Public health microbiolog
Food and dairy microbiology
Industrial microbiology
Agricultural microbiology
Microbial ecology
The Future of Microbiology
infectious diseases
new and improved industrial processes
microbial diversity and microbial ecology
More challenges and opportunities:
biofilms
microbes as model systems
genome analysis
assessment
Discovery of Microorganisms
Zaccharias Jansen first compound microscope
1 History and Scope of Microbiology 2
MCB 1
Robert Hooke - simple compound microscope (30x); cells in cork, elongated stalks (fungi)
Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovered wee animalcules
Spontaneous Generation (Abiogenesis) vs. Biogenesis Theory
Francesco Redi experiments on decaying meat and maggots
John Needham boiled mutton broth and sealed flask after boiling (result: microbial growth);
Spontaneous generation - thought that organic matter contained a vital force that
could confer life on non-living matter
Lazzaro Spallanzani improved on Needhams experiment (two sets: one left uncovered, the
other covered); proposed that air carried germs to the culture medium
(SG supporters: heating the air destroyed its ability to support life)
Franz Schulze passed air through strong acids (result: no microbial growth)
Theodor Schwann passed air through red-hot tubes (result: no microbial growth)
Conclusion:strong acid and heat altered the air so it cannot support microbial growth
Georg Friedrich Schroder and Theodor von Dusch filtered air through sterile
cotton wool (result: no microbial growth)
Louis Pasteur used swan-necked flasks
his experiments:
placed nutrient solution in flasks
created flasks with long, curved necks
boiled the solutions
left flasks exposed to air
(Results: no microbial growth)
John Tyndall demonstrated that dust carries microorganisms (final blow to the
Spontaneous Generation Theory); also provided evidence for the existence of exceptionally
heat-resistant forms of bacteria
Ferdinand Cohn - discovered the existence of heat-resistant bacterial endospores
The Role of Microorganisms in Disease
Germ Theory of Disease diseases are caused by specific agents called germs
Girolamo Fracastoro disease was caused by invisible living creatures
Agostino Bassi silkworm disease was due to a fungal infection
M.J. Berkeley proved that Potato Blight of Ireland was caused by a fungus
Heinrich de Bary showed that smut and rust fungi caused cereal crop diseases
Ignaz Semmelweis - asepsis in obstetrical wards could prevent the transmission of childbirth fever
from patient to patient; instigated a policy for all attending physicians to wash their hands
with chloride of lime between patients
1 History and Scope of Microbiology 3
MCB 1
Joseph Lister provided indirect evidence that microorganisms were the causal agents of disease
Louis Pasteur pebrine disease of silkworms was due to a protozoan parasite
Robert Koch gave the first direct demonstration of the role of bacteria in causing disease based
on his study of anthrax; used criteria developed by his teacher Jacob Henle
Kochs Postulates:
1. the microorganism must be present in every case of the disease but absent from
healthy organisms
2. the suspected microorganism must be isolated and grown in a pure culture
3. the same disease must result when the isolated microorganism is inoculated into a
healthy host
4. the same microorganism must be isolated again from the diseased host
Kochs works led to the development of microbiological techniques:
o solid culture medium (boiled potato slices; gelatin; agar)
o aseptic technique
o pure culture maintenance
o the petri plate
The development of vaccines
Edward Jenner used a vaccination procedure to protect individuals from smallpox
Pasteur and his coworkers
developed vaccines for chicken cholera, anthrax, and rabies
discovered that: incubation of cultures for long intervals between transfers caused pathogens to
lose their ability to cause disease; growing the pathogen in an abnormal host also weakens it
The discovery of viruses
Charles Chamberland developed porcelain bacterial filter used to isolate first viruses
studied
Antimicrobial compounds
Paul Ehrlich (in chemotherapy) - developed 606
th
compound SALVARSAN
Alexander Fleming discovered the miracle drug penicillin from Penicillium
Industrial Microbiology and Microbial Ecology
Louis Pasteur fermentations were the result of microbial activity; developed the process
of pasteurization to preserve wine
Eduard Buchner cell-free fermentation
Sergei Winogradsky and Martinus Beijerinck studied soil; enrichment cultures &selective media