MICROBIOLOGY INTRODUCTION, SCOPE AND HISTORY

What is Microbiology? o Microbiology is the Science that studies Microorganisms. o Microorganisms, roughly, are those living things that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. o Microorganisms cannot be distinguished Phylogenetically from Macroorganisms o For example, many fungi are microorganisms, as well as all bacteria, all viruses, and most protists. o Microbiology is more a collection of techniques: Aseptic technique Pure culture technique Microscopic observation of whole organisms A microbiologist usually first isolates a specific microorganism from a population and then cultures it. So it includes; isolation, identification, culturing, modifying and utilization in many fields of life. Industry Environmental cleaning
2

 Research Foods and so many

Microorganisms - sizes

Types of Microorganisms o Bacteria o Archaeabacteria o Protozoa o Microscopic Algae o Microscopic Fungi

3

o Viruses

Bacteria
-

Gram +ive, Gram ive

- Useful, pathogens

Cyanobacteria
-

Photoautotroph, blue-green algae

- Prokaryotes

Algae
-

photosynthetic eukaryotes, cell walls, both unicellular and multicellular types

- brown, red, green, diatoms, dinoflagellates, euglenoids - photoautotrophs

Fungi - yeasts (unicellular fungi), molds (filamentous fungi)

eukaryotes, absorbers, dry conditions, plant decomposers

Protozoa (Protists)
-

unicellular and slime molds, flagellates, ciliates eukaryotes, parasites, engulfers and absorbers, wet conditions, no cell wall

Viruses - Not cells but enveloped or non-enveloped

-

Pathogens

Binomial Nomenclature - Genus and species

-

Examples: Escherichia coli, E. coli, Escherichia spp., and the genus Escherichia The genus name (Escherichia) is always capitalized The species name (coli) is never capitalized The species name is never used without the genus name (e.g., coli standing alone, by itself, are a mistake!) The genus name may be used without the species name (e.g., Escherichia may stand alone, though when doing so it no longer actually describes a species)

When both genus and species names are present, the genus name always comes first (e.g., Escherichia coli, not coli Escherichia) Both the genus and species names are always italicized (or underlined)always underline if writing binomials by hand The first time a binomial is used in a work, it must be spelled out in its entirety (e.g., E. coli standing alone in a manuscript is not acceptable unless you have already written Escherichia coli in the manuscript)

- The species name is never abbreviated Microbes & Disease Microbes both cause and prevent diseases Microbes produce antibiotics used to treat diseases The single most important achievement of modern medicine is the ability to treat or prevent microbial disease The Germ Theory of Disease = Microbes cause disease!

Normal Flora These are the ~harmless microorganisms found on your body.

Brief History - Microbiology

Robert Hooke (1664) = microscope

Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1670s) = microscopy Edward Jenner (1796) = vaccination against smallpox Ignaz Semmelweis (1840s) = hand washing before surgery Louis Pasteur (1860s) = repudiation spontaneous generation Joseph Lister (1860) = father aseptic surgery Robert Koch (1870s) = Kochs postulates Dmitri Iwanowski (1990s) = Inference of viruses Alexander Fleming (1920s) = Penicillin 1977: Carl Woese - discovery of Archaea 1981: First reports of AIDS 1983: Luc Montagnier - discovery of HIV 1995: Craig Venter - complete genome sequence

Spontaneous Generation Myths

Snakes from horse hairs in stagnant water Mice from grain and cheese wrapped in a sweater Maggots from rotting meat
9

 Fleas from hair Flies from fresh and rotting fruit

Mosquitoes from stagnant pond water

Eels from slimy mud at the bottom of the ocean Locusts from green leaves Termites are generated from rotting wood

These and lot many more were resolved by microbiology work. Microbiology is the world of technology.

10