> Microorganisms are considered to be transitional forms of either plant or animal origin

and are placed in a kingdom called Protista.

> Protista is subdivided into two cell classes:

a.) the higher protists or eucaryotic cells
b.) the lower protists or procaryotic cells

> Eucaryotic cells (algae, protozoa, fungi and slime molds) tend to resemble plant and
animal cells in that they possess a true nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.
> Procaryotic cells (bacteria, bluegreen algae, rickettsiae, and viruses) are more primitive
in every respect. For example, instead of a true membrane-bound nucleus they possess a
nuclear apparatus consisting of a single, circular, naked chromosome without histones and
except for the viruses, a chemically unique semi-rigid cell wall, Taxonomically, the prokaryotic
cells are divided into three classes.

Class I: Schizophyceae contain all those organisms that possess photosynthetic

pigments (bluegreen algae).
Class II: Schizomycetes contain those organisms that usually do not possess
photosynthetic pigments, are non-filterable and reproduce by fission (bacteria, mycoplasma and
spirochetes)
= Ten Orders are recognized within Class II:
(1) Pseudomonadales,
(2) Chlamydobacteriales,
(3) Hypomicrobiales,
(4) Eubacteriales,
(5) Caryophanales,
(6) Actinomycetales,
(7) Biggiatoales,
(8) Myxobacteria,
(9) Spirochaetales
(10) Mycoplasmatales
Class III: Microtatobiotes contain those organisms that are filterable, obligate
parasites, mostly intracellular, require special methods of culture and the form of reproduction
is not fully understood (rickettsiae and viruses).

=Two Orders are recognized in this Class: Rickettsiales and Virales

> Microorganisms that are of medical importance are the following:

a) Bacteria
b) Mycoplasma
c) Spirochetes
d) Rickettsia and Chlamydia
e) Viruses
f) Fungi

> BACTERIA (singular: bacterium) belong to Class II: Schizomycetes

=unicellular, spherical, rod-shaped (straight or curved), or spiral in form, motile by means
of flagella, or non-motile,
=average size range is 0.2 to 5.0 microns
=may be free living, saprophytic, parasitic or pathogenic.
  Saprophytic bacteria cannot survive in a competitive living environment
therefore require either dead organic (heterotrophic) or inorganic
(autotrophic) matter.
 Parasitic bacteria can survive only in a living environment and derive
nutrients for energy and growth from the dissimilation of organic
compounds.
 Pathogenic bacteria are parasites that cause disease in plants or animals.

Growth of Bacteria – When bacteria are inoculated in a suitable medium and

placed in a normal environment, they will grow at a rapid rate. The growth is in
the form of numbers rather than size.

> Bacterial growth curve  - A curve on a graph that shows the changes in size of a
bacterial population over time in a culture. The bacteria are cultured in sterile nutrient medium
and incubated at the optimum temperature for growth. Samples are removed at intervals and
the number of viable bacteria is counted.

There are four growth phases in a typical growth curve:

1. Lag Phase: a period when the bacteria adapt to a new environment. The time
involved in this reorganization of cell functions varies depending on the number of organisms
inoculated and the conditions at that time. If organisms are transferred from a previous medium
which is different from the present one, the bacteria may have to synthesize completely new
enzymes to utilize ingredients present in the new medium.

2. Log or Exponential Phase: a stage when the cells divide at a constant rate and,
since reproduction is by binary fission, the relationship of time and number of cells (expressed
as logarithm or number of cells) is linear. At this stage, the cells are most active metabolically,
making them more susceptible to antimicrobial agents. If bacteria from this stage are
transferred to identical media, the lag phase is minimal.

3. Stationary Phase: the accumulation of toxic waste products as well as depletion of

nutrients causes a decrease in the rate of growth to such an extent that the number of cells
remains relatively constant.

4. Death Phase or Phase of Decline: at this stage, cells begin to die; the cause being a
continuation of events leading to the stationary phase. The number of viable bacteria
decreases; however, the total number of organisms may remain constant. If the total number
begins to decrease, this means that the bacteria are autolysing. (Autolysis - more commonly
known as self-digestion, refers to the destruction of a cell through the action of its own
enzymes. It may also refer to the digestion of an enzyme by another molecule of the same
enzyme).
 BACTERIAL CLASSIFICATION

I. Morphology and Grouping:

A. Bacilli (singular: bacillus) occur singly or in chains (streptococci)

 B. Cocci (singular: coccus) occur singly, in pairs (diplococci), tetrads (groups
of four), cubes (cluster of eight), chains (streptococci), and in grapelike clusters
(staphylococci).

C. Spirilla (singular: spirillum). The characteristics associated with grouping

are an expression of the manner of cell division.
II. Motility
A. Atrichous bacteria are void of flagella
B. Monotrichous bacteria have only one flagellum
C. Lophotrichous bacteria possess a tuft of flagella at one of the cell poles
D. Amphitrichous bacteria have flagella at both cell poles
E. Peritrichous bacteria are entirely surrounded by flagella

III. Oxygen Requirements

A. Obligate aerobes require oxygen for growth
B. Microaerophiles grow best at low oxygen tensions
C. Obligate anaerobes grow only in the absence of oxygen
D. Facultative anaerobes grow under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions

IV. Nutritional Requirements

A. Autotrophic bacteria live in a strictly inorganic environment, i.e. iron, sulfur, nitrite,
hydrogen
B. Heterotrophic bacteria require an organic environment (carbohydrate , peptone)

V. Thermal Requirements
A. Psychrophilic bacteria are cold-loving and grow best at 15-20oC
B. Mesophilic bacteria grow best at 30-37oC
C. Thermophilic bacteria are heat-loving and grow best at 60-65oC

> MYCOPLASMA - members of the Order Mycoplasmatales and the Family

Mycoplasmataceae
=smaller than bacteria ( 0.15 to 1.0 micron) and lack a rigid cell wall which makes them
pleomorphic and more sensitive to changes of osmotic pressure.
=can be cultured on artificial cell-free media that is enriched with serum

> SPIROCHETES – belong to Order Spirochetales

=motile, flexible microorganisms, varying in length 2.5 to 500 microns and reproduce by
transverse fission - Transverse fission is descriptive of a prokaryotic organism that has
fissioned and split transversely, or along the transverse axis (the short way).  If this shape has
transverse fission, it will look as if it broke in the middle, creating two short organisms. 
= Movement facilitated by flexing and spinning about the long axis.
= Stain poorly and difficult to grow on the artificial media
= The three genera of medical importance are Borrelia, Treponema and Leptospira.
> RICKETTSIAE and CHLAMYDIAE - small, gram-negative, non-motile, obligate,
intracellular parasites
= Considered to be true bacteria because they possess most of the enzymes of bacteria
and have a typical bacterial cell wall.
= Ticks, fleas and lice are the vectors in human rickettsial infections
= The agents of psittacosis – lymphogranuloma venereum – trachoma (Chlamydia) are
included in the Order Rickettsiales – possess DNA and RNA, multiply by binary fission,
possess ribosomes and are inhibited by antibiotics.

> VIRUSES = smallest of all microorganisms (0.01 to 0.3 microns), ultramicroscopic,

filterable, obligate, intracellular parasites which are dependent upon other living cells for their
growth and multiplication.
= Possess a genome of either RNA or DNA by which they are able to modify the host
cell to produce complete infectious virus particles.
= Virus consists of either a DNA or RNA nucleus that is surrounded by a protein shell
called a capsid and sometimes an additional outer membrane called an envelope. The capsid
protects the nucleic acid from the extracellular environment and facilitated absorption and
penetration of the virus into susceptible cells.
= The complete infective virus particle , i.e. nucleic acid and capsid, is called the virion.
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and parasitize bacteria.
> FUNGI = heterotrophic, multicellular protists that, because they lack
differentiation into root , stem or leaf systems are classified in the
Phylum Thallophyta.
= are non-motile , non-photosynthetic, saprophytic or parasitic, and
similar to bacteria in that soluble nutrients diffuse through their rigid cell
walls. The basic structural units are filaments called hyphae.

= Hyphae may either be nonseptate (continuous) or septate (separated into

chains of cells by cross walls). A mass of hyphae forms a mycelium. That portion
of the mycelium that grows on or in the medium and absorbs nutrients is called the
vegetative mycelium while the portion that grows above the medium and contains
spores is called aerial or reproductive mycelium.
 = The spores are usually so distinctive they are used as a means of
identification. Spores may be formed by sexual reproduction (fusion of nuclei) or
by asexual reproduction (budding off of mycelium) Asexual spores include
blastospores, chlamydospores, and arthrospores.

= Certain spores however are formed by special hyphae called conidiophore;

therefore, are called conidia. The true fungi (Eumycophyta) are divided into two
general categories: those that have nonseptated mycelium and those that have
septated mycelium.

> subclass of non-septated mycelial forms is Phycomycetes

> subclass of septated mycelial forms are Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes, and
Deuteromycetes or Fungi Imperfecti.
> Practically all the fungi that are pathogenic to man are members of
Deuteromycetes (Fungi Imperfecti).
Types of Pathogens

A. Bacteria
1. Unicellular microbes without chlorophyll
= unicellular organisms are living organisms that exist as single cells.
Examples include such bacteria as Salmonella and protozoa like Entamoeba coli.
2. Capsule: a material secreted by the cell, protects it, from phagocytosis and
increases its virulence (eg. Diplococcus pneumoniae)

3. Spores: the inactive resistant structures into which bacterial protoplasm can
transform under adverse conditions; under favorable conditions a spore germinates
into an active cell (eg. Clostridium tetani)

4. Examples of medically important bacteria

a. Eubacteriales: divided into five families based on shape, Gram stain, and
endospore formation
(1) Gram-positive cocci
(a) Diplococci: occurring predominantly in pairs (eg. Diplococcus
pneumoniae)
(b) Streptococci: Occurring predominantly in grapelike bunches (eg.
Staphylococcus aureus)

(2) Gram-negative cocci include Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria

meningitides

(3) Gram-negative rods include enterobacteria such as Escherichia,

Salmonella and Shigella species

(4) Gram-positive rods that do not produce endospores includes

Corynebacterium diphtheria

(5) Gram-positive rods producing endospores include Bacillus anthracis,

Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium tetani.
b. Actinomycetales (actinomycetes): mold-like microbes with elongated
cells, frequently filamentous (eg. Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium
leprae)

c. Spirochaetales (spirochetes): flexuous, spiral organisms (eg. Treponema

pallidum)

d. Mycoplasmatales (mycoplasmas): delicate, non-motile microbes

displaying a variety of sizes and shapes
 Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a type of “atypical” bacteria that
commonly causes mild infections of the respiratory system. In
fact, pneumonia caused by M. pneumoniae is sometimes referred to as
“walking pneumonia” since symptoms tend to be milder than pneumonia caused by
other bacteria.
B. Viruses
1. Obligate intracellular parasite: can replicate only within a cell of another
organism; composed of either ribonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA), not both.

2. Examples of medically important viruses

a. Human immunodeficiency virus: AIDS
b. Hepatitis B virus (HBV); Hepatitis type B
c. Haemophilus influenzae virus: influenza
d. Varicella-zoster virus: chickenpox, herpes zoster, shingles
C. Fungi
1. A saprophytic (organisms, particularly fungi, which obtain nutrients directly
from dead organic matter) organism that lives on organic material.

2. Molds: fuzzy growths of interlacing filaments called hyphae; reproduce by

spores

3. Yeasts: organisms that usually are single-celled and usually reproduce by

budding

4. Examples of medically important fungi

a. Candida albicans, a yeast: moniliasis (“thrush”)
b. Histoplasmosis capsulatum: histoplasmosis
c. Trichophyton rubrum: tinea pedis (“athlete’s foot”)