Microbiology

 an exceptionally broad discipline encompassing specialties as diverse as biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, taxonomy,
pathogenic bacteriology, food and industrial microbiology, and ecology.
 study of organisms that individually are too small to be seen by the naked eye. In the beginning of this study, great minds have
contributed to the discovery and evolution of microbiology, and its relationship to medicine and other areas of biology.

The Discovery of Microorganisms:

Roman philosopher Lucretius (98-55 B.C.) and Girolamo Fracastoro (1478-1553)

 He made the earliest microscopic observations on bees and weevils using a microscope probably supplied by Galileo.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)

 The “first true microbiologist”
 The first person to observe and describe microorganism accurately – “Father of Protozoology and Bacteriology”
 He discovered “animalcules”
 He used his self-made single lens microscope with 50-300x magnification to study protozoans and bacteria

Spontaneous Generation
 Life arose from non-living matter

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

 He mentioned that simple invertebrates could arise from spontaneous generation

Francesco Redi (1626-1697)

 In 1668 (even before van Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of microscopic life), he demonstrated that maggots do not arise
spontaneously from decaying meat
 His results were a serious blow to the long-held belief that large forms of life could arise from nonlife

John Needham (1748)

 He observed that boiled mutton broth eventually became cloudy with microorganisms after pouring it into a flask and sealed
tightly
 He proposed that organic matter possessed a “vital force” that could give rise to life

Lazarro Spallanzani (1729-1799)

 He improved the previous experiments of Needham by heating the broth placed in a sealed jar
 He observed that no growth took place as long as flasks remained sealed
 He proposed that air carried microorganisms to the culture medium and that might be the reason for the growth of organisms
present already in the medium
 He concluded that microorganisms from the air probably had entered Needham’s solutions after they were boiled

Laurent Lavoisier
 He showed the importance of oxygen to life

Biogenesis
 Living cells can rise only from preexisting living cells

Rudolf Virchow (1858)

 He challenged spontaneous generation with the concept of “biogenesis”

Theodore Schwann (1810-1882)

 He observed that no growth occurred in a flask containing nutrient solution after allowing air to pass through red-hot tube

Goerg Friedrich Schoder and Theodore von Dusch

 They observed that no growth occurred after allowing air to pass through sterile cotton wool placed in a flask of heat-sterilized
medium
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
 He resolved the issue of spontaneous generation
 He stated that microorganisms are indeed present in the air and can contaminate seemingly sterile solutions, however the air
itself does not create microbes
 He showed that microorganisms can also be present in non-living matter
 He stated that microbial life can be destroyed by heat (basis of the aseptic technique – a technique to prevent contamination
by unwanted microorganisms)
 He provided evidence that microorganisms cannot originate from mystical forces present in nonliving materials

However, no matter how long some flasks were boiled, they always produced certain growth – heat resistant bacterial spores
(Ferdinand Cohn)

John Tyndall (1820-1893)

 He showed that dust carry germs which contaminates sterile broth
 “Tyndallization” – form of sterilization for three consecutive days

Fermentation and Pasteurization

 Theodore Schwann stated that yeast cells were responsible for the conversion of sugars to alcohol. However, he said that
fermentation was not due to microorganisms but to a chemical instability that converted sugars to alcohol
 Pasteur described that certain microorganisms known “yeast” converts sugar to alcohol in the absence of air (fermentation)
 Souring and spoilage of wine are caused by different microorganisms called bacteria
 In the presence of air, bacteria change the alcohol in the beverage into vinegar (acetic acid)
 Heating beer and wine just enough to kill most of the bacteria (pasteurization) was proposed by Pasteur

Pasteur’s Contribution to Science

1. he disproved the theory of spontaneous generation
2. he developed vaccines against anthrax (1881) and rabies (1885)
3. he improved the wine industry (theory of fermentation)

Charles Chamberland
 Created a porcelain bacterial filter (1884) and developed anthrax vaccine together with Pasteur

Antiseptic System

Ignatz Semmelweis (1827-1865)

 Demonstrated that routine handwashing can prevent the spread of disease

Joseph Lister (1827-1912)

 He developed the antiseptic system surgery
 He introduced British surgery to washing and the use of phenol as an antimicrobial agent for surgical wounds and also prayed
phenol over the surgical area

The Germ Theory of Disease

 Based on the concept that microorganism might cause disease

Robert Koch (1843-1913)

 He established the first proof that bacteria indeed causes diseases
 He discovered Bacillus anthracis (causative agent of anthrax; 1876-1877)
 He discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis (1882)
 He was the first to culture bacteria on boiled potatoes, gelatin and used meat extracts and protein digests for cultivation
 He developed culture media for observing growth of bacteria isolated from human body
Koch’s 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 sane disease must result when the isolated microorganism is inoculated into a health host.
4. The same organism must be isolated again from the diseased host.

Collaborators of Koch:
Fannie Eilshemius Hesse
 Suggested the use of agar as a solidifying agent

Richard Petri
 Developed petri dish (plate)

Martinus Beijerinck and Sergie Winogradsky

 Developed the enrichment-culture technique and the use of selective media

Immunological Studies –Vaccination

Edward Jenner (1749-1823)

 He experimented on how people can be protected against small pox
 He collected scrapings from cowpox blisters and inoculated a healthy volunteer with the cowpox material by scratching the
person’s arm with a pox-contaminated needle

Louis Pasteur
 He used the term “vaccine” – for cultures of avirulent microorganisms use for preventive inoculation
 He used attenuated culture known as vaccine (latin “vacca” – cow)

Emil von Behring

 Prepared antitoxins for diphtheria and tetanus

Modern Therapy: “Magic Bullet”

Chemotherapy
 Is the treatment of disease by using chemical substance
 It also refers to chemical treatment of noninfectious diseases, such as cancer
a. synthetic drug – prepared from chemicals in the laboratory
b. antibiotics – produced naturally by bacteria and fungi to act against microorganisms

Paul Ehrlich – discovered salvarsan (arsphenamine) for treatment of syphilis

Aexander Fleming – discovered penicillin (penicillin notatum)
Howard Florey and Ernst Chain – made the purification process for penicillin
Important Events in the Development of Microbiology
1676 Leeuwenhoek discovered animalcules
1786 Muller produced the first classification of bacteria
1798 Jenner introduced cowpox vaccination for small pox
1838-1839 Schwann and Schleiden, the Cell Theory
1858 Virchow stated the theory of Biogenesis
1867 Lister published his work on antiseptic surgery
1881 Koch cultured bacteria on gelatin
Pasteur developed anthrax vaccine
1882 Koch discovered tubercle bacilli
1884 first publication of Koch’s postulates
Metchnikoff described phagocytosis
Autoclave developed
Hans Christian Gram developed Gram Stain
1885 Pasteur developed rabies vaccine
1886 Richard Petri developed petri dish (plate)
1890 Von Behring prepared antitoxins for diphtheria and tetanus
1895 Bordet discovered complement
1900 Reed proved that yellow fever is transmitted by the mosquitoes
1901 Landsteiner discovered blood group system
1906 Schaudinn and Hoffman showed Treponema pallidum causes syphilis
1907 Role of protozoa in the disease process
1910 Erhlich developed chemotherapeutic agent for syphilis
1923 First edition of Bergey’s manual
1933 Ruska developed first transmission electron microscope (TEM)
1937 Chatton divided living organisms into prokaryotes and eukaryotes
1944 Waksman discovered streptomycin
1945 Fleming and Chain discovered penicillin and its therapeutic use
1951 Theiler developed yellow fever vaccine
1953 Development of phase contrast microscope
Crick and Watson discovered the structure of DNA
1954 Yalow developed the radio immunoassay (RIA) technique
1975 Lyme disease discovered
1976 Recognition of archaeobacteria as a distinct microbial group
1980 Development of scanning tunneling microscope (STM)
1983-1984 Gallo and Montagnier identified and isolated HIV
Mullis developed PCR
1986 First hepatitis B vaccine by genetic engineering approved for human use
1995 Chicken pox vaccine approved