Self-study guide questions #1

1. Why do you study microbiology?

The study of microbiology is done primarily to gain an understanding of the unique
properties and capabilities that microorganisms possess, therefore furthering our knowledge
with regards to the inner workings of a cell. The knowledge gained from these studies allow
us to advance in numerous important fields such as medicine, agriculture, the maintenance
of our environment, and biotechnology. With recent events, the study has been increasingly
crucial with the global effort to resolve the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as the pathogen
responsible for COVID-19 is the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

2. Tabulate the differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes

Prokaryotes
Genetic material not enclosed by
nuclear membrane (has nucleoid
region)
Lack membrane-bound organelles
Usually unicellular
Cell division is done via binary fission
with some gene exchange via
conjugation
Has 70S ribosomes (small)
Usually has circular chromosomes of
DNA and plasmids
Usually smaller (less than 1 to 5
micrometers)
Eukaryotes
Genetic material enclosed by nuclear
membrane (has a true nucleus)
Has membrane-bound organelles that
perform more complex processes
Usually multicellular
Cell division is done via mitosis and
meiosis
Has 80S ribosomes (large)
Has multiple linear chromosomes with
histones
Larger in size (10-100 micrometers)

3. What are the three domains of life and examples? Tabulate the differences among them.

Bacteria Archaea Eukarya

Usually single-celled
organisms
Most cell walls have
structural peptidoglycan
Usually have a prokaryotic
structure
Abundant in all manners of
environments, including
within humans & animals
(microbiome).
Usually has a single circular
chromosome
Has ester linked lipids with
L-glycerol
Examples: Cyanobacteria
Usually single-celled Has unicellular and
organisms multicellular organisms
Lack of peptidoglycan in cell Cell wall not always
walls, have unique present, if present, usually
membrane lipids made of cellulose or chitin
Usually have a prokaryotic Have a eukaryotic structure
structure (true nuclei and membrane-
bound organelles)
Usually found in extreme Reproduce via mitosis &
environments and have meiosis rather than binary
unusual metabolic fission
characteristics.
Usually has a single circular Has multiple linear
chromosome chromosomes
Has ether linked lipids with Has ester linked lipids with
L-glycerol D-glycerol
Examples: methanogens, Examples: Algae,
 (makes significant amounts thermophiles, halophiles protozoans, yeasts.
of O2), Mycoplasma and E.
coli

4. What are the different divisions and types of microbes? Describe fully each microbe under
each division and type.
Microbes may either be cellular or acellular in structure, and are microscopic in size. The
cellular microbes include the bacteria, archaea, protists, and fungi.
 Bacteria are unicellular prokaryotes with no membrane-bound nucleus or organelles.
 Archaea are distinguished from bacteria due to their lack of peptidoglycan in their cell
walls, unique membrane lipids and are found usually in extreme environments (high
temperatures, highly acidic environments, and salt concentrations).
 Fungi, comprised of primarily heterotrophic, eukaryotic organisms, and include
unicellular yeasts and up to multicellular mushrooms and molds. They also form
symbiotic relationships with certain plants and bacteria (e.g. mycorrhizae in plants)
 Protists are primarily unicellular eukaryotes include algae, protozoans, slime molds
and water molds. They are also usually larger than bacteria and archaea. Some are
autotrophs capable of photosynthesis, while others are heterotrophs which rely on
the absorption of dissolved materials and phagocytosis for nourishment.
On the other hand, acellular entities such as viruses, viroids, prions and satellites lack any
cellular parts. They are also typically infectious agents and are submicroscopic in size.
 Viruses are typically composed of a protein capsule and nucleic acid. They are
typically extremely small, with some being 10,000 times smaller than a bacterium.
 Viroids are the smallest infectious agents known and are composed of a short strand
of RNA with no protein capsule.
 Satellites are made up of nucleic acid contained in a protein shell and require the aid
of helper viruses to replicate.
 Prions are made up of misfolded proteins that can trigger normally folded proteins to
fold abnormally.

5. Enumerate the contribution of the following scientists:

a. Robert Hooke – credited with first drawings of microorganisms using a prototype
microscope, also coined the term “cell”.
b. Lazaro Spallanzani – proved microorganisms could be killed through heat, by boiling
broth in flasks.
c. Edward Jenner – used material from cowpox lesions to immunize people from
smallpox, which was effectively the first smallpox vaccine.
d. Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis – demonstrated that hygienic practices and the use of
disinfectants greatly contributed to their survival of women in childbirth.
e. Louis Pasteur – further disproved spontaneous generation and pioneered in
fermentation, pasteurization, and developed early vaccines such as those for chicken
cholera, anthrax, and a new rabies vaccine.
f. Ferdinand Julius Cohn – helped disprove spontaneous generation with the discovery
of heat-resistant bacteria, in conjunction with John Tyndall’s evidence for such
organisms. Also played a role in classification of bacteria based on morphology and
physiology.
g. Joseph Lister – developed a system of antiseptic surgery designed to prevent
microorganisms from entering wounds, using heat sterilization and phenol on
surgical dressings.
h. Heinrich Anton de Bary – researched the role of fungi and other agents in causing
plant diseases, particularly smut and rust fungi which caused cereal crop diseases
i. Robert Koch – formulated Koch’s postulates which are a set of criteria that proves
the relationship between a specific disease and a microorganism. First utilized this
on anthrax, and then onto tuberculosis.
j. Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran - discovered the parasitic protozoans as causative
agents for malaria and trypanosomiasis.
k. Martinus William Beijerinck - first proposed the term “virus” to refer to infectious
agents.
l. Sergei N. Winogradsky – pioneered the cycle-of-life concept, the discovery of certain
oxidizing soil bacteria, isolated free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and developed the
Winogradsky column, which can culture a large diversity of microorganisms.
m. Chaim A. Weizmann - considered to be the father of industrial fermentation after
discovering how to use bacterial fermentation to produce large quantities of
substances.
n. Angelina & Walther Hesse - pioneered the use of agar as a new solid medium for the
culturing of microbes.
o. Oswald Theodore Avery - discovered that DNA was the necessary agent for the
transformation of heat-killed virulent pneumococci that they initially observed.
p. Frederick Griffith - showed the potential of the pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae
to transform from one strain to another and determined that the material responsible
for this to be DNA.
q. Jane Hinton - co-developed the Mueller-Hinton agar with John Howard Mueller,
which is now used to test bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics.
r. Alexander Fleming - discovered and isolated penicillin, the world’s first widely
effective antibiotic.
s. William C. Frazier – played an important role in the growth of food microbiology and
authored Food Microbiology which extensively covers the subject matter.
t. Julius Richard Petri - invented the culture dish or Petri dish while working under
Robert Koch.
u. Rene Jules Dubos – pioneered research on the isolation of antibacterial substances
from soil microorganisms that were later developed into major antibiotics.
v. Edward Laurie Tatum – conducted the experiment which provided the initial evidence
for bacterial conjugation alongside Joshua Lederberg using E. coli.
w. Esther Miriam Lederberg - discovered the λ (lambda) bacteriophage, the transfer of
genes between bacteria via specialized transduction, and the bacterial fertility factor
F. She also developed the technique of replica plating.
x. Joshua Lederberg – provided the initial evidence for bacterial conjugation alongside
Edward Tatum, which was later further confirmed by Bernard Davis.
y. Peter Charles Doherty - known for his research on the immune system’s response
towards viruses which infect the body, particularly on how T cells recognize their
target antigens.
z. Bruce N. Ames - invented the Ames test which utilizes bacteria to test the
mutagenicity of compounds.
 aa. Antonio Luna – conducted extensive research on the differential diagnosis and
ontogeny of Plasmodium in human blood and improved on Romanowsky’s staining
method for histopathological blood film diagnosis for malaria.
References:
Chung, K.T., & Liu, J.K. (2017). Pioneers in Microbiology. World Scientific.

Forman D. (1991). Ames, the Ames test, and the causes of cancer. BMJ (Clinical research ed.),
303(6800), 428–429. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.303.6800.428

Hesse, W. (1992). Walther and Angelina Hesse - Early Contributors to Bacteriology. ASM
News, 58(8), 425-428

Hirsch, J.G. & Moberg, C.L. (1989). René Jules Dubos. Washington D.C: National Academy of
Sciences.

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. (2020). Beyond the frieze.
https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/introducing/history/behind-frieze

National Science Foundation. (2015, March 17). Pioneering women in STEM.

https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=134386

Sauer M. (2016). Industrial production of acetone and butanol by fermentation-100 years later.
FEMS microbiology letters, 363(13), fnw134. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fnw134

Talaro, K.P., & Chess, B. (2017). Foundations in Microbiology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Education.

Vallejo, B. (2017). Antonio Luna, science and the emerging Filipino national identity. Diliman
Review, 61(1), 88-108.

Willey, J. M., Sherwood, L. M., & Woolverton, C. J. (2016). Prescott's Microbiology. New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill Education.