Microbiology Introduction
Antoine van Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1723)
Scientific Method
 Sir Francis Bacon – proponent of the
scientific method
 Approach taken by scientists to explain a
certain natural phenomenon
 Form a hypothesis (a tentative
explanation that can be supported or
refuted)
 A lengthy process of experimentation,
analysis, and testing
 Results must be published and repeated
by other investigators
 If evidence of a theory is so compelling that
the next level of confidence is reached, it
becomes a Law or Principle
 If hypothesis is supported by a growing
body of evidence and survives rigorous
scrutiny, it moves to the next level of
confidence – it becomes a theory
Example in microbiology:
 Creator of the Microscope
 Animalcules (first name for
microorganisms [bacteria and
protozoans])
Theory of Spontaneous Generation
Was a belief that lifeforms could arise from vital
forces present in decomposing or nonliving
matter.
 Aristotle (384-322 BC) – simple lifeforms
could arise from spontaneous generation
 Francesco Redi (1626 – 1697) – he
tested the theory of spontaneous
generation and debunked that the theory
is not true
 John Needham (1719 – 1781) – also
tested the theory through flasks
 Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729 – 1799) –
proposed that air carries germs that
contaminates the flask
 Theodore Schwann (1810 – 1882) – air
was heated in the flask
 Georg Friedrich Schroder (1810 –
1885)
 Theodor von Dusch (1824 – 1890) – air
entered then was heat sterilized
Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895)
 Disproved the theory of spontaneous
generation (1861)
 Pasteurization
Discoveries of Spores and Sterilization
 John Tyndall (1820 – 1893) –
demonstrated that dust carries germs and
without dust, it is sterile, settled the theory
of spontaneous generation
 Ferdinand Cohn (1828-1898) –along
with Tyndall, proved the resistance of
heat within microbes, and that certain
microbes are resistant to heat.
Sterility – requirement of a medium that all
microorganisms are eliminated
Golden age of Microbiology (1857 – 1914)
Relationship between Microorganisms
Disease
 Microbes have something to do with
diseases
 Agostino Bassi (1773 – 1856) -through
the silkworm disease, it was found out
that it was due to a fungal infection.
Most diseases are due to microbial
infection
 M.J. Berkeley (1845) – potato
blight/famine of Ireland, was due to a
water mold.
 Heinrich de Bary (1853) – studied that
crop diseases was caused by fungi
 Joseph Lister (1872 – 1921) – he
prevented wound infections, developed
a system for antiseptics for surgery.
Prevents microorganisms form entering
wounds/ inside the body, preventing
infections
Robert Koch (1843 – 1910)
 Verified the Germ Theory
 Known for his Postulates
 Diseases that were caused by Cholera
 Developed pure culture methods
 Developed a medium to cultivate/culture
bacteria (agar) with the help of his
assistants
Germ Theory
Many diseases are caused by the growth of
microbes in the body and not by sins, bad
character, or poverty etc.
Major Contributors:
 Louis Pasteur
 Robert Koch
Development of Aseptic Techniques
 Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes – found out
and that infections given by mothers during
birth are frequent at homes that in
hospitals
 Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis – correlation
between physicians moving from
autopsy rooms and maternity wards in
terms of infections.
 Joseph Lister
Assigning Scientific names
Binomial (scientific Nomenclature)
Gives each microbe 2 names
- Genus – Capitalized
- Species - lowercase
Both italicized and underlined
- Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)
Inspiration for names is extremely varied
and often imaginative
Three Domains of Life

The evolutionary relationships between Earths

inhabitants