Microbiology

Scientific study of microorganisms (microscopic organisms) and their roles in human

disease as well as beneficial processes.

Divisions of Microbiology
1. Bacteriology – Study of bacteria
2. Virology – Study of viruses
3. Mycology – Study of fungi
4. Phycology – Study of algae
5. Protozoology – Study of protozoa
6. Parasitology – Study of parasites

History In Microbiology

Zacharias Janssen - developed the first compound microscope.

Robert Hooke - popularized the use of the compound microscope when he placed the
lenses over slices of cork and viewed little boxes that he called cells.
Anton van Leeuwenhoek - the first person to view a living microorganism, which he
called animalcules.
Francesco Redi - Theory of Biogenesis (A living cell is generated from another living
cell.)
Louis Pasteur - showed that microorganisms were in the air and proved that sterilized
medical instruments became contaminated once they were exposed to the air.
Pasteurization, one of the best-known sterilization techniques, was
developed and named for Pasteur.
John Tyndall and Ferdinand Cohn - learned that some microorganisms are resistant
to certain sterilization techniques.
Robert Koch - developed the Germ Theory.
Germ Theory - A disease-causing microorganism should be present in animals
infected by the disease and not in healthy animals.
-The microorganism can be cultivated away from the animal and used to
inoculate a healthy animal.
-The healthy animal should then come down with the disease.
-Samples of a microorganism taken from several infected animals are the same
as the original microorganism from the first infected animal.
Richard Petri - improved Koch’s cultivating technique by placing the agar in a specially
designed disk that was to later be called the Petri dish.
Koch’s Postulates - The microorganism must be present in the diseased animal
and not present in the healthy animal.
-Cultivate the microorganism away from the animal in a pure culture.
-Symptoms of the disease should appear in the healthy animal after the healthy
animal is inoculated with the culture of the microorganism.
-Isolate the microorganism from the newly infected animal and culture it in the
laboratory. The new culture should be the same as the microorganism that was
cultivated from the original diseased animal.
Edward Jenner - Vaccination
Elie Metchnikoff - discovered phagocytosis
 Ignaz Semmelweis - reported a dramatic decline in childbirth fever when physicians
used antiseptic techniques when delivering babies.
Joseph Lister - developed carbolic acid, also known as phenol, one of the first surgical
antiseptics.
Paul Ehrlich - discovered “magic bullet”, known today as a drug (antibiotic).
Alexander Fleming - discovered Penicillium notatum, the organism that synthesizes
penicillin.

Microbial Taxonomy

Taxonomy
Area of biologic science comprising three distinct, but highly interrelated, disciplines:
1. Classification
2. Nomenclature
3. Identification

Classification
Organization of microorganisms that share similar morphologic, physiologic, and genetic
traits into specific groups, or taxa.
Taxa (plural of taxon) – categories or subsets in taxonomy
1. Domain (Bacteria and Archaea – Unicellular prokaryotic organisms) (Eukarya
– Plants and protists)
2. Kingdom
3. Division
4. Class
5. Order
6. Family
7. Tribe
8. Genus
9. Species
Diagnostic microbiologists traditionally emphasize placement and naming of bacterial
species into three categories: family, genus, and species
Species may be subdivided into:
1. Subspecies (abbreviated subsp.) – based on phenotypic differences.
2. Serovarieties (abbreviated serovar.) – based on serologic differences.
3. Biovarieties (abbreviated biovar.) – based on biochemical test result
differences.

Nomenclature
Naming of microorganisms according to established rules and guidelines
Binomial (two-name) system – system of nomenclature used in naming
microorganisms.
Every organism is assigned a genus and species name of Latin or Greek
derivation.

Idenfitication
Process by which a microorganism’s key features are delineated.
 Once those features are established, the profile is compared with those of other
previously characterized microorganisms so that the organism in question can be classified
within the most appropriate taxa (classification) and can be assigned an appropriate
nomenclature.

Types of Cells

Eukaryotic cells Vs Prokaryotic cells

Components Eukaryotes Prokaryotes

Nuclear Membrane Present Absent
Membranous structures Present Generally absent (Mesosomes
other than cells and photosynthetic
membranes membranes are exceptions)
Microtubules Present Absent
Cytoplasmic ribosomes 80S 70S
(density)
Chromosomes Composed of DNA and Composed of DNA only
proteins
Flagella or Cilia Complexed when present Flagella is present but
simple; Cilia is absent
Cell wall Present, but in simple Present but in a more
chemical constitution and complexed chemical
contains cellulose in plants. constitution, and contains
Absent in animal type. peptidoglycan.
Photosynthesis Present in plants; Absent in Present in cyanobacteria and
Animal other specific bacteria

Eukaryotes (eu = true; karyo refers to a nut or nucleus) – they are so named because they
have a true nucleus, in that their DNA is enclosed by a nuclear membrane.

Components:
a. Cell membrane
b. Nucleus
c. Cytoplasm
d. Endoplasmic reticulum
e. Ribosomes
f. Golgi complex
g. Lysosomes and Peroxisomes
h. Mitochondria
i. Plastids
j. Cytoskeleton
k. Cell wall
l. Flagella and Cilia

Prokaryotes (pro = before; karyon same with the definition above) – single-celled organism
that lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.
Components:
a. Cell membrane
b. Chromosome
c. Cytoplasm
d. Cytoplasmic particles
e. Glycocalyx
f. Flagella
g. Pili or Fimbriae
h. Spores