MICROBIOLOGY

Microbiology: The study of organisms and agents too

small to be seen clearly by an unaided eye----that is the
study of microorganisms.

Microbiology is a large discipline and has a great impact on

other areas of biology, medicine and general human
welfare.
• Francisco Redi filled three jars with decaying meat
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MICROBIOLOGY
THE BEGINNINGS
Even before microorganisms were seen, some investigators
suspected their existence and responsibility for disease: John Needham (English priest) (1731-1781)
• Experiments on spontaneous generation.
Lucretius (Roman philosopher) (about 98–55 B.C.) and • Nutrient broth boiled without cover, then tightly stoppered
Girolamo Fracastoro (Physician) (1478–1553) – the flasks
suggested that disease was caused by invisible living
creatures.
Fracastoro studied syphilis and he believed it was
transferred by “seminaria morbi” or bad seed.

Francesco Stelluti (Italian) –made the earliest microscopic

observations between 1625 and 1630 on bees and weevils
by the using a microscope probably supplied by Galileo

Anton Van Leeuwenhoek (Dutch) (1632-1723)

• First to described and observe microorganisms accurately.

• Observed these “animalcules” from rain water samples,

his own feces and scrapings from his teeth.
• First true microbiologist

THEORIES IN THE ORIGIN OF LIVING THINGS

SPONTANEOUS GENERATION
• Organic matter contained “vital force”
• Theory of development of some living forms from non-
• John Needham filled flask with nutrient broth
living matter.
• A “vital force” forms life.
Lazarro Spallanzani (Italian priest) (1729-1799)
• theorized that microorganisms from the air entered the
BIOGENESIS
solution: broth poured in sealed containers heated (-) for
• The theory of development of living forms from another
microorganisms.
living things
• Needham responded by claiming that “vital forces” for
spontaneous generation was kept out by the seal
THE TRANSITION PERIOD • Lazzaro Spallanzani boiled nutrient solutions in flasks.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C)
• Animals could originate from soil.
• Simpler invertebrates could arise from spontaneous
generation

Francisco Redi (1668)

• Demonstrate that maggots do not arise from decaying
meat
• Experiment: Jars of Meat with Fine Lace
 IGNAZ SEMMELWEIS – demonstrated that routine hand
washing can prevent the spread of disease
JOSEPH LISTER (1860’s) - use phenol as antiseptic on
THEORIES IN THE ORIGIN OF LIVING THINGS wound infection; Father of Antiseptic Surgery.
Biogenesis
• Proposed by Rudolf Virchow in 1858- a German scientist Robert Koch (1843-1910)
challenged spontaneous generation with the concept of • Formulated a criteria that provided proof that a specific
Biogenesis i.e. living cells arise from pre-existing living cells organism can cause a disease (1876).
• The theory of development of living forms from another • First to show proof that bacteria actually causes disease
living things. (isolation of Bacillus anthracis cultures in infected and
inoculated cows)
CLASSICAL GOLDEN AGE OF MICROBIOLOGY
(1857- 1914)
• In 1882, Koch isolated Mycobacterium tuberculosis a.k.a
Theodor Schwann (German Physician) (1810-1882)
Koch’s bacilli
• He observed that no growth occurred in a flask that
• In 1884, Charles Chamberland, constructed a porcelain
contained nutrient solution after allowing the air to pass
bacterial filter. The first viral pathogen to be studied was the
through the heated tube.
tobacco mosaic disease virus.
• Stated that yeast cells are responsible for the conversion
of sugar to alcohol.
• Koch’s Postulates
Louis Pasteur (French scientist)
• Firmly Disprove the spontaneous generation doctrine
(1861) and resolved all arguments.
• Demonstrated through experimentation that
microorganisms are present in the air and can contaminate
sterile solutions BUT that air itself does not create
microbes. These findings became the basis of ASEPTIC
TECHNIQUES.
• He is also known as the Father of Bacteriology
• Pasteur’s S-shaped flask kept microbes out but let air in.

• Fermentation and pasteurization by LOUIS PASTEUR –

invented a process which prevented wine from turning sour.
Wine was heated at a temperature which will kill
microorganisms responsible for the sour taste but which will
not destroy the yeast responsible for fermentation

John Tyndall (Irish Physicist) (1820-1893)

• He showed that dusts carry germs that could contaminate
a sterile broth
• Proposed the use of moist heat for 3 consecutive days to
eradicate vegetative cells and endospores now known as
Tyndallization KOCH’S POSTULATES
1. The suspected pathogenic organisms should be present
in all cases of the disease and absent from healthy animals.
VACCINATION AND ANTISEPTICS 2. The suspected organism should be grown in pure culture.
• VACCINATION – 1796, EDWARD JENNER, a British
physician, found a way to protect people from smallpox. 3. Cells from a pure culture of the suspected organism
The process was called vaccination. The term was given by should cause disease in healthy animal.
Pasteur to honor Jenner’s work (vacca is latin for cow) 4. The organism should be reisolated and shown to be the
same as the original.
DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURE MEDIA (1887)
Walther Hesse & Fannie Eilshemius - Suggested use of
agar as a solidifying agent in culture media.
Julius Richard Petri -developed the petri dish (plate)-made
possible isolation of pure cultures, and directly stimulated
progress in all areas of bacteriology.
Martinus Beijerinck & Sergei Winogradsky – developed
the enrichmentculture technique and the use of selective
media
DISCOVERY HIGHLIGHTS IN DIAGNOSTIC
MICROBIOLOGY
Charles Jules Henry Nicolle (1866-1936)
• Identification of lice as the transmitter of epidemic typhus •
Rickettsia prowazekii
BIRTH OF CHEMOTHERAPY
• Search for substances that can destroy pathogenic
organisms - “magic bullet”
• 1910 – Paul Ehrlich’s develops chemotherapeutic agent
Salvarsan (arsphenamine) (arsenic derivative) to combat
syphilis.
Gerhard Domagk (1895-1964)
•discovery of the first commercially available antibiotic
Sulfonamidochrysiodine (marketed under the brand name
Prontosil) effective against bacterial infections
DEVELOPMENTS IN DIAGNOSTIC BACTERIOLOGY
Alexander Flemming
• Discovered Penicillin (1945)
Selman Waksman
• Discovered Streptomycin which is the first Antibiotic
against TB.
• Derived from Streptomyces.
BASIC AND APPLIED SCIENCES IN MICROBIOLOGY
PHYCOLOGY
• Study of algae
• Algae - simple aquatic organisms ranging from single cell
forms to large sea weeds
BACTERIOLOGY
• Study of bacteria
• Bacteria – simplest, single celled prokaryotic organisms
• - 1997, HEIDE SCHULZ discovered a bacteria large
enough (0.2mm) to be seen with the naked eye. It was
named Thiomargarita namibiensis
• - 2010, an iron-oxide consuming bacteria named
Halomonas titanicae was discovered on a rusticle from the
RMS Titanic
APPLIED DISCIPLINES IN MICROBIOLOGY
Agricultural Microbiology – Study of relationships of
microbes and crops with an emphasis on control of plant
diseases and improvement of yields.
Food Microbiology – Interaction of microorganisms and
food in relation to food bioprocessing, food spoilage, food
borne diseases and their prevention.
Dairy Microbiology – Production of and maintenance in
quality control of dairy products.
Industrial Microbiology – Industrial uses of microbes in the
production of alcoholic beverages, vitamins, amino acids,
enzymes, antibiotics and other drugs.
Marine Microbiology – Study of microorganisms and their
activity concerning human and animal health in fresh,
estuarine and marine waters.
Air Microbiology – Role of aerospora in contaminaton and
spoilage of food and dissemination of plant and animal
diseases through air.
Exomicrobiology – Exploration for microbial life in outer
space.
Diagnostic Microbiology – Fundamental principles and
techniques involved in the study of pathogenic organisms
as well as their application in the diagnosis of infectious
diseases.
Epidemiology and Public Health Microbiology –
Monitoring, control and spread of diseases in communities.
Biotechnology – The scientific manipulation of living
organisms, especially at the molecular and genetic level to
produce useful products.
MYCOLOGY
• Study of fungi
• Fungi – microscopic eukaryotic forms (molds and yeast)
• includes medical, agricultural and ecological branches;
rising rates of infections (10% hospital-acquired infections);
climatic and environmental changes (global warming) has
been accounted for the rise in some fungal infections.
PROTOZOOLOGY
• Study of protozoans
• Protozoa – mostly single celled, eukaryotic microbes.
Ex. Entamoeba histolytica; Trichomonas vaginalis
VIROLOGY
• Study of viruses
•Viruses
acellular
consist of DNA or RNA core surrounded by a protein coat
require living host cells for replication
PARASITOLOGY
• Study of parasitism and parasites
• Parasites includes protozoa and helminths.
• - June 1, 2011, A "devil worm" has been discovered miles
under the Earth—the deepest-living animal ever found. The
new nematode species—called Halicephalobus mephisto