G.

RAMESHKUMAR
Department of Microbiology
AEH_TVL
For Today…

Introduction to the course

Explore the history and foundation of

microbiology

Dimensional Analysis
 Chapter 1
The Microbial World and You
Chapter 1 Basic Microbiology

What is Microbiology?

Microbes, or microorganisms are minute

living things that are usually unable to be
viewed with the naked eye.

What are some examples of microbes?

Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, algae, viruses
are examples!

Some are pathogenic

“Germ” refers to a rapidly growing cell.
Chapter 1 Basic Microbiology

What is Microbiology?

Activities of Microbes:
Decompose organic waste
Are producers in the ecosystem by
photosynthesis
Produce industrial chemicals such as
ethyl alcohol and acetone
Produce fermented foods such as vinegar,
cheese, and bread
Chapter 1 Basic Microbiology

What is Microbiology?

The cellular organization of microorganisms

Chapter 1 The Microbial World and You

What is Microbiology?

Knowledge of Microbes allows humans to

Prevent food spoilage
Prevent disease occurrence

Led to aseptic techniques to prevent

contamination in medicine and in
microbiology laboratories.
Chapter 1 The Microbial World and You

Origins of Microorganisms
Ancestors of bacteria were the first life on Earth.
Historical foundation of
Microbiology
Historical foundation of
Microbiology
Historical foundation of
Microbiology
History of Microbiology

A young milkmaid informed the physician

Edward Jenner that she could not get
smallpox because she had already been
sick from cowpox.
1796: Edward Jenner inoculated a person
with cowpox virus. The person was then
protected from smallpox.
Called vaccination from vacca for cow
The protection is called immunity
History of Microbiology

What can you say about the cowpox and

smallpox viruses?
History of Microbiology

Vaccinations
produced from avirulent microbial strains
produced from live viruses
produced from viral particles
History of Microbiology

The Golden Age of Microbiology

1857-1914

Beginning with Pasteur’s work, discoveries

included the relationship between microbes
and disease, immunity, and antimicrobial
drugs
History of Microbiology

Pasteur showed that microbes are

responsible for fermentation.
Fermentation is the conversation of sugar to
alcohol to make beer and wine.
Microbial growth is also responsible for
spoilage of food.
Bacteria that use alcohol and produce acetic
acid spoil wine by turning it to vinegar (acetic
acid).
History of Microbiology

Pasteur demonstrated that

these spoilage bacteria
could be killed by heat that
was not hot enough to
evaporate the alcohol in
wine. This application of a
high heat for a short time is
called pasteurization.
History of Microbiology

The Germ Theory of Disease

1835: Agostino Bassi showed a silkworm
disease was caused by a fungus.
1865: Pasteur believed that another silkworm
disease was caused by a protozoan.
1840s: Ignaz Semmelwise advocated
handwashing to prevent transmission of
puerperal fever from one OB patient to
another.
History of Microbiology

The Germ Theory of Disease

• 1860s: Joseph Lister used a chemical
disinfectant to prevent surgical wound
infections after looking at Pasteur’s work
showing microbes are in the air, can spoil
food, and cause animal diseases.
History of Microbiology

The Germ Theory of Disease

1876: Robert Koch provided proof that a
bacterium causes anthrax and provided the
experimental steps, Koch’s postulates, used
to prove that a specific microbe causes a
specific disease.
Koch was a physician and Pasteur’s young
rival
History of Microbiology

Koch's Postulates
are used to
prove the cause
of an infectious
disease.
History of Microbiology

Koch's Postulates
are a sequence
of experimental
steps to relate a
specific microbe
to a specific
disease.
History of Microbiology

Chemotherapy – treatment with chemicals

• Chemotherapeutic agents used to treat
infectious disease can be synthetic drugs
or antibiotics.
• Antibiotics are chemicals produced by
bacteria and fungi that inhibit or kill other
microbes.
• Quinine from tree bark was long used to
treat malaria.
History of Microbiology

Chemotherapy – treatment with chemicals

• 1910: Paul Ehrlich developed a synthetic
arsenic drug, salvarsan, to treat syphilis.
• 1930s: Sulfonamides were synthesized.
History of Microbiology
1928: Alexander
Fleming discovered
the first antibiotic.
He observed that
Penicillium fungus
made an antibiotic,
penicillin, that killed
S. aureus.
1940s: Penicillin was
tested clinically and
mass produced.
History of Microbiology
Classification of Microbes
Taxonomy
• The science of classifying organisms
• Provides universal names for organisms
• Provides a reference for identifying
organisms
Classification of Microbes
Taxonomy
• Systematics or phylogeny
• The study of the evolutionary history
of organisms
• All Species Inventory (2001-2025)
• To identify all species of life on Earth
Classification of Microbes
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Binomal
Domain
Nomenclature uses
Kingdom the Genus and
Phylum Species name to
Class identify each
Order creature.
Family
Genus
Species
Classification of Microbes
Branches of Microbiology
Bacteriology – Study of bacteria

Mycology – Study of fungi

Parasitology – study of parasitic organisms

Virology – Study of virus

Phycology/Algology – Study of algae

Scope of Microbiology

Immunology Public health Microbiology

& Epidemiology
Scope of Microbiology

Biotechnology Genetic engineering &

Recombinant DNA technology
Scope of Microbiology
Food Microbiology

Dairy Microbiology

Aquatic Microbiology

Agricultural Microbiology

Pharmaceutical Microbiology
Why study Microbiology?
Microbial roles in infectious disease
Microbes and Human Disease

• Bacteria were once classified as plants

which gave rise to use of the term flora for
microbes.
• This term has been replaced by microbiota.
• Microbes normally present in and on the
human body are called normal microbiota.
Microbes and Human Disease

• Normal microbiota prevent growth of

pathogens.
• Normal microbiota produce growth factors
such as folic acid and vitamin K.
• Resistance is the ability of the body to
ward off disease.
• Resistance factors include skin, stomach
acid, and antimicrobial chemicals.
Microbes and Human Disease

• When a pathogen overcomes the host’s

resistance, disease results.
• Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID): New
diseases and diseases increasing in
incidence
Methods in Microbiology
Three important techniques that allowed the
advanced study of microbiology:

 Microscopy
 KOH wet mount – Fungal filament
 Gram staining – differentiate G+ and G-

 Sterilisation
 Autoclave – sterilization of glassware
 Hot air oven – Instrument sterilization

 Pure culture
 Isolation of pure pathogenic bacteria, fungi