Microbiology

LESSON 1
Second Semester, 2020 - 2021
 Topics Covered

 Scope of Microbiology
Bacteria, Viruses, Fungi, Parasites
 Importance of Microorganisms
 Characteristics of Microorganisms
 History of Microbiology
 Taxonomy
 Scope of Microbiology

Microbiology
 study of organisms that are too
small to be seen by the naked eye.
Microbes or Microorganisms
 “germs” or “bugs”
 bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae, protozoa and
helminths
 Prions (“infectious proteins”) are recent addition.
12 inches / 30.48 cm
4 cm
1 cm = 10 mm
1 mm = 1,000 um ( bacteria )
1 mm = 1,000,000 nm ( viruses )

1 mm
 Definition of Terms

Microbiology
• is the study of microorganisms,
those being unicellular, multicellular,
acellular
• encompasses numerous sub-disciplines
including virology, bacteriology,
protistology, mycology, immunology and
parasitology.
 Bacteriology study of bacteria

 Mycology study of fungi and yeast

 Virology study of viruses

 Parasitology study of parasitic

protozoans & helminths

 Immunology study of the humoral and

cellular immune response
to disease gents and
allergens
 Protistology study of protists ( amoebas,
ciliates, flagellates, sporozoans
Medical Microbiology
It is the study of causative agents
of infectious diseases of humans
and their reactions to such
infections. It deals with etiology,
pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis,
specific treatment, control and
preventive measures of infection
(immunization).
• Etiology – the study of the CAUSES of
disease
• Pathogenesis – the manner of
development of a disease
• Laboratory diagnosis - employs specific
test(s) used to identify the cause of the
infection
• Treatment = chemotherapy ; surgery;
radiotherapy
• Prevention & Control = immunization
 Specializations in Microbiology

 Epidemiology and Public Health Microbiology

distribution and spread of diseases and their control and prevention

 Food Microbiology
use of microbes in the production of food products and drinks

 Agricultural and Veterinary Microbiology

use of microbes to increase crop and livestock yield and control of plant
pests and animal diseases

 Environmental Microbiology
study of the beneficial and harmful effects of microbes on the environment
 Importance of Microbiology

 First bacteria ( origin )

 Photosynthesis and decomposition

 Human use of microorganisms
 Infectious diseases
 The Progenote

Evolutionary Timeline: Bacteria appeared 3.5 billion years ago

 Photosynthetic Microbes

Microbes are involved in photosynthesis and accounts for >50% of

earth’s oxygen.
Also involved in decomposition and nutrient recycling.
Beneficial Uses of Microbes

Extraction of copper from ore

 Beneficial Uses of Microbes

Synthesis of drugs, hormones and enzymes

 Beneficial Uses of Microbes

Bioremediation is the use of microbes to degrade organic

matter in sewage and detoxify pollutants such as oil spills.
 Modern Uses of Microbes

 Biotechnology, the use of microbes as miniature

biochemical factories to produce food and chemicals
 Genetic engineering makes use of molecular
biology and recombinant DNA techniques as new
tools for biotechnology
 Gene therapy replaces missing or defective genes
in human cells through genetic engineering.
 Genetically modified bacteria are used to protect
crops from pests and freezing.
 Infectious Diseases
United States Public Health Service
(USPHS) - agency where notifiable
diseases are reported

Centers for Disease Control (CDC)-

collects disease data around the U.S.
and publishes the MMWR (Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report)

World Health Organization (WHO)-

medical arm of the U.N., monitors
diseases worldwide.

Worldwide infectious disease statistics

MICROBIAL
TAXONOMY
Taxonomy = the formal filing system used by
scientists to classify living
organisms
= from the
Greek taxis (“arrangement”)
and nomos (“law”).
= introduced by Swedish
naturalist Carolus Linnaeus in
the 1750s ( internationally
accepted )
SCOPE OF TAXONOMY:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-nmbiology1/chapter/reading-taxonomy/
Nomenclature
( Underlined )

Staphylococcus aureus
describes clustered arrangement of cells and
golden yellow color of colonies
( Italicized )

Escherichia coli
Honors the discoverer, Theodor Escherich and
describes its habitat, the colon.

After the first use, scientific names may be

abbreviated with the first letter of the genus and full
species epithet. (Ex: E. coli )
 General Types of Microbes

 Prokaryotes
 Eukaryotes

 Acellular agents
1. virion = genomes contain either
DNA or RNA
2. prion = proteinaceous newer agent
EUCARYOTES
> “ eu = true ; karyo = nut “
> cells having true nucleus
> nucleus contains 2 or more
chromosomes
> cytoplasm contains mitochondria,
endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi
apparatus, lysosomes & vacuoles
( inclusion bodies )
> cell membrane acts as a barrier
> include animals, plants, fungi &
protists
PROKARYOTES
 “ pro = primitive ; karyo = nut “
 cells having NO true nucleus
 include the monerans ( bacteria,
rickettsia ) & protists ( blue-green algae )
Parts and Function:
1.) External structure
a.) cell membrane
b.) cell wall = provides shape to the
organism
= different between GPO
and GNO
2.) Internal structures
a. nucleoid = contains only one ( 1 )
chromosome filled up with
DNA
b. Cytoplasm = limited only in amount
and it contains RNA
= filled with free
ribosomes
= no mitochondrion and
vacuoles
3.) Special structures
a.) glycocalyx
> a general term referring to
extracellular polymeric material
(glycoprotein) produced by some
bacteria, epithelia and other cells
> allows bacterium to attach into
various surfaces
Types:
i.) slime layer = unorganized and loosely
attached to the cell wall
ii.) capsule = organized and firmly
attached to the cell wall
= indicates virulence of an
organism
= main role: acts as a
defense against
phagocytosis
2.) Flagella
 long, fine thread-like filamentous
appendages which are the
principal organs for locomotion of
all known spirilla and half of the
population of bacilli but none for
cocci

 made of flagellin ( protein )

3.) pilus ( pili)
> involved in the transfer of DNA to
another cell ( sex pilus )

fimbria ( fimbriae )
> provides attachment for bacteria to
surfaces of other cells
4.) axial filaments
> locomotory organelle among
spirochetes
5.) Spores
> metabolically dormant, resistant
bodies of some bacilli which resist to
physical and chemical changes
which would injure the original
organism
> main role: protect bacteria when
environmental conditions become
unfavorable
> capable of germination
> formation does not indicate
reproduction
6.) plasmid
> extra chromosomal DNA which
confer protective traits such as
resisting to drugs, and producing
toxins and enzymes
> an important agent in modern
genetic engineering techniques
7.) mesosome
> they act as an anchor to bind
and pull apart daughter
chromosomes during cell
division.
 Cell Types

Comparative cellular structures of microbes

 Size of Microbes

• Microbes vary in size ranging from 10 nm

to 100 um to the macroscopic

• Viruses = in nm
• Bacteria = in um
• Helminths = in mm
 Brief History of Microbiology

 The Microscope
 Spontaneous Generation ( SCIENTIFIC Method )
 Spores and Sterilization
 Aseptic Technique
 Germ Theory
The First Microscope

Microbes were first observed

by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
using a simple microscope
(ca. 1673)
Reported his “animalcules” to
the Royal Society of London
 Abiogenesis vs. Biogenesis

 “Spontaneous Generation” ( ABIOGENESIS )

was an early belief that living things can arise
from vital forces present in nonliving and
decaying matter.
(Ex: maggots from meat or mushrooms
from rotting wood

 The alternative hypothesis that living organisms

can arise only from preexisting life forms is called
“Biogenesis” introduced by Rudolf Virchow
The Pros and Cons

Francisco Redi (ca. 1668)

Louis Jablot
The Pros and Cons
 The Pros and Cons

Franz Schultze and Theodor Schwann

Golden Age of Microbiology
Louis Pasteur ( French
bacteriologist ) put an end to
the Abiogenesis debate with his
Swan/Goose Neck Flask
Experiment

He is the father of
Microbiology
 Louis Pasteur

 Showed microbes that had aused fermentation

 Studied spoilage and introduced “Pasteurization” to
prevent it
 Used cotton plugs in his cultures to prevent air borne
contamination, he devised the Aseptic Technique.
 Developed the Germ Theory of Disease
 Spores and Sterilization

 John Tyndall showed that some microbes

in dust and air were resistant to heat ;
introduce 3x heating & cooling technique
 Ferdinand Cohn discovered and
described endospores
 Term “sterile” was introduced to mean the
complete removal of all life forms including
endospores
 Antiseptics and Hand Washing

 1860s - Joseph Lister used, carbolic acid, a

chemical antiseptic to prevent surgical wound
infections
 Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician
introduced hand washing as a means of preventing
transfer of puerpueral sepsis in obstetrical patients
 Florence Nightingale ( 1820-1910 ) she organized
care for wounded soldiers.
 Germ Theory of Disease

 1876 - Robert Koch

provided proof that a
bacterium causes anthrax
using experimental steps
now called the Koch’s
Postulates

 He was the first to use agar

as solid culture medium in
bacteriology.
 Koch’s Postulates

1. The microbe must always be present in

every case of the disease.
2. It must be isolated in pure culture on
artificial media.
3. When inoculated into healthy animal host it
should produce the same disease.
4. It must be isolated from the diseased animal
again.
 Vaccination

• Edward Jenner = introduced the vaccine

for smallpox
LEFT: SMALLPOX
BELOW: CHICKENPOX
 Chemotherapy
• Alexander Fleming = introduced the first
 antibiotic substance benzylpenicillin (Penicillin G)
from the mold Penicillium notatum in 1928
• Paul Ehrlich = a German Jewish medical scientist
best known for discovering the first effective treatment
for syphilis for which he received the Nobel Prize for
Physiology or Medicine in 1908 with his partner Élie
Metchnikoff. Ehrlich was also a pioneer in the in the
fields of chemotherapy, hematology and immunology.
• Increasing number of drug resistant strains including
Nosocomial and Community Acquired microorganisms

 MRSA Methicillin Resistant

Staphylococcus
aureus
 VRE Vancomycin Resistant
Enterococcus
 VRSA Vancomycin Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
 MDR-TB Multidrug Resistant
Tuberculosis
Modern Microbiology
 References

• fd.valenciacollege.edu/file/sagustin/MICRO
%2006%20Lect%201.ppt
• https://www.shmoop.com/dna/pcr-
polymerase-chain-reaction.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Alexander_Fleming