Introduction to Microbiology

General Microbiology
Sept 8, 2022
 Learning objectives
• Define microbes and their dimensions

• Identify source of microbes

• List some usefulness of microorganisms

• Discuss some areas where microbiologists

work
 Microbiology
• Microbiology may be defined as the study of organisms and
agents too small to be seen clearly by the unaided eye

• Microbiology is the study of microorganisms

• Microorganisms are all single-celled microscopic organisms

• Microorganisms also include viruses, which are microscopic

but acellular
The Importance of Microorganisms
• Most populous and diverse group of organisms
• Found everywhere on the planet
• Play a major role in recycling essential elements
• Source of nutrients and some carry out
photosynthesis
• Benefit society by their production of food,
beverages, antibiotics, and vitamins
• Some cause disease in plants and animals
 Dimensions of microbes
• Objects less than about 1 millimeter in diameter cannot
be seen clearly and must be examined with a microscope

• Microbiology is concerned primarily with organisms and

agents 1mm and smaller.

• However, some microorganisms, particularly some

eucaryotic microbes, are visible without microscopes. For
example, bread molds and filamentous algae are studied
by microbiologists are visible to the naked eye.
 Size of cells and organelles
• The micrometer (μm) is the most useful unit for expressing the size of cells
and organelles.

• A micrometer (sometimes also called a micron) is one-millionth of a meter

(10-6 m).

• In general, bacterial cells are a few micrometers in diameter, and the cells of
plants and animals are 10 to 20 times larger in any single dimension.

• Organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts tend to have diameters or

lengths of a few micrometers and are thus comparable in size to whole
bacterial cells.

• In general, if you can visualize it with a light microscope, you can express its
dimensions conveniently in micrometers
Microbial cells
 Nanometer
• The nanometer (nm), is the unit of choice for molecules and subcellular
structures that are too small to be seen with the light microscope.

• A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter (10 -9 m), so it takes 1000

nanometers to equal 1 micrometer.

• A ribosome has a diameter of about 25 nm.

• Other structures that can be measured conveniently in nanometers are

microtubules, microfilaments, membranes, and DNA molecules.

• A slightly smaller unit, the angstrom (Å), is occasionally used when

measuring dimensions within proteins and DNA molecules. An angstrom
equals 0.1 nm, which is about the size of a hydrogen atom
Comparison of structures from the macroscopic to the
microscopic, molecular, and atomic levels
Other nomenclature of microorganisms
• Such microscopic organisms are collectively
referred to as microorganisms, microbes, or
several other terms, depending upon the purpose.

• Other usage of “germs” or “bugs” refers to their

role in infection and disease, but those terms have
other biological meanings and perhaps place
undue emphasis on the disagreeable reputation
of microorganisms.
Members of the Microbial World

• Organisms and acellular entities too small

to be clearly seen by the unaided eye
– some < 1 mm, some macroscopic

• These organisms are relatively simple in

their construction and lack highly
differentiated cells and distinct tissues