Lecture 2: Introduction to

Microbiology and Why You

Need to Know It!
BIOL2905 W22
Domains of Life

What are some fundamental differences between the 3

domains? Similarities?
 Figure 1.17

The ability to characterize and identify

microbes is essential to treating
diseases!!
Organization of Life

Where would DNA fit here?

 Levels of Biological organization video

From Libre Texts (Boundless book) 

https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/
Taxonomy and Binomial Nomenclature

Check out the Phylogenetic Trees

video!
 Characteristics of Life – maybe!
BIOL1000 Textbook Boundless book on Libre texts

 Cells  Order

 Replication  Response to Stimuli

 Evolution  Reproduction

 Information  Growth and Stimuli

 Energy  Regulation

What things d all live things share?  Homeostasis

 Energy Processing

 Evolution
The basics of Medical Microbiology!

You need to be able to identify the

Pathogen (What is this?) and then
determine how to treat it AND then ensure
that no one else – including you –
becomes infected.
Detection
Microbial Colonies on an agar plate

Q? Is this
Streak Plate sample from a
procedure video pure, mixed, or
contaminated
culture?

Microbes can form a colony (what is this?) that is distinctive and can be a first
stage to identifying a pathogen. (why is this important?)
Escherichia coli (E. coli) - a Model organism!

Note scientific name of organism formatting (genus and species italicized,

genus capitalized, species all lower case). Can abbreviate genus after
using full name (not so with species name).
 Studying E. coli

What is a clone?
E. coli – overview of a bacterium

DNA present in nucleoid (chromosomal

region) and possibly plasmids (circular,
non-essential, independent of
chromosome).
Other structures may be present.
Method to obtain a microbe sample from a
liquid source – Part 1
Method to obtain a microbe sample from a
liquid source – Part 2
Aseptic Technique video

Q? Why do we need single colonies?

Figure 2.6

Selective and Differential media

17
Table 2.1

18
Table 2.2A

19
Table 2.2B

20
Figure 2.4

Chocolate agar
with Neiserria
Blood
agar

LB plate – check out this page and video;

https://www.addgene.org/protocols/
streak-plate/

Q? How might an antibiotic affect the use

of this plate?
Different Types of
rich media.
Are these all pure
cultures? Mixed?
Contaminated?

21
Figure 2.5
MacConkey agar:
Example of a specialized
• Selective and differential media
(source: https://microbiologyinfo.com/macconkey-agar-composition-
principle-uses-preparation-and-colony-morphology/)
• Gram -ve only; Gram + inhibited by bile
salts
Source: https://www.news-medical.net/life-
• Also blocks fastidious Gram –ve (these sciences/Growing-Fastidious-
are?) Microorganisms-in-the-Laboratory.aspx

• Used for Enteric bacteria identification

• Differentiation based on Lactose
fermentation

Q? If a bile duct was blocked,

what result might you expect?

22
From https://microbiologyinfo.com/macconkey-agar-composition-principle-uses-preparation-and-colony-
morphology/
Lactose Fermentation - simple
Table 2.3

25
Table 2.4

26
 Molecular Identification Techniques

DNA technology
Immunoassays
Now that you’ve isolated a microbial pathogen, what
now??

 Should a drug treatment be given?

If so then which one?

 Not all microbes can be killed by the same

treatment!

 Different cell types (Prokaryotes v Eukaryotes.

Which one are you? Which are bacteria? Is a fungal
infection prokaryotic or eukaryotic? Do you care?)
Some targets against bacteria
Different
cellular targets
for
Antimicrobial
drugs.

Would DNA or
protein
synthesis be a
good target for
a fungal
infection??
Size comparison
Figure 1.5
Relative cell sizes
Prokaryotic cell - general
Gram Typing
 Gram Staining
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NWASSXDzHRs
•Gram stain
-developed in 1884 by Hans Christian Gram
-consists of sequential applications of crystal violet (the
primary stain), iodine (the mordant), an alcohol rinse
(decolorizer), and safranin (the counterstain)
-different results in the Gram stain are due to differences
in the structure of the cell wall and how
it reacts to the series of reagents applied to the cells
-remains the universal basis for bacterial classification and
identifications
-a practical aid in diagnosing infection and guiding drug
treatment  Choice of first antibiotic based on Gram ID
Preparation of a
slide
Figure from this open source link. Good site for background on this and many other Microbiology topics!
https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Microbiology/Book%3A_Microbiology_(OpenStax)/02%3A_How_We_See_t
he_Invisible_World/2.4%3A_Staining_Microscopic_Specimens
Structure of a Eukaryotic Cell
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

In All Eukaryotes

Golgi apparatus Mitochondrion Intermediate Microtubule Actin filaments

Lysosome filament

Cell membrane

Nuclear
membrane
with pores

Nucleus

Nucleolus

Rough endoplasmic
reticulum with
ribosomes

Smooth endoplasmic
reticulum

Flagellum Chloroplast Centrioles Cell wall Glycocalyx

In Some Eukaryotes

Prokaryotic Cell