Introduction to Microbiology

Dr. Linroy Christian

Definition of Microbiology
The study of microorganisms
Organisms too small to be seen by the naked eye Objects < 0.1 mm cannot be perceived by the human eye

Bacteria, fungi, viruses, algae, protozoa Characteristics of microorganisms

Unicellular Free of organelles Generally prokaryotic, but some are eukaryotic

Aspects of Microbiology- What Microbiology is all about?

It is about:
living cells and how they work Free-living microorganisms and their importance, in particular the bacteria Microbial diversity and evolution and how different kinds of microbes arose and why How microbes impact on human society, in our bodies and in animals and plants The central role of microbes in basic biological science leading to an understanding of higher organisms

Why Study Microbiology?

Two major reasons (1) As a basic biological science, microbiology provides access to research tools for probing the nature of life processes. A general understanding of chemical and physical principles has arisen from the study of microorganisms (2) As an applied science, microbiology deals with many important practical problems in medicine, agriculture and industry:
Human, animal and plant diseases Soil fertility Human life and industry

Impact of Microorganisms on Human Affairs

Disease Agriculture
Nitrogen fixation Rumen digestion Cycling of nutrients disease

Food industry
Cheese, yogurt, sauerkraut, pickles, baked goods, alcoholic beverages

Energy
Methane production, crude oil degradation, alternative sources of energy

Chemotherapy
Production of antibiotics

Biotechnology
Genetic engineering, insulin production in Escherichia coli

The History of Microbiology

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

Dutch amateur microscope maker in the 17th century Invented the simple microscope and was first to describe microorganisms in detail He did not invent the microscope, the compound microscope was developed in the late 16th century
Robert Hooke 1664 described fruiting bodies of fungi

The father of animal histology and microbiology

Discovered existence of spermatozoa and red blood cells Published paper in 1684 describing wee Animalcules

Advances in microbiology were made in the late 19th century due to:
Advancement in microscopy Advancement in techniques for the visualisation and differentiation of microorganisms (gram stain in 1884)

Van Leeuwenhoeks microscope

Spontaneous Generation
Life arising from something non-living Most powerful opponent of this theory, French Chemist Louis Pasteur Pasteurs Experiments
Showed structures in air resembled microbes seen in spoiled food Used heat to sterilize spoiled material and showed that air introduced contaminants that caused putrefaction, thus refuting the claims of spontaneous generation

The principles of sterilization and aseptic techniques were born. Such techniques are crucial to microbiology and in human industry

Pasteurs Experiment

Major drawback of Pasteurs Experiments

Endospores
Heat resistance Work of Ferdinand Cohn and Robert Koch discovered endospores in Bacillus

If heat was not applied then viruses would have been a potential issue Heat sterilisation in brief

Germ Theory of Disease

Robert Koch and the study of Anthrax and its etiology He found that large amounts of bacteria were found in the blood of sick animals
Animal experiments
Blood transfer Inoculation with pure bacterial culture

The experiments gave rise to Kochs Postulate which demonstrated the role of microorganisms in disease and spurred the development of microbiology, stressing the importance of laboratory culture The essential general conclusion to be drawn from this work is that specific microorganisms have specific effects

Kochs Postulate
(1) The organisms should be constantly present in the animal suffering from the disease and should be absent in health animals (2) The organisms must be cultivated in pure culture (3) The pure culture should produce characteristics of the disease when injected into a susceptible animal (4) The organisms should be re-isolated from the infected animal and cultured in the laboratory. The laboratory culture should be the same as the original organism

Pure Cultures
Kochs contribution
The use of solid media such as potatoes
The bacterial colony Streaking technique

The birth of the solid culture medium

gelatin

The use of agar media today and the development of microbial culture techniques

Bacterial Colonies on Agar Plate

Culture Media

Developments in the 20th Century

The Development of Applied Microbiology

Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Based on the work of Koch and others, many new pathogens discovered The bodys defense to pathogens understood

Agricultural Microbiology and the understanding of soil biology

Soil microorganisms and the formation of antibiotics The birth of antibiotics and chemotherapy (Alexander Fleming and the discovery of penicillin in 1929)

Industrial Microbiology
Fermentation Large-scale production of chemicals

Aquatic Microbiology
Microbial processes in water bodies such as lakes, streams and the ocean

The Development of Applied Microbiology

Sanitary Microbiology
Sewage treatment plants and anaerobic digestion

Drinking Water Microbiology

Study and elimination of microbes from drinking water

However, all of these sub-disciplines can be categorised as microbial ecology Developments in applied microbiology have led to advancements in human society

The Development of Basic Microbiology

Advancements in basic microbiology have provided support for advancements in applied microbiology Taxonomy- The science of classification Bacterial Physiology The nutrients bacteria consume and products they make Cytology Bacterial Biochemistry Bacterial Genetics Molecular Biology
DNA, RNA and protein synthesis Molecular sequencing Revolution of bacterial classification Human genome project

Virology Biotechnology
Genetic engineering Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Summary
The influence of microorganisms on human society is clear Pasteur stated The role of the infinitely small is infinitely large The early work of many scientists contributed to the development of the field of microbiology and consequently the quality of life we have today