Microbiology: Introduction & history

Introduction to Microbiology, General characteristics of major groups of microorganisms, Historical perspective

1. MICROBIOLOGY

2. What
is
Microbiology
Study of:
Organisms of microscopic size
Classification
Morphology
Physiology
Metabolism
Distribution in nature
Relationship to each other and other living organisms

3. Why to study the
Subject
Distribution in Nature:
•Omnipresent: nearly everywhere in Nature
•Grow where they get food moisture and temperature suitable for
growth
•Air
•Soil
•Oceans
•Food we eat
•Surfaces of our body and inside alimentary canal

4. Effects on Human beings:
Microorganisms
Beneficial Harmful
Food
Bread, Wine, Cheese, Yoghurt,
Vinegar
Industrial applications
Enzymes, Amino
acids, Vitamins, Antibiotics, Vacc
ines, Pharmaceutical
industries, Sewage treatment
Agriculture
Recycling of elements, Nitrifying
bacteria
Food spoilage
Diseases
Bacterial
Viral
Fungal

5. Bacteria
Protozoa Algae
Fungi
Viruses
Microbiology includes study of

6. Monera Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia
Living Organisms
Five Kingdom classification of Organisms:
Bacteria Protozoa, A
lgae
Yeasts
Molds

7. Prokariyoticcell Eukariyoticcell
Organisms Bacteria Algae, Fungi, Protozoa,
Plants,Animals
Size 1-4 µm >5 µm
Nucleus Nuclear membrane absent,
Nucleolus absent
Nucleus bounded by
nuclear membrane,
Nucleolus present
Cell wall Peptidoglycanpresent Peptidoglycanabsent
Plasma membrane Sterols absent, Cytoplasmic
streaming absent
Sterols present, Cytoplasmic
streaming present
Membrane-enclosed
organelles
Absent Present
Ribosome 70 S 80 S
Basic structural and functional unit of life: Cell

9. Characteristics of
major groups of
Microorganisms

10. Bacteria
Size:
0.2-1.5 by 3-5 µm
Important Characteristics:
•Prokaryotic
•Unicellular
•Simple Internal structure
•Grow on artificial laboratory media
•Reproduction asexual (mostly simple cell division)
Practical significance:
•Some cause diseases
•Some perform role in natural cycling of elements and increase soil
fertility
•Manufacture of valuable compounds in Industry

12. Viruses
Size:
0.015-0.2 µm
Important Characteristics:
•Do not grow on artificial media
require living cells within which they reproduce
•Obligate parasites
•Electron microscopy required to observe
Practical significance:
•Cause diseases in humans animals plants
•Also infect microorganisms

14. Fungi (Yeasts)
Size:
5.0-10.0 µm
Important Characteristics:
•Eukaryotic
•Unicellular
•Grow on artificial laboratory media
•Reproduction asexual (cell division/ budding) or sexual
Practical significance:
•Some cause diseases
•some are used as food supplements
•Manufacture of alcoholic beverages

16. Fungi (Molds)
Size:
2.0-10.0 µm by several mm
Important Characteristics:
•Eukaryotic
•Multicellular
•Many distinctive structural features
•Cultivated on artificial laboratory media
•Reproduction asexual or sexual
Practical significance:
•Decomposition of many materials
•Industrial production of many chemicals like antibiotics
•Can cause diseases

18. Protozoa
Size:
2.0-200 µm
Important Characteristics:
•Eukaryotic
•Unicellular
•Some cultivated on laboratory media while some are intracellular
parasites
•Reproduction asexual or sexual
Practical significance:
•Some cause diseases
•Food for aquatic animals

20. Algae
Size:
1.0 µm to several centimeters
Important Characteristics:
•Eukaryotic
•Unicellular or Multicellular
•Photosynthetic
•Most occur in aquatic environments
•Reproduction asexual or Sexual
Practical significance:
•Production of food in aquatic environments
•Source of food and in Pharmaceuticals
•Some produce toxic substances

22. History

23. Varo&Columella[1
st
centuryBC]:Diseasescausedby
invisibleorganisms(Animaliaminuta)
GirolamoFracastoriusofverona[1546]:Livinggerms
(contagiumvivum)causeinfectiousdiseases
VonPlenciz[1762]:Eachdiseasecausedbydifferentagent
Kircher[1659]:reportedfindingminutewormsinbloodof
plaguepatients.

24. AntonieVanLeeuwenhoek[1632-1723]:
•1
st
toobserveanddescribesinglecelled
organisms,“animalcules”,wenowrefertoas
microorganisms.
•Describeddifferentmorphologicalformsof
bacteria
•1
st
torecordobservationsofmuscle
fibers,bacteria,spermatozoaandbloodflowin
capillaries(smallbloodvessels).

26. RobertHooke[1678]:
•DevelopedCompoundmicroscope
•1
st
tocointheterm‘Cell’

28. Earliestdiscoveryofpathogenicroleofmicroorganism:
AugustinoBassi[1835]:
Muscardinediseasesofsilkwormswascausedbyafungus.
OliverHolmes[1840]&IgnazSemmelweis[1846]:
Concludedthatpuerperialsepsiswastransmittedby
contaminatedhandsofobstetricians,nursesandmedical
students.
Thiscouldbepreventedbywashinghandsinantiseptic
solutions.

29. Edwerd Jenner:
•Observed that the milk maids who had milder form of cowpox
were not prone to Smallpox.
•After observing cases of cowpox and smallpox for few years, In
1796 he removed the fluid of a cowpox from milkmaid and
inoculated James Phipps, an eight-year-old boy, who soon came
down with cowpox.
•Six weeks later, he inoculated the boy with smallpox. The boy
remained healthy.
•Jenner had proved his theory that the pus in the blisters which
milkmaids received from cowpox protected milkmaids from
smallpox.

30. LouisPasteur[1822-1895]:
FatherofMicrobiology
•TrainedchemistfromFrance
•EstablishedthatFermentationwas
causedbymicrobialagents
•Demonstratedanaerobicfermentationby
bothbacteriaandyeasts(bacteria
produceacidandyeastproducealcohol)
•Developed pasteurization to prevent spoilage of wine by
bacteria
•Noted that different types of fermentations were associated with
different kinds of microbes
•Development of methods and techniques of Bacteriology
•proved that microbes arise only from their like

31. •Introduction of sterilization techniques: development of steam
sterilizer, autoclave and hot-air oven
•Studies on Anthrax, Cholera and hydrophobia
•Introduced live attenuated (weakened) vaccines
[Accidental observation: chicken cholera bacillus cultures left for
several weeks lost their pathogenicity but retained their ability to
protect the chickens from infection]
Pure culture of
chicken Cholera
bacteria
8 weeks old
Chicken
inoculated
Remains
Healthy

32. Fresh virulent
culture of
chicken Cholera
bacteria
Chicken
previously
inoculated
Remained
Healthy
Died
Chicken
which is not
previously
inoculated
After several weeks…

33. •Thenheattenuatedanthraxbacillusbyincubationathigh
temperatures(42C-43C)andprovedthatinoculationofsuch
bacilliinanimalsintroducedprotectionagainstanthrax
•Hecoinedtheterm‘Vaccine’forsuchprophylactic
preparations.
•Whileworkingonrabies,hecouldnotisolateany
microorganismfromdogandmanbutsuggestedthatcausative
agentofrabieswastoosmalltobeseenbymicroscope.

34. Spontaneous generation versus Biogenesis
•Aristotle(384-322 BC) proposed that animals might originate
spontaneously from soil, plants or other unlike animals.
•His influence was strongly felt even in the 17
th
century
•In 1668, Francesco Redidisproved such generation of
organisms from non-living things

35. John Needham(1745):
heated Nutrient Fluids and poured them into flasks and covered
with corks → fluid turned turbid showing presence of
microorganisms.
Spallanzani(1765):
Similar to Needham’s Experiments
Boiled the beef broth for hour and then immediately sealed flasks
No growth was observed in the broth
Louis Pasteur(1861)
•finally disproved spontaneous generation after many years of
debate
•Boiled broth in swan-necked flasks

37. JosephLister[1827-1912]:
FatherofAntisepticsurgery
•Professorofsurgery
•AppliedPasteur’sworkandintroduced
AntiseptictechniquesinSurgery
•UseofCarbolicacidinAntiseptic
surgery
•Resultedindropinmorbidityand
mortalityduetosurgicalsepsis

38. RobertKoch[1843-1910]:
FatherofBacteriology
•Introducedmethodsforisolationof
pureculture
•useofsolidmediaforisolationof
bacteria
•Stainingtechniques
•discovered Anthrax bacillus
(1876),Tuberclebacillus(1882)and
choleravibrios(1883)

39. Koch’spostulates
Microorganismcanbeacceptedasthecausativeagent
ofaninfectiousdiseaseonlyiffollowingconditionsare
fulfilled:
Disease agent must be present in every organism suffering from
the disease but should be absent in healthy organism.
It should be possible to isolate the microorganism in its pure
culture from lesion of the disease
The isolated microorganism when introduced into suitable
laboratory animal should produce the similar disease
It should be possible to re-isolate the microorganism in its pure
culture from lesions produced in experimental animals.

41. PaulEhrlich[1854-1915]:
FatherofChemotherapy
•Appliedstainstocellsandtissuesfor
studyoftheirfunctions.
•Reportedtheacid-fastnatureof
tuberclebacillus
•DiscoveredSalvarsan(derivativeof
arsenic)sometimescalledas‘Magic
Bullete’
•Salvarsan:capableofdestroying
spirochetesofsyphilis.
•Gaverisetonewbranchofmedicine:
‘Chemotherapy’

42. •In 1892, Ivanovskyremoved the bacteria from diseased tobacco
plant extract using some filters.
•This extract was responsible for producing tobacco mosaic
disease in healthy plant
•Beijerinck(1898) confirmed these findings and coined the term
‘Virus’ for such filterable infectious agents.
•Loeffler& Frosch(1898):
Foot and mouth disease of cattle
caused by similar filter-passing
viruses.
•Landsteiner& Popper(1909):
Virus responsible for Poliomyelitis
•Ruska(1934):
introduced Electron microscope

43. AlexanderFleming[1928]:
•Discoveryof1
st
Antibiotic
•AccidentallydiscoveredPenicillinproducedbyafungus
Penicillium
•LefthisStaphylococcuscultureonanagarplatefor2weeks→
wentonvacation→cameback&foundmoldonhisplatewhich
preventedbacterialgrowth

45. Elie Metchnikoff:
•Described how Leukocytes ingest disease producing bacteria in
the body
•Called such cells ‘Phagocytes’ & the process ‘Phagocytosis’
•Suggested that Phagocytes are the body’s 1
st
& most important
line of defense against infection.

46. Thank
You