GENERAL MICROIOLOGY

BY MR. L MUGALA
 What is Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of small living organisms that cannot be
visualized by our unaided eyes
An instrument called microscope is used to view these tiny
organisms
Microbiology is further divided into various branches such as;
Bacteriology—study of Bacteria (unicellular organism)
Parasitology---- study of parasites (unicellular/multicellular
organisms)
 What is Microbiology
Virology– study of viruses (cellular organisms)
Mycology– study of fungi (unicellular/multicellular organisms)
Immunology—is the study of immune system
Other branches of microbiology include;
Public Health Microbiology/Food microbiology/water microbioogy
Medical microbiology- Study of small living organisms causing
diseases in humans
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF MICROBIOLOGY

Infectious diseases have been known for thousands of years

However, their etiology has only been known for about a century owing to the
advancements of technology
for example
 Bubonic Plague epidemic of mid 1300's
 Reduced population of western Europe by 25%.

 Plague bacterium was carried by fleas, spread from China via trade routes and poor hygiene.

 As fleas became established in rat populations in Western Europe, bubonic disease

outbreaks were not uncommon
 Ancient societies

Ancients felt the world filled with invisible spirits which would

explain things we couldn't understand.

Death and Disease, Disability (there has to be a reason)

WE STILL STRUGGLE WITH THESE THINGS/IDEAS TODAY.

 Ancient societies

Some biblical accounts indicate that there was a vague notion of

contagion developing --"Don't sleep in the House of a Leper".

People were warned not to settle in swampy areas because

according to them such areas were filled with invisible seed-like

creatures that would enter people through nostrils and cause
serious infections. (They were referring to malaria)
 The Debate Over Spontaneous Generation

The hypothesis that living organisms arise from nonliving matter is called
spontaneous generation. According to spontaneous generation, a “vital force’
forms life.

The Alternative hypothesis, that the living organisms arise from preexisting life, is
called biogenesis

Even the great Aristotle (384-322BC) who is regarded by some scholars as the
greatest philosopher of all time believed in spontaneous generation
 Spontaneous generation put to test

1668: Francisco Redi filled three jars with decaying meat

He showed that fly maggots do not arise from decaying meat
(as others believed) if the meat is covered to prevent the entry
of flies.
 Spontaneous generation put to test

1668: Francisco Redi filled three jars with decaying meat.

A jar covered with a lid No maggots

A jar covered with fine net No maggot inside the jar but maggots found on
top of the net

A jar left open/ not covered Maggots

Spontaneous generation put to test
and disapproved
 Spontaneous generation put to test
and disapproved
Where did the maggots come from?
What was the purpose of the sealed jars?
Spontaneous generation or biogenesis?
 Cell Theory

In 1665, Robert Hooke reported that living things were

composed of little boxes or cells.

In 1858, Rudolf Virchow said cells arise from preexisting cells.
Cell Theory. All living things are composed of cells and come
from preexisting cells
 First observation of microbes

1673-1723, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek described live

microorganisms that he observed (Animalcules)

Antoni was a trader but he used his spare time in the

lab combining lenses

He is considered to be the father of microbiology

 More experiments aimed at disapproving spontaneous generations
: John Needham(1745) and Lazzaro Spallanzani (1765) put boiled nutrient broth into flasks

Conditions Results
Nutrient broth heated, Microbial growth
then left open
Nutrient broth heated, No microbial growth
then placed in sealed flask

 Where did the microbes come from?

 Spontaneous generation or biogenesis?
 Spontaneous generation tested
Lazzaro Spallanzani disputed the theory by showing that boiled broth
would not give rise to microscopic forms of life.
When he was careful no microbes developed.
 Spontaneous generation put to rest

1861: Louis Pasteur demonstrated that microorganisms are present in the air

Conditions Results
Nutrient broth placed in flask, heated, not Microbial growth
sealed
Nutrient broth placed in flask, heated, then No microbial growth
sealed
The Theory of Biogenesis
 Golden age of Microbiology
1857-1914

Beginning with Pasteur’s work, discoveries included the

relationship between microbes and disease, immunity, and
antimicrobial drugs
 Golden age of Microbiology
Pasteur disproved the doctrine of spontaneous generation and
a new way of thinking became possible.
His work also encouraged the belief that microorganisms were
in the air and could cause disease.
This eventually led to:
Development of sterilization
Development of aseptic technique
 Fermentation and Pasteurization
Pasteur showed that microbes are responsible for
fermentation.
Fermentation is the conversation of sugar to alcohol to make
beer and wine.
Microbial growth is also responsible for spoilage of food.
Bacteria that use alcohol and produce acetic acid spoil wine by
turning it to vinegar (acetic acid).
 Fermentation and Pasteurization
Pasteur demonstrated that these spoilage bacteria could be
killed by heat that was not hot enough to evaporate the
alcohol in wine.
This application of a high heat for a short time is called
pasteurization.
 The germ theory

Pasteur postulated the germ theory of disease, which states

that microorganisms are the causes of infectious disease
It proved that bacteria caused diseases.
Microorganisms had been identified as the causal agents in
many familiar diseases
 The germ theory of disease

1860s: Joseph Lister used a chemical disinfectant to prevent

surgical wound infections after looking at Pasteur’s work
showing microbes are in the air, can spoil food, and cause
animal diseases.

He came up with antiseptic techniques

 1876: Robert Koch (1843-1910
Robert Koch provided proof that a bacterium causes anthrax and
provided the experimental steps, Koch’s postulates, used to prove
that a specific microbe causes a specific disease

Koch’s postulates are experimental steps used to prove that a

specific microbe causes a specific disease

He Identified the bacteria that cause anthrax, tuberculosis, cholera

 1876: Robert Koch (1843-1910)
He was the first to cultivate these bacteria outside the body
using blood serum at body temperature
Contributed significantly to the development of pure culture
technique
Introduction of agar to microbiology
This eventually led to:
Development of pure culture techniques
Stains, agar, culture media, petri dishes
 The Germ Theory of Disease
• Koch’s postulates

Pathogen must be present in all cases of disease

Pathogen must be isolated and grown in lab in pure culture
Pathogen from pure cultures must cause disease when
inoculated into healthy, susceptible lab animal

Same pathogen must be isolated from the diseased lab animal

 Koch's postulates (1884)
(Another version)
The agent must be present in every case of the disease.

The agent must be isolated and cultured in vitro.

The disease must be reproduced when a pure culture of the agent is

inoculated into a susceptible host.

The agent must be recoverable from the experimentally-infected host.

 Koch’s postulates and their limitations

Koch’s postulates Limitations

The agent must be present The agent may be their without
in every case of the disease. showing symptoms
The agent must be grown Some agents may not grow in
in lab in pure culture pure culture
The disease must be The disease may not be
reproduced in a susceptible
animal reproduced in non susceptible
animals
 Golden age of microbiology
Jenner, Edward (late 1700s)
Use of cowpox virus to vaccinate against smallpox virus
Flemming, Alexander (early 1900s)
Discovered penicillin, an antibiotic
 As he was working with staphylococcus aureus culture, he noticed a
strange growth on the plate which inhibited the growth of S. aureus
He examined and discovered it was a fungus called Penicillium notatum.
 The Birth of Modern Chemotherapy
1928: Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic.
He observed that Penicillium fungus made an antibiotic, penicillin, that
killed S. aureus.
1940s: Penicillin was tested clinically
 and mass produced.
 Golden age of microbiology

Many agents of different infectious diseases were identified.

 Many of the etiologic agents of microbial disease were
discovered during that period, leading to the ability to halt
epidemics by interrupting the spread of microorganisms
 Vaccination era

1796: Edward Jenner inoculated a person with cowpox virus.

The person was then protected from smallpox.

Called vaccination from vacca for cow

The protection is called immunity
Edward Jenner (English physician)---- Father of immunology
 The Birth of Modern Chemotherapy

Treatment with chemicals is chemotherapy.

Chemotherapeutic agents used to treat infectious disease can
be synthetic drugs or antibiotics.

Antibiotics are chemicals produced by bacteria and fungi that

inhibit or kill other microbes.
 The Birth of Modern Chemotherapy

Quinine from tree bark was long used to treat malaria.

1910: Paul Ehrlich developed a synthetic arsenic drug,
salvarsan, to treat syphilis.

1930s: Sulfonamides were synthesized.

 Antibiotics introduced in medicine

Despite the advances in microbiology, it was rarely possible to

render life-saving therapy to an infected patient. Then, after
World War II, the antibiotics were introduced to medicine.
The incidence of pneumonia, tuberculosis, meningitis, syphilis,
and many other diseases declined with the use of antibiotics.
 Challenges posed by viruses

Work with viruses could not be effectively performed until

instruments were developed to help scientists see these disease
agents. In the 1940s,
the electron microscope was developed and perfected. In that
decade, cultivation methods for viruses were also introduced, and
the knowledge of viruses developed rapidly.
With the development of vaccines in the 1950s and 1960s, such
viral diseases as polio, measles, mumps, and rubella came under
control
 Modern Microbiology
Modern microbiology reaches into many fields of human
endeavor, including the
Development of pharmaceutical products,
The use of quality-control methods in food and dairy
product production,
The control of disease-causing microorganisms in
consumable waters, and the industrial applications of
microorganisms.
 Modern Microbiology(Biotechnology)
Microorganisms are used to produce vitamins, amino acids,
enzymes, and growth supplements.
They manufacture many foods, including fermented dairy
products (sour cream, yogurt, and buttermilk), as well as other
fermented foods such as pickles, sauerkraut, breads, and
alcoholic beverages
 Microbiology timeline
• Invisible Organisms
• 1546
• Girolamo Francastro He suggest that invisible organisms may cause disease
• The Discovery of Cells
• 1665
• Robert Hooke publishes his discovery of cells and sees he first microorganism.
• The First Observation of Bacteria
• 1676
• Antony Leewenhoek observed the first bacteria.
• He was observing the lake water and found these organisms. This sparked a start to
microbiology.
• Vaccination of Smallpox
• 1796
• Edward Jenner introduced the vaccination of smallpox
• All Organisms Are Composed of Cells
• 1838 - 1839
• Mathias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann propose that all organisms are
composed of cells.
• Germ Theory of Disease
• 1840
• J. Henle Proposes the germs are the cause of diseases.
• Spread of Cholera
• 1853 - 1854
• John Snow demonstrates the epidemic spread of cholera through a
contaminated water supply.
• Sanitation of Wine
• 1864
• Louis Pasteur develops pasteurization to destroy organisms in wine.
• The Cause of Anthrax
• 1876
• Robert Koch demonstrates that a bacterium causes anthrax.
• Pure Culture
• 1881
• Robert Koch introduces pure culture techniques in the laboratory
• Agar Plate
• 1882
• Walter an Franny Hesse introduce the agar plate as a solidifying gel for
the culturing medium.
• Gram Negative Stain
• 1884
• Christian Gram describes the Gram stain.
• Phagocytic cells
• 1884
• Elie Methnikoff discovers phagocytic cells which engulf bacteria.
• Genetic transformation
• 1928
• Frederick Griffith discovers genetic transformation in bacteria.
• First Antibiotic
• 1929
• Alexander Fleming discovers first antibiotic, penicillin.
• Transforming principle of DNA
• 1944
• Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty demostrate that Griffith's Transforming
principle is DNA.
• Structure of DNA
• 1953
• Watson, Crick, and Franklin determine the structure of DNA being a double
helix structure.
• Viroids v.s. Virusis
• 1971
• Theodor Diener demonstrates fundamental differences between viroids and
viruses
• DNA Clone
• 1973
• Boyer and Cohen Clone DNA
• Domains of Organisms
• 1977
• Carl Woese classifies all organisms into three domains.
• Nuclotide Sequences
• 1995
• The first complete nucleotide sequence of a bacterial chromosome is
reported.