LESSON 1.

1
microbiology st
1 SEMESTER prelims

MICROBIOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION

MICROBIOLOGY II. Human Digestion

 Microbiology is the study of all living organisms
that are too small to be visible with the naked eye.
 This includes bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi,
prions, protozoa and algae, collectively known as
'microbes'.
 Study of:
 Organisms of microscopic size
 Classification
 Morphology
 Physiology
 Metabolism
 Distribution in nature
 Relationship to each other living organisms

WHY STUDY THE SUBJECT?

Distribution in Nature

 Ominpresent: nearly everywhere in nature.

 Grow where they get food moisture and
temperature suitable for growth.
 Air III. Food Spoilage
 Soil
 Oceans
 Food we eat
 Surfaces of our body and inside alimentary canal

WHY STUDY MICROBES?

I. Nutrient Cycle

IV. Food Industry

V. Cause and Control of Disease  He called these tiny living organisms
“animalcules”. He first described bacteria, protozoans
and many cells of the human body.

SPONTANEOUS GENERATION: REDI,

NEEDHAM, SPALLANZANI, & PASTEUR

SPONTANEOUS GENERATION
 For much of history, people believed that
animals could come from non-living sources. They
thought:
 Frogs developed from falling drops of rain.
 Mice arose from sweaty underwear.
 Flies arose from decaying meat.
 This is called abiogenesis.
 Also known as spontaneous generation.
 These ideas were followed because people
simply accepted what they were told.
EFFECTS ON HUMAN BEINGS
THE POWER OF AUTHORITY

 In the past, people believed what they were told

by “authorities” such as the Church, or the ancient Greek
philosopher Aristotle.
 Questioning Aristotle was like questioning the
Church....

I. Francisco Redi (1668)

 Italian physician & poet.

 Attempted to disprove the theory of
Spontaneous Generation.

HISTORY OF MICROBIOLOGY

THE FIRST OBSERVATION: HOOKE &

VAN LEEUWENHOEK
I. Robert Hooke: “Cells”

 English Scientist
 Used the compound microscope to observe cork.
 Hooke observed that cork is composed of small,
hollow compartments.
 The parts prompted Hooke to think of small
rooms (cells) in a monastery, so he gave them the same
name: CELLS.
 Investigated cork through experimenting with
the compound microscope and came up with the name  “The flesh of dead animals cannot engender
cells. worms unless the eggs of the living being deposited
therein.”
II. Anton van Leeuwenhoek: “Animalcules”  Put dead snakes, eels, and veal in large wide
mouthed vessels. Sealed one set with wax and left the
 As a draper (merchant who sells cloth and dry other set open to air.
goods), he used lenses to examine cloth. This probably  Decaying meat was teeming with maggots,
led to his interest in lens making. sealed meat had no maggots.
 He assembled hundreds of microscopes, some of  Wax sealed vessels failed to produce maggots
which magnified objects 270 times. because flies were unable to reach the meat.
 As he looked at things with his microscopes, he
discovered “micro” organisms - organisms so tiny that Redi’s Critics said…
they were invisible to the naked eye.
 You have too many variables.  Hypothesis: Microbes MUST HAVE arisen
 There is a lack of access and a lack of air. spontaneously from the broth.
 We ALL know that everything needs air.  Assumption: There is no other place the
 Of course no flies grew! microbes could come from (other than the broth).
 You haven’t proven anything.  Error: Microbes could have come from the air.

Answer to Crtics: Experiment 2 III. Spallanzani (1745)

 Italian naturalist
 Disagreed with Needham.
 Claimed he didn’t seal jars well enough.
 He said microbes could have come from the air.
 He repeated Needham’s experiment, but
changed two things:
 Boiled flasks longer
 SEALED THEM after boiling by fusing the glass
tops shut.
 (Hermetically sealed – absolutely airtight)
 Result: NO growth in ANY flask.

Redi’s Conclusions

 “All living beings come from seeds of the plants

or animals themselves.”

II. John Needham

 English
Clergyman
 Wondered if
this would work with Needham criticizes Spallanzani’s Experiment
microorganisms
in1745.  BUT Needham said: you boiled it TOO LONG.
 Everyone knew  You spoiled the vegetative power by boiling.
 You killed the ability of the broth to give life.
that boiling killed
 Life can still come from broth -- but the broth
organisms. must not be “damaged” by boiling.
 Needham
prepared various Spallanzani’s Ssecond Experiment
broths and showed that
they contained  He did TIMED BOILINGS.
microbes.  Then left them partially sealed.
 Then he boiled  Some partially sealed, some hermetically sealed
them, and showed that as in his previous experiment.
there were no longer  Hypothesized that more boiling should lead to
any microbes. less life.
 He ensured the  He left some jars as Needham had (leaky seals),
stoppers were loose, so to ensure “active principle” was not damaged.
that air would not be excluded.
 Then, after a few days, microbes had re-
appeared.
 This was “proof” that the microbes had
spontaneously generated from the non-living broth.

Needham’s Error

 BUT: how was this evidence of a faulty

experiment?
 Ahat ERROR in experimental method is shown
here?
Spallanzani’s Ssecond Experiment’s Result

 This showed TWO main things:

 Boiling did NOT damage broth’s ability to  Pasteur showed that the active principle was
support life. NOT damaged.
 Growth depended on the SEAL only.  At any later time, he could tip the flask.
 This allowed nutrient broth to contact the dust.
 This carried microbes into the broth.
 Result: growth

 Pasteur squashes the idea of abiogenesis

completely.
 Since then, no one has been able to refute
IV. Louis Pasteur (1859)
Pasteur’s experiment.
 French chemist  Scientists everywhere soon came to accept that
 Entered a contest sponsored by French abiogenesis did NOT EXIST.
Academy of Sciences to prove or disprove Spontaneous
generation. Pasteur and Microbiology
 Used swan-necked flask.
 flask allowed in air, but trapped dust (and  He is known as the “Father of Modern
microbes). Microbiology.”
 Boiled infusion  He showed that microorganisms can be present
 Showed that NO growth occurred, even after in nonliving matter– on solids, in liquids and in the air.
many days.  He discovers the aseptic techniques; technique
 BUT -- what about damaging the “active that prevent contamination by unwanted
principle?” microorganism.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF MICROBIOLOGY:

KOCH, PASTEUR, LISTER & JENNER
 1857-1914 has been called “The Golden Age of
Microbiology.”
 There is rapid advances that led to microbiology
of science.
 Discoveries during this year are the following:
agents of diseases, the role of immunity, chemical
activities of microorganism, improved techniques in
performing microscopy, culturing microorganism ,
vaccine development and surgical techniques.
  He proved that bacteria cause diseases in 1876.
Fermentation and Pasteurization  “Father of Bacteriology”
 He was a rival of Pasteur in the discovery of
 Pasteur found that microorganism called yeast what causes anthrax.
convert the sugars to alcohol in the absence of air.  He was able to observe a rod-shaped bacteria in
 The process is called fermentation; it is used to the blood of cattle that had died of anthrax. The bacteria
make wine and beer. is now known as Bacillus anthracis.
 Souring and spoilage are caused by bacteria.  He established the relationship of specific
 In the presence of air bacteria change the microbe to a specific disease. The step is now known as
alcohol beverage to vinegar. Koch’s postulate.

 Pasteur’s solution to spoilage problem was to

heat the beer and wine just enough to kill most of the
bacteria that can cause spoilage; the process is now
called pasteurization. III. Edward Jenner

 Vaccination
 British physician
 Had an experiment to find ways to protect
people from smallpox in 1796.
 Young milkmaid informed Jenner that she
couldn’t get smallpox she already had been sick from
cowpox.
 Because of this he decided to put the girls story
to test.

Jenner’s Test

 He collected scrapings from cowpox blister.

THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASE  He inoculated a healthy boy volunteer with the
cowpox material by scratching the boy’s arm with
 The discovery of Pasteur alerted scientists that contaminated needle.
microorganisms might have similar relationships with  The scratch turned into raised bumps.
plants and animals – specially, that microorganisms  Few days after, the boy became mildly sick but
might cause disease. recovered and never again contracted either cowpox and
smallpox.
I. Joseph Lister
Vaccination
 An English surgeon.
 He applied the germ theory to medical  The term vaccination was from the Latin word
procedures in1860. vacca, meaning cow.
 “Father of Antiseptic surgery”  Pasteur was the one who named it in honor of
 He started using phenol to kill microorganisms Jenner’s work.
and used it to treat surgical wounds.  The protection from disease provided by
 His technique was one of the earliest medical vaccination is called immunity.
technique to control infection cause by microorganism.  Edward Jenner is the “Father of immunology”.

II. Robert Koch IV. Alexander Fleming (1928)

 German Physician
 Discovery of 1st antibiotic.
 Accidentally discovered Penicillin produced by a
fungus Penicillum.
 Left his Staphylococcus culture on an agar plate
for 2 weeks  went on a vacation  came back and
found mold on his plate which prevented bacterial
growth.