MICROBIOLOGY

• Microorganisms (Microbes)

  1. Cellular

  2. Acellular
• Microorganisms

  • Algae
  • Protozoa
  • Bacteria
  • Virus
  • Fungi
• Bacteria have been the dominant forms of life on Earth for the past 3.5 billion years
• Microbiology


  The study of organisms that are so small that cannot be seen with the naked eye
• Microbiology has an impact on our daily life as microorganisms are everywhere
• Microorganisms are sources of antibiotics, especially bacteria and fungi
• Louis Pasteur developed the fermentation process and pasteurization
• Microorganisms are used in the production of useful substances like insulin and interferon through genetic engineering
• Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotic penicillin
• The late 1800s and the first decade of the 1900s were known as the Golden Age of Microbiology
• Microbe


  A microscopic organism, excluding the large ones
• Paul Ehrlich discovered Salvarsan for the treatment of syphilis
• Infectious diseases have existed for thousands of years
• Robert Hooke discovered the cell, heralded as The Cell Theory
• Anton van Leeuwenhoek, created the single-lens microscope, known as the "Father of Microbiology", "Father of Bacteriology and Protozoology"
• Microorganisms can be pathogenic or non-pathogenic
• Joseph Lister applied the germ theory
• About a thousand or more species of microorganisms inhabit the human body
• Edward Jenner discovered the vaccine for smallpox
• Branches of Microbiology

  • Phycology: Algae
  • Parasitology: Parasites
  • Bacteriology: Bacteria
  • Mycology: Fungi
  • Virology: Viruses
• The microscope was discovered

  mid-1600s
• Cellular Microorganisms

  • Prokaryotes: Bacteria, Cyanobacteria, Archeans
  • Eukaryotes: Fungi, Protozoa, Algae
• Hans Christian Gram developed the Gram-staining procedure
• Microorganism


  A microscopic organism, excluding the large ones
• After World War II, antibiotics were introduced to the medical world
• Some microorganisms and their products, such as toxins, are potential biological warfare agents
• Microorganisms are essential in biotechnology, e.g., in the production of foods and beverages
• Louis Pasteur performed experiments leading to the germ theory of disease and introduced terms like aerobes and anaerobes
• Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas that cannot be seen with the naked eye
• Bright field Microscope magnifies an object 1000 to 1500 times and is used to visualize bacteria and fungi
• Compound Light Microscope is used by botanists for studying plant cells, biologists to view bacteria and parasites, human/animal cells, and in forensic labs for identifying drug structures
• Main roles of Microbiologist

  • Isolate, identify and analyze the bacteria that causes disease in humans
  • Culture of organisms from patient specimens
  • Classification and identification of organisms after they have been isolated
  • Prediction and interpretation of antimicrobial susceptibility patterns
• Dark field Microscope is used for examining living organisms that are either invisible under the ordinary light microscope or cannot be stained by standard staining procedures, and to view spirochetes
• Koch’s Postulates are four criteria designed to establish a causal relationship between a causative microbe and a disease
• Robert Koch developed Koch’s Postulates
• Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotic penicillin from a mold called Penicillium notatum
• Types of microscopes

  • Simple microscope
  • Compound Light Microscope
  • Bright field Microscope
  • Dark field Microscope
  • Phase-contrast microscope
  • Differential Interference Contrast Microscope
  • Fluorescent Microscope
  • Confocal Microscope
  • Electron Microscope
• Differential Interference Contrast Microscope has a higher resolution and utilizes two beams of light instead of one, giving two contrasting colors to the object under study
• Koch’s Postulates


  The series of scientific steps that help in identifying the causative agent of certain diseases
• Electron Microscope can magnify an object 10,000 times or more and is used to visualize viruses and the subcellular structures of a cell