Lesson 1

• Microbiology


  The study of organisms and agents too small to be seen clearly by the unaided eye—that is, the study of microorganisms
• Neisseria Gonorrhoeae


  A species of Gram-negative diplococci bacteria isolated by Albert Neisser in 1879; It causes the sexually transmitted genitourinary infection gonorrhea as well as other forms of gonococcal disease including disseminated gonococcemia, septic arthritis, and gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum
• Acinetobacter Baumannii


  A typically short, almost round, rod-shaped (coccobacillus) Gram-negative bacterium; It is named after the bacteriologist Paul Baumann; It can be an opportunistic pathogen in humans, affecting people with compromised immune systems, and is becoming increasingly important as a hospital-derived (nosocomial) infection
• Staphylococcus aureus


  A Gram-positive spherically shaped bacterium, a member of the Bacillota, and is a usual member of the microbiota of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin. It is often positive for catalase and nitrate reduction and is a facultative anaerobe that can grow without the need for oxygen; It usually acts as a commensal of the human microbiota, and it can also become an opportunistic pathogen, being a common cause of skin infections including abscesses, respiratory infections such as sinusitis, and food poisoning
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)


  A cause of staphylococcus infection that is difficult to treat because of resistance to antibiotics
• Burkholderia Cepacia


  Is an opportunistic human pathogen that most often causes pneumonia in immunocompromised individuals with underlying lung disease (such as cystic fibrosis or chronic granulomatous disease), especially in children
• Pseudomonas Aeruginosa


  Is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans; A multidrug-resistant pathogen recognized for its ubiquity, its intrinsically advanced antibiotic resistance mechanisms, and its association with serious illnesses – hospital-acquired infections such as ventilator-associated pneumonia and various sepsis syndromes
• Clostridium difficile


  A bacterium that is well known for causing serious diarrheal infections, and may also cause colon cancer; It is also an anaerobic and motile bacterium, ubiquitous in nature and especially prevalent in soil
• Escherichia coli


  Is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus Escherichia that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms; It is transmitted to humans primarily through consumption of contaminated foods, such as raw or undercooked ground meat products, raw milk, and contaminated raw vegetables and sprouts
• Mycobacterium Tuberculosis


  Is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis
• Klebsiella Pneumoniae


  Is a Gram-negative, non-motile, encapsulated, lactose-fermenting, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium. It appears as a mucoid lactose fermenter on MacConkey agar
• Streptococcus pyogenes


  Is a species of Gram-positive, aerotolerant bacteria in the genus Streptococcus; Bacteria are extracellular, and made up of non-motile and non-sporing cocci (round cells) that tend to link in chains; A leading cause of pharyngitis in children and adolescents
• Roman philosopher Lucretius (about 98–55 B.C.) even before microorganisms were seen, some investigators suspected their existence and responsibility for disease
• Girolamo Fracastoro (1478–1553) suggested that invisible living creatures caused disease
• Italian Francesco Stelluti, using a microscope probably supplied by Galileo, conducted the earliest microscopic observations that appear to have been made between 1625 and 1630 on bees and weevils
• In 1665, the first drawing of a microorganism was published in Robert Hooke's Micrographia
• The amateur microscopist Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) of Delft, The Netherlands was the first person to publish extensive, accurate observations of microorganisms
• Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) thought that some of the simpler invertebrates could arise by spontaneous generation
• Francesco Redi (1626-1697) conducted a series of experiments on decaying meat and its ability to spontaneously produce maggots
• Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799) showed that BOILING could get rid of / prevent the growth of microorganisms
• Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) officially disproved spontaneous generation thanks to germ theory (microbes are causing people to get sick. And it is NOT the special forces, spirits, demons, magic, or vital force that's causing it)
• Pasteurization


  The partial sterilization of a product, such as milk or wine, to make it safe for consumption and improve its keeping quality to reduce food poisoning; it is named after Louis Pasteur
• John Tyndall dealt a final blow to spontaneous generation in 1877 by demonstrating that dust did indeed carry germs and that if dust was absent, broth remained sterile even if directly exposed to air
• Golden Age of Microbiology


  Pasteur's work with swan neck flasks ushered in the Golden Age of Microbiology; Within 60 years (1857–1914), several disease-causing microbes were discovered; Understanding microbial metabolism was made, and techniques for isolating and characterizing microbes were improved
• Robert Koch


  A German physician who first directly demonstrated the role of bacteria in causing disease came from the study of anthrax; His criteria for proving the causal relationship between a microorganism and a specific disease are known as Koch's postulates
• Richard Petri


  He developed another important tool developed in Koch's laboratory, a container for holding solidified media—the petri dish (plate), named after him, these developments directly stimulated progress in all areas of bacteriology
• Martinus Beijerinck


  Discovered the Role of Nitrogen-fixing bacteria where he isolated the aerobic nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azotobacter, a root nodule bacterium also capable of fixing nitrogen (later named Rhizobium), and sulfate-reducing bacteria
• Branches of Microbiology

  • Bacteriology – study of bacteria
  • Mycology – study of fungi
  • Protozoology – study of protozoa
  • Phycology – study of algae
  • Parasitology – study of parasites
  • Immunology – study of immune system
  • Virology – study of viruses
  • Nematology – study of nematodes
• Medical microbiologists


  Identify the agents causing infectious diseases and plan measures for their control and elimination
• Public health microbiology


  Closely related to medical microbiology. Public health microbiologists try to identify and control the spread of communicable diseases
• Immunology


  Is concerned with how the immune system protects the body from pathogens and the response of infectious agents; It is one of the fastest growing areas in science; for example, techniques for the production and use of monoclonal antibodies have developed extremely rapidly
• Agricultural microbiology


  Is concerned with the impact of microorganisms on agriculture; It also tries to combat plant diseases that attack important food crops, work on methods to increase soil fertility and crop yields, and study the role of microorganisms living in the digestive tracts of ruminants such as cattle
• Microbial ecology


  Is concerned with the relationships between microorganisms and the components of their living and nonliving habitats; It studies the global and local contributions of microorganisms to the carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles
• Food and dairy microbiology


  Are works trying to prevent microbial spoilage of food and the transmission of foodborne diseases such as botulism and salmonellosis; They also use microorganisms to make foods such as cheeses, yogurts, pickles, and beer
• Industrial Microbiology


  Uses microorganisms to make products such as antibiotics, vaccines, steroids, alcohols and other solvents, vitamins, amino acids, and enzymes
• Microbial physiology and biochemistry


  A study of many aspects of the biology of microorganisms; They may study the synthesis of antibiotics and toxins, microbial energy production, how microorganisms survive harsh environmental conditions, microbial nitrogen fixation, and the effects of chemical and physical agents on microbial growth and survival
• Microbial genetics and molecular biology


  It focuses on the nature of genetic information and how it regulates the development and function of cells and organisms