General Introduction to the Microbial World

• Biology - the study of living organisms.
• Microbiology - an advanced biology course.
• Microbiology - The study of microbes, which are extremely small (microscopic) living organisms and certain non-living entities.
• Living microbes are known as cellular microbes or microorganisms;

  
  

  examples:

  • bacteria
  • archaea
  • algae
  • protozoa
  • fungi
• Non-living microbes are known as acellular microbes or infectious particles;

  examples:

  • viroids
  • prions
  • viruses
• Microbes are ubiquitous (they are found virtually everywhere)
• Microorganisms also known as microbes, are ubiquitous organisms that are too small to be seen by the unaided eye.
• Microorganisms represent the major fraction of the Earth's biomass
• Plant and animals are engaged in the world of microbes, their evolution and survival are influenced by microbial activities
• Identify the correct answer

  A) prions

  B) cellular

  C) prokaryotes

  D) eukaryotes

  E) bacteria

  F) fungi

  G) protozoa

  
• Germs - the microbes that cause diseases
• Pathogens - the scientific term for diseases-causing microbes
• Non-pathogens - Microbes that do not cause disease
• The vast majority of microbes are non-pathogens
• Indigenous microbiota - the microbes that live on and in our bodies
• Identify

  A) opportunistic pathogens

  
• Identify

  A) microbial intoxications

  B) infectious diseases

  
• Identify

  A) pathogen

  B) toxin

  C) vitro

  D) diseases

  E) person

  F) diseases

  G) infectious disease

  H) microbial intoxications

  I) gas gangrene

  J) foodborne botulism

  
• Microbial cells first appeared between 3.8 and 4.3 billion years ago.
• first 2 billion years of Earth's existence, microorganisms are capable to survive without oxygen in the temperature
• Archaea and cyanobacteria are the first microorganisms on Earth
• 1 billion years ago, phototrophic microorganisms occured
• phototrophic microorganisms - organisms that use light energy to make their own food
• The first phototrophs are purple and green sulfur bacteria and were anoxygenic
• anoxygenic - non-oxygen producing
• Cyanobacteria is an oxygenic photoptrophs
• infectious diseases of humans and animal have existed for as long as humans and animals have inhibited the planet
• earliest known account of pestilence occurred in Egypt in about 3180 BCE.
• Identify

  A) 5,000

  B) fermentation

  C) fermentation

  D) fermentation

  E) miracle

  
• Identify

  A) pandemic plague

  B) one-third

  C) Yersinia pertisis

  D) wild cats

  E) domestic

  
• Robert Hooke - Illustrated the first known image of microscope and fruiting molds
• Robert Hooke - he started to formulate the "Cell Theory"
• The cell theory is proposed later on by Theodore Schwann and Matthias Jakob Schleiden in 1838
• The cell theory states that all plants and animals are made up of cells.
• Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek - The father of microbiology. He observed "animalcules" (bacteria and protozoa)
• Identify

  A) Spontaneous Generation

  B) Spontaneous Generation

  
• Francesco Redi -Italian physician who first challenged to disprove the theory of spontaneous generation in 1688 and coined as the Redi's experiment
• John Needham -In 1745, he defended the theory of spontaneous generation after observing that a heated uncovered flask containing broth still developed microbes after cooling the broth in an open air
• Lazzaro Spallanzani - In 1765, he had disproven Needham's claim suggesting that microorganisms from the air probably entered solutions after they were boiled.
• Rudolf Virchow - Introduced the theory of biogenesis in 1858