Intro

• Microbiology


  The study of all living organisms that are too small to be visible with the naked eye
• Microorganisms or Microbes

  • Bacteria
  • Viruses
  • Fungi
  • Prions
  • Protozoans
  • Algae
• Microorganism or Microbe


  An organism that is microscopic
• Microbes play a key role in nutrient cycling, biodegradation or biodeterioration, climate change, food spoilage, the cause and control of disease, and biotechnology
• Thanks to their versatility, microbes can be put to work in many ways such as making life-saving drugs, the manufacturing of biofuels, cleaning up pollution, and producing or processing food and drink
• What comes to mind when you hear the words bacteria or virus

  • Infection
  • Disease
• When bacteria, viruses, or other microbes that cause diseases, enter your body and begin to multiply, it is often the first step of infection
• Disease occurs when the cells in your body are damaged as a result of the infection, and signs and symptoms of an illness appears
• In response to infection, your immune system springs into action. An army of white blood cells, antibodies, and other mechanisms goes to work to rid your body of whatever is causing the infection
• In fighting off the common cold, your body might react with fever, coughing, and sneezing
• There were pathogens that almost swept the whole of human race, causing what we call Epidemic
• Etiologic agent


  The causative agent of a disease
• Etiologic agents

  • Yersinia pestis (Plague)
  • Vibrio cholerae (Cholera)
  • Variola virus (Smallpox)
• Bacteria


  Relatively simple, single-celled (unicellular) organisms with genetic material not enclosed in a special nuclear membrane
• Virus


  Structurally very simple, a virus particle contains a core made of only one type of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a protein coat which is sometimes encased by a lipid membrane called an envelope
• Normal microbiota

  Provides a first line of defense against microbial pathogens, assists in digestion, play a role in toxin degradation, and contribute to the maturation of the immune system
• Decomposers


  Make vital nutrients available to an ecosystem's primary producers, usually plants and algae
• Industrial (food and beverages)

  Bacteria are used in industry in a number of ways that generally exploit their natural metabolic capabilities
• Opportunistic pathogens


  Cause disease when the host's defenses are compromised or when they grow in a part of the body that is not natural to them
• Bacterial ancestors were the first living cells on Earth. For most of human history, people knew little about the true causes, transmission, and effective treatment of diseases
• Robert Hooke


  The first time the term cell was used to refer to these tiny units of life was in 1665, when he observed a thin slice of cork through a crude microscope and saw what looked like a honeycomb
• Anton Van Leeuwenhoek


  First to observe live microorganisms (animalcules) through the magnifying lenses of more than 400 microscopes he constructed, and made detailed drawings of organisms he found on the rainwater, feces, and materials scraped from teeth
• In the 1700s, the focus was on plant and animal life, with attempts for categorization of microbes
• Carolus Linnaeus


  Father of taxonomy, who devised the formal two-part naming system we use to classify all lifeforms, including the hierarchical system of 8 taxa: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Specific Epithet (Species)
• Binomial Nomenclature


  A system of nomenclature in which each species of animal or plant receives a name of two terms, of which the first identifies the genus to which it belongs, and the second the species itself
• Abiogenesis


  An ancient belief that living organisms arise from nonliving matter, also known as the theory of spontaneous generation of life
• Biogenesis


  The alternative hypothesis that the living organisms arise from pre-existing life, the currently accepted theory regarding the origin of a new life
• Cell Theory


  All living things are composed of cells, cells were the basic unit of structure and function of all living things, and all cells come from preexisting cells
• Louis Pasteur


  Resolved the debate between abiogenesis and biogenesis through experiments showing that germs come from other germs and do not spontaneously generate
• The period from 1857 - 1914 was the golden age of microbiology, with rapid advances spearheaded mainly by Pasteur and Robert Koch
• Pasteur's work proved that microbes are responsible for fermentation and spoilage of food, and that spoilage bacteria could be killed through "pasteurization"
• Before Pasteur's time, the causes of many diseases were unknown, and diseases were thought to be caused by miasmas, humors, or other non-microbial factors
• Pasteur's work established the Germ Theory of Disease, which linked specific microbes to specific diseases
• Pasteurization


  The process of heating the object, whatever it is; for example, milk, it is heated, then the harmful things are killed and made safe
• Fermentation


  The chemical breakdown of the substance by bacteria, yeasts, or other microorganisms typically involving effervescence and the giving off of heat
• Vinegar is produced when bacteria ferments ethanol in wine
• Spoilage bacteria could be killed through "pasteurization"
• Before the time of Pasteur, effective treatments for many diseases were discovered by trial and error, but the causes of the disease were unknown
• Diseases were thought to be caused by demon, evil spirits, the wrath of God
• Germ theory of diseases


  Many diseases are caused by infections with microorganisms, typically only visualized under high magnification. Such microorganisms can consist of bacterial, viral, fungal, or protist species