Introduction to microbiology

Min Bahadur Kunwar

 Introduction to microbiology
Introduction: Microbiology is the science of
living organisms that are not directly visible to
the naked eye but seen only under the
microscope.
• Medical microbiology deal with the causative
agent of infectious diseases, the ways in which
they produce diseases in the human body and
essential information for diagnosis and
treatment.
 Definition of microbiology
Definition: Microbiology is the study of small living organisms
of microscopic size(i.e. microorganisms) that are not seen by
naked eyes e.g. bacteria, viruses, algae, fungi and protozoa.
• Microbiology is also concerned with morphology, structure,
physiology, growth, metabolism, reproductive and
classification of these organisms.
• It also includes the study of distribution of these organisms
in the nature, their effects on human beings, animals and
plants; Their ability to make physical and chemical changes
in the environment, and their reaction to physical and
chemical agents.
 Scope of microbiology/ bacteriology
• The scope of microbiology/bacteriology are listed
below:
1. Scope in medical: To study the role of
microorganisms as causative agent of microbial
disease and the body’s defense against infectious
agent.
2. Scope in diagnostic: It help to study the fundamental
principle and techniques involved in the study of
pathogenic organisms as well as their application in
the diagnosis of infectious diseases.
 Cont….
3. Scope in public health: Study of microbial
monitoring, control and spread of diseases in
communities.
4. Scope in environment: Study of the effect of
microorganisms on the environment in
maintaining the biogeochemical cycling.
[Link] in agricultural: Study of the relationship
of microbes and crops with an emphasis on
control of plant disease and improvement it.
 Cont…..
6. Scope in food: Study of interaction of microorganisms and
food in relation to food bio-processing, food spoilage, food
born diseases and their prevention.
7. Scope in industrial: Studies of industrial uses of microbes in
the production of alcoholic beverages, vitamins, amino
acid, enzymes, antibiotics and other drugs.
8. Scope in marine: Study of microorganism and their
activities concerning human and animal health in fresh
and marine water.
9. Scope in molecular: Study of genome (i.e. genomic) of
microorganisms.
 History of microbiology
• Microorganisms were first seen in about 1675
AD by Antony Van Leeuwenhoek through his
microscope.(Father of microscope)
• He found many microorganisms in material
such as water, mud, soil, saliva and the
intestinal contents of healthy subjects and he
recognized them as living creature called
“animalclues.” so that his observation formed
the basis of microbiology.
 Cont…
• After Leeuwenhoek had discovered the previously invisible
world of microorganisms, the scientific community of the
time become interested in the origins of these tiny living
things.
• The hypothetical theories about origins of microbial life
were given by scientists and philosophers.
• Many scientist of that time suggested “the theory of the
spontaneous generation”. The theory stated that the
organism could arise spontaneously from non-living matter.
• But some opposed this theory by saying that
microorganisms were not originated from non-living
matter.
 Cont….
• The debate on this theory lasted from about
200 years. During this period different scientist
preformed different experiments to prove
their concepts.
• John Needham: in 1749, while experimenting
with meat exposed to hot ashes, observed the
appearance of organisms not present at the
start of the experiment and concluded that the
bacteria originated from the meat.
 Cont…
• Lazaro Spallanzani: boiled beef broth for an
hour and then sealed the flask and he found
no microbes following incubation. But his
result confirmed in repeated experiments
failed to convince proponents of spontaneous
generation who insisted that air was essential
to the spontaneous production of
microorganisms and that it had been
excluded from the flask by sealing them.
 Cont..
• Franz Schulze: After 60-70 years similar experiment,
passed air through strong acid solution into boiled infusion
and in this case microorganisms did not appear in the flask
after incubation.
• Theodor Schwann: He passed air into a flask through red
hot tubes, in this cases also microorganisms did not
appear in the flask after incubation. However, the diehard
advocates of spontaneous generation theory were still not
convinced.
They said that acid and heat altered the air so that it
didn’t support growth.
 Cont…
Louis Pasteur: Finally in 1864 Louis Pasteur performed
an experiment that ended the argument for all time.
• He prepared a flask with a long narrow gooseneck
opening; the nutrient solutions were heated in the
flask and air untreated and unfiltered could pass in
or out.
• Broth heated in Pasteur flask did not putrefy and
microorganisms never appeared in the flask as long
as the neck didn’t contact the sterile liquid.
 Cont..
• However, the flask was tipped to allow the
sterile liquid to contact with the contaminated
neck of the flask, purification occurred and the
liquid soon teemed with microorganisms.
• This simple experiment effectively settled the
controversy surrounding the theory of
spontaneous generation, and the science of
microbiology was able to move ahead.
 Cont…
• Louis Pasteur, known as the Father of
Microbiology, established the germ theory of
disease which stated specific organisms are
the cause of infectious disease.
• He also established the role of microorganisms
in the process of the fermentation. He
developed immunization technique, vaccines
for disease: anthrax, rabies and cholera.
 Cont..
Robert Koch: He described the method for easy
microscopic examination of bacteria in dried fixed film
stained with aniline dyes i.e. staining technique.
• He developed a simple method for isolation pure culture
of bacteria in solid agar medium.
• First time he grew the bacteria Anthrax bacilli in culture
medium from the blood of cattle that had died of anthrax.
• He examined these bacteria microscopically and injected
them into other animals (to observed weather these
become infected with the bacteria or not).
 Cont..
• He found that the anthrax was developed in
the injected animals. From these
experimentally infected animals he re-isolated
bacteria like those he had originally found in
the cattle that died of anthrax.
• It was the first time that bacteria had been
proved to be the cause of disease. (Father of
Bacteriology)
 Cont..
• From the experiment, Koch established Koch’s
postulates which provided the guidelines to
identify the causative agents of an infectious
diseases and also proved the germ theory of
disease. The Koch’s postulates are:
1. The suspected pathogenic organism should
be present in all cause of the disease and
absent from healthy animals.
 Cont..
2. The suspected organism should be grown in
pure culture in the laboratory.
3. The cells from the pure culture of the
suspected organisms should cause disease
when inoculated into the healthy animals.
4. The organism should be re-isolated from the
experimentally infected animal and shown to
be the same as the original.
 Cont…
• After the establishment of Koch’s postulates,
the causative agents of various microbial
disease were discovered. They are:
Year disease Causative Discoverer
agent
1876 Anthrax Bacillus Koch
anthracis
1879 Gonorrhea Neisseria Neiser
gonorrhea
1880 Typhoid Salmonella Eberth
typhi
1880 Malaria Plasmodium Laveran
species
 Cont..
1881 Wound infection Staphylococcus Ogston
aureus
1882 Tuberculosis Mycobacterium Koch
tuberculosis
1883 chorera Vibrio cholerae koch
1884 diptheria Corynebacterium Klebs & Loeffer
diptheriae
1885 Tietanus Clostridum tetani Nicolavier
1886 Pneumonia Streptococcus Fraenkal
pneumoniae
1887 Meningitis Neisseria Weichelbaum
meningitides
1894 Plague Yersinia pestis Yersin and Kitasato
 Cont…
1898 Dysentery Shigella dysentriae Shiga
1905 Syphilis Treponema Schaudin &
Pallidum Hoffman
1906 Whooping cough Bordetella pertusis
Introduction to general bacteriology
Introduction, definition and concept of bacteria:
• Microorganisms are a heterogeneous group of
several distinct classes of living beings.
• Bacteria are prokaryotic microorganisms that
do not contain chlorophyll.
• They are unicellular and do not show true
branching, except in the so- called “higher
bacteria” (Actinomycetales.)
 Cont…
• The unit of measurement used in bacteriology is
the micron(micrometer, m)
• One micrometer = one thousand of millimeter.
• one nanometer (nm) = one thousand of
micrometer.
• The limit of resolution with the unaided eye is
about 200 microns.
• Bacteria , being much smaller, can be visualised
under magnification.
 Cont…
• Bacteria of medical importance generally
measure 0.2- 1.5 m in diameter and about 3-
5m. in length.
 Introduction to microbial world:
Introduction:
• The word “microbe” bring to mind a group of
tiny creatures that do not fit into any categories
i.e. animal, plant insects etc.
• These are minute living things that individually
are too small to be seen with the naked
(unaided) eye.
• Although they are small, their biomass on the
earth is huge.
 Cont…
• The location in an environment where a
microbial population lives is called the
“habitat”.
• Based on cellular organization and properties,
the major group of microorganisms include:
1. Bacteria
2. Virus
 Cont…
3. Fungi
4. Protozoa.
• Broadly these microorganisms can be
classified as prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
• The prokaryotes comprise the smaller
microorganisms with a simpler form of
cellular organization e.g. bacteria.
 Cont….
• The eukaryotes comprise the larger and more
highly developed microorganisms having the
same type of structure organization found in
higher plants and animals e.g. protozoa, fungi.
• However, the group virus does not fit into any
categories as they are non-cellular creature
sometime regarded as being at the border line
between life and non-life.
 Cont…
1. Bacteria:
• Bacteria are unicellular, prokaryotic, free living
microorganisms.
• They are microscopic in size.
• Typical bacterial cells are of various shapes e.g.
spherical, straight rod, curved, comma etc.
• Although, most bacterial cells are of a fairly constant
and characteristic shape, some have cell that are
“pleomorphic” i.e. can exhibit a variety of shape.
 Cont…
2. virus:
• Viruses are the smallest of all the agents
infectious to human, and different to other
living things.
• Virus is an individual infectious unit, comprising
a nucleic acid genome, packed inside a protein
coat with or without a surround lipid containing
envelope membrane.
 Cont…
3. Fungi:
• Fungi are an extremely diverse group of
organisms with the ability to absorb soluble
nutrients by diffusion from living or death
organic matter.
• They are found as two main form
yeasts(unicellular organism consisting of
separate round or oval cells) and
molds(branching filament i.e. Hyphae).
 Cont….
4. Protozoa:
• Protozoa are unicellular microorganisms, which
are found in almost every type of environment.
• Protozoa lifecycle are extremely diverse and can
be complex and thus they display a much wider
range of morphology than bacteria or viruses.
• Many species are parasites of higher plants and
animals including human.