Medical Microbiology and Parasitology 2016

Introduction to Microbiology
Microbiology
Study of organisms and agents that are
usually too small to be clearly seen by
the unaided eye
Study of objects that are less than 1mm
in diameter
Why study Microbiol?
- There is still much to learn and
understand
- An opportunity to study processes
common to all life
- Microorganisms are important to
disease and environmental processes
Knowledge of Microorganisms
It allows humans to
- Prevent food spoilage
- Prevent disease occurrence
- Adapt aseptic techniques to prevent
contamination
in
medical,
pharmaceutical
and
microbiology
laboratories
Uses of Microorganisms
Decomposition
Producers (via photosynthesis)
Produce industrial chemical
Form the basis of the food chain
Digestion and synthesis of some
vitamins
Production of fermented foods
Produce product used in manuf and tx
(e.g. insulin)
As an important too in biotechnology
Subjects
- Virus
- Bacteria
- Algae
- Fungi
- Protozoa
Visible organisms
Some algae and fungi larger
Bread molds and filamentous algae
Bacteria that is visible without the microscope
Epulopiscium fishelsoni
Thiomargarita namibiensis

Techniques in Microbiol
For successful isolation and growth of
microorganisms
1. Sterilization
2. Use of culture media
- Nutrient broth
- Agar plate
- Agar deep
- Agar slant
Discovery of Microorganisms
Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632 1723)
- 1st to observe live microorganisms
through magnifying lenses (called
animacules)
- Father of Microbiology
- Double
convex
glass
(simple
microscope)
Robert Hooke
- Coinage of the term cells
Spontaneous Generation
- aka abiogenesis theory
- living organisms could develop from
inanimate matter
- Proponent: John Needham
- Aristotle: Smaller invertebrates could
arise by spontaneous generation
Opponents of Spontaneous Generation
Francesco Redi (1626 1697)
- Conducted series of experiments on
decaying meat and its ability to
develop maggots
Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729 1799)
- Sealed flask placed on boiling water
would inhibit microorganism growth;
also absence of air
Louis Pasteur (1822 1895)
- Microorganisms are present in air
- Air itself does not create microbes
- Heat can prevent access of airborne
microorganisms
to
nutrient
environment
- Swan necked flask experiment.
John Tyndall
- pasteurized milk can still be spoiled
- spore resistant and vegetative
microorganisms
- process of Tyndallization

Medical Microbiology and Parasitology 2016

The Development of Techniques for Studying
Microbial Pathogens
Tyndallization (Fractional or Intermittent
Sterilization)
- Boiling and cooling 3x with incubation
period in between to allow spores to be
converted to its vegetative form.
Role of Microorganisms in DIsease
Joseph Lister (1827 1912)
- Prevention of wound infections through
antiseptic surgery
- Instrument sterilization with carbolic
acid (phenol)
Robert Koch (1843 1910)
- Studies anthrax causing disease
- Formulated the Germ theory of disease
causation
Kochs Postulates
1. The microorganisms must be present in
every case of the disease, but absent
from healthy organisms
2. The suspected organism must be
isolated and grown in a pure culture
3. The same disease must result when the
isolated microorganism is inoculated
into a healthy host.
4. The same microorganism must be
isolated again from the disease host
Exceptions to Kochs Postulates
1. Many people carry pathogens but
do not exhibit symptoms of the
disease
2. Some microbes are impossible to
grow in vitro
Mycobacterium leprae Armadillos
Treponema pallidum rabbit and
chimpanzee testes
3. Experimental animals must be
susceptible to the pathogen
induced (some pathogens are
species specific)
4. Certain diseases develop only when
an opportunistic pathogen invades
a weakened host

Culture of Bacteria
1. Surfaces of cut boiled potatoes
bacteria do no grow well
2. Gelatin forms colonies but may be
ingested by bacteria, and liquefies
above 28 degrees Celsius
Use of Agar
- Fannie Eilshemius Hesse
- Not attacked by most bacteria
- Does not melt even up to 100 degrees
Celsius
Use of Petri Dish
- Julius Richard Petri
- Used for solid culture media
The Golden Age of Microbiology
(1857 1914)
- Pasteur and Koch spearheaded rapid
advances in Microbiol
- Discoveries on agents and many
diseases
- Role of immunity in prevention and
cure of disease
- Chemical activities of microbes
- Development of vaccines and surgical
techniques
Fermentation and Pasteurization
Fermentation
- Yeast
- Conversion of sugars to alcohol, in the
absence of air
- Conversion sugars to alcohol, and
eventually into vinegar (in the presence
of air) caused by Acetobacter bacteria
Pasteurization
- Applying heat to some alcohol drink, or
dairy products just enough to skill
potentially harmful bacteria to prevent
spoilage

Medical Microbiology and Parasitology 2016

Notable People on the Germ Theory of Disease
Fungus, causing
Agostino Bassi
silkworm disease
Protozoa, causing
Louis Pasteur
silkworm disease
Use of Phenol
Joseph Lister
(carbolic acid) to
(Father of Aseptic
prevent surgical
Technique)
wound infection
Causative agent for
Robert Koch
anthrax destroying
cattle and sheep
Demonstrated that by
washing and
disinfecting hands
Ignaz Semmelweis
with soln of
chlorinated lime
reduced puerperal
sepsis in ob gyn Pt
Vaccination
- Vacca (Latin): Cow
- Treatment or preventive procedure
- First developed in 1798 by Edward
Jenner when he used cowpox virus to
vaccinate people against smallpox
- Emil von Behring developed a method
for producing immunity by using an
antitoxin against DPT
- Louis
Pasteur
discovered
why
vaccinations work; discovered that
losing its (microorganisms) virulence
will able to induce immunity against
subsequent infections by its virulent
counterparts.
- Vaccine was used by Pasteur for
cultures of avirulent microorganisms
that would stimulate immunity to the
related virulent strain.
Related terms
Pathogenicity: Ability of an agent of
infection to cause disease
Virulence the degree of pathogenicity
Immunity ability to resist disease or
infection
Chemotherapy
- Tx of disease using chemical substances
- Chemical Tx of noninfectious diseases

Synthetic Drugs
- Chemotherapeutic agents prepared
from chemicals in the laboratory
- First synthetic drug developed by Paul
Erhlich, called Salvarsan; Arsenic
derivative against syphillis
ANTIBIOTICS
Alexander Fleming
- Discovered Penicillin (from Penicillium
notatum) in 1928
Gerhard Domagk
- Discovered Sulfanilamide
Prontosil Red dye used as a prodrug
Selman Waksman discovered
Steptomycin

Gas gangrene
Bubonic plague
Shigellosis
(a type of severe diarrhea)
Yellow Fever

1883
1884
1884
1887
1887
1888
1889
1892
1898
1892
1894
1898
1900
1902

Theodor Escherich

Albert Fraenkel

David Bruce

Anton Weichselbaum

A.A. Gartner

Shibasaburo Kitasato

Dmitri Ivanovsky and

Martinus Beijernick
William Welch and
George Nuttall
Alexandre Yersin and
Shibasaburo Kitasato
Kiyoshi Shiga

Walter Reed

Robert Forde and Joseph Dutton

African sleeping sickness

Tobacco mosaic disease

Tetanus

Salmonellosis

Undulant fever
(brucelllosis)
Meningococcal meningitis

Travelers Diarrhea
Bladder infection
Pneumonia

Diphtheria

Typhoid Fever

Edwin Klebs

Disease

1880

Malaria

Gonorrhea

Carl Eberth

Year
1879
1880

Scientist

Charles Laveran

Albert Neisser

Trypanosoma brucei
gambiense (protozoan)

Shigella dysenteriae
(bacterium)
Flavivirus yellow fever virus

Tobamovirus tobacco mosaic

virus
Clostridium perfringens
(bacterium)
Yersinia pestis (bacterium)

Clostridium tetani (bacterium)

Neisseria meningitidis
(bacterium)
Salmonella species (bacterium)

Streptococcus pneumoniae
(bacterium)
Brucella melitensis (bacterium)

Agent
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
(bacterium)
Plasmodium spp
(protozoa)
Salmonella enterica ser Typhi
(bacterium)
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
(bacterium)
Escherichia coli (bacterium)

Medical Microbiology and Parasitology 2016