History of Microbiology

Microbiology (from Greek , mkros, "small"; , bios, "life"; and -,

-logia) is the study of microscopic organisms, those being unicellular (single cell),
multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses
numerous sub-disciplines including virology, mycology, parasitology, and bacteriology.
Eukaryotic micro-organisms possess membrane-bound cell organelles and include fungi
and protists, whereas prokaryotic organismswhich all are microorganismsare
conventionally classified as lacking membrane-bound organelles and include eubacteria
and archaebacteria. Microbiologists traditionally relied on culture, staining, and
microscopy. However, less than 1% of the microorganisms present in common
environments can be cultured in isolation using current means. Microbiologists often
rely on extraction or detection of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA sequences.
Viruses have been variably classified as organisms, as they have been considered
either as very simple microorganisms or very complex molecules. Prions, never
considered microorganisms, have been investigated by virologists, however, as the
clinical effects traced to them were originally presumed due to chronic viral infections,
and virologists took searchdiscovering "infectious proteins".
As an application of microbiology, medical microbiology is often introduced with medical
principles of immunology as microbiology and immunology. Otherwise, microbiology,
virology, and immunology as basic sciences have greatly exceeded the medical
variants, applied sciences.

Scope of Microbiology
Cell theory
There are three points to modern cell theory:
Cells are the basic unit of life
All living organisms are composed of one or more cells
All cells are derived from previously existing cells
These points were derived by two early cell biologists, Schleiden and Schwann, in the
1840s, and are still used as our basic definition of life.

Cell structure
In a simplistic sense, cells consist of a cell membrane surrounding cell fluid, called
cytoplasm. Within the cytoplasm are structures that carry out cell functions.
These structures include
chromosomes, where the information needed to construct the cell is stored
ribosomes where the information stored in the chromosomes is made into
proteins
enzymes, which are proteins that allow the cell to carry out chemical
reactions
structural proteins, which give shape to cells

Cell function
Cells obtain energy from their environment, and use it to build and maintain their
internal structure.
Cells use the energy to concentrate nutrients and build the components they
need to grow (increase in mass) and reproduce (divide)
Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes are cells
cells:
produce exact copies of themselves
contain genetic imaterial (DNA)
obtain and use energy
are surrounded by a membrane
maintain internal homeostasis

Cell types
Based on their internal structure, cells can be divided into two major groups:
Prokaryotic cells, which have a single chromosome and no internal
membrane bounded structures. These cells are structurally simple, and are
represented in the earlilest fossils known.
Eukaryotic cells, which have many linear chromosomes and a vast array of
internal specialized membrane bounded structures, including a nucleus,
mitochondria, and a acomplex internal membrane system that is involved in
synthesizing and processing proteins.

Classification of cells
Organisms alive today are classified according to cell and gene structure into three
large groups. Two of these groups are prokaryotic: the Archaea, which are
believed to represent the earliest organisms on earth: and the Bacteria, which
includes most of the microorganisms we will study in this course.