Microorganisms

Microorganisms are very small organisms that generally cannot be seen without a
microscope. These tiny organisms live everywhere, including within the human body.
Microorganisms may be prokaryotic or eukaryotic. Prokaryotic microorganisms (or
prokaryotes) include bacteria and archaea, which are single-celled organisms that lack a
membrane-bound nucleus. Eukaryotic microorganisms (or eukaryotes) may be unicellular or
multicellular and include some plants, animals, and fungi. Eukaryotic microorganisms have
cells that contain a nucleus.

Microbiology is the branch of biology that studies microorganisms. The study of

microorganisms is beneficial to public health, agriculture, and the environment.
Microorganisms play an important role in human health. They also contribute to quality food
production. Microbiologists study microorganisms such as bacteria to improve disease
treatments, and biotechnology firms utilize microorganisms to develop products such as food
and medicine.

This SEM shows a strain of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria taken from a vancomycin intermediate
resistant culture (VISA). By Photo Credit: Janice Carr Content Providers(s): CDC/ Matthew J.
Arduino, DRPH; Janice Carr [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Origin of Microorganisms

Microorganisms were the only forms of life on Earth for billions of years. Scientists believe
they first appeared approximately four billion years ago. Archaeologists have uncovered
fossils containing microbes that date back 3.5 billion years. Ancient microorganisms were
self-reproducing life forms capable of existing in a dark, oxygen-free environment. Microbes
eventually reacted with energy from the Sun and began producing oxygen through
photosynthesis. Microorganisms played a crucial biological role in the development of
advanced life on Earth. These organisms recycled organic matter, released oxygen into the
atmosphere, and produced nitrate, the nitrogen source essential to all plants.

Microorganisms evolved over time, adapting to their environment and developing self-
sustaining habits that eventually led to the formation of complex plant and animal life. These
life forms had to develop early resistance to various microbial threats and eventually built an
immune system and tough outer bodies to combat bacterial invasions. Plants and animals did
not evolve to become resistant to all bacteria, however, which accounts for the presence of
modern diseases.
 Viruses and Prokaryotes: Prokaryotes are microscopic organisms
which have been on Earth for millions of years. They differ from eukaryotes in that they are very
simple and do not have a nucleus to enclose DNA, nor specialized cell organelles. © EBSCO

History of Microbiology

People did not know microorganisms existed for thousands of years. Since microorganisms
were not viewable to the naked eye, scientists could not study microorganisms before the
development of the microscope. Dutch merchant Antoni van Leeuwenhoek first observed
microorganisms in 1673. He used a self-designed microscope that magnified the organisms
up to three hundred times their size. Van Leeuwenhoek observed only the structure of
microorganisms, however. Scientists did not understand the purpose of microorganisms until
the 1830s. German physiologist Theodor Schwann's discovery that alcohol production in beer
and wine fermentation was dependent on yeast, a fungus, spearheaded a new interest in the
role of microorganisms in nature.

In 1854, French scientist Louis Pasteur applied knowledge of yeasts to his study of wine
fermentation. He found that certain bacteria spoiled wine, converting its sugars to lactic acid
instead of alcohol. Pasteur also discovered that certain microorganisms were responsible for
souring milk. He used this knowledge to develop pasteurization, a process that involved
heating substances to kill bacteria. Modern dairy farmers continue to pasteurize their milk to
produce quality dairy products. Pasteur also learned that successful fermentation relied on
specific microorganisms and particular chemical conditions. He found that some
microorganisms require oxygen to flourish while others require an oxygen-free environment.
As Earth's atmosphere lacked oxygen in its earliest days, scientists believe microorganisms
that do not require oxygen to reproduce developed from the oldest types of organisms on the
planet.

Microbiologists quickly discovered that microorganisms are everywhere on Earth. These

biological units are found in soil, air, and water. Microorganisms also are present in the food
people eat and in human skin, mouths, noses, intestines, and other locations throughout the
body.
Microorganism Functions

Prokaryotic microorganisms, which do not have a cell nucleus, consist of bacteria and
archaea. Prokaryotic cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, are believed to have developed from
the most ancient microorganisms.1.These bacteria are important oxygen producers, and
microbiologists consider them a chief predecessor of various plant structures, 2-such as
chloroplasts. Prokaryotic microorganisms make up the majority of organisms on Earth and
can be found everywhere in the environment.

Though most eukaryotes are visible, multicellular organisms, some eukaryotic

microorganisms do exist. Examples include microalgae, fungi, and protozoa. Green algae are
important eukaryotic microorganisms and are a major source of food in the oceans, where all
organisms lived until they evolved to dwell on land. Scientists believe plants evolved from
green algae approximately 450 million years ago, around the same time that amphibians and
land animals emerged. Microorganisms provided food for continuously evolving plants and
animals for billions of years.

Recent developments in biotechnology have given microorganisms greater purpose than ever
before. Biologists are capable of manipulating microorganisms to manufacture food and
medications. Beer, wine, and cheese production all rely on the careful cultivation of
microorganisms. Water treatment facilities also utilize microorganisms to purify water.
Cultured microorganisms allow for the large-scale production of antibiotics. Of the eight
thousand antibiotics available, most are made from penicillin, a mass-cultured microbial
fungus.

Though microorganisms can be used to combat disease, they also have the ability to cause
disease. Protozoa are the main cause of major diseases in animals, while fungi are responsible
for 70 percent of all plant diseases.

Bibliography

Debre, Patrice. Louis Pasteur. Baltimore: JHU Press, 2000, 156. Print.

"Definition and Survey." Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. 6th ed. Vol. 5.
Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH, 2003, 322. Print.

O'Hara, Ann M., and Fergus Shanahan. "The Gut Flora as a Forgotten Organ." The European
Molecular Biology Organization. National Center for Biotechnology Information. July 2006.
Web. 19 Dec. 2014.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.unbosque.edu.co/pmc/articles/PMC1500832/

Hayward, Chris A. "Microorganisms." Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. Vol. 12. Chichester,

UK: Wiley, 2005, 25–36. 19 Dec. 2014.

Steinkraus, Keith H. "Microorganisms." Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Ed. Solomon H.

Katz. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003, 507–513. 19 Dec. 2014.
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