Introduction to

Microbiology &
Parasitology
Science 123
 Learning Outcomes
 Define microbiology, pathogen, nonpathogen, and
opportunistic pathogen
 Explain the importance of microbes
 Explain the relationship between microbes and
infectious diseases
 Differentiate between infectious diseases and
microbial intoxications
 Describe the classifications of microorganisms
 What is
Microbiology?

• Microbiology is the study of microbes.

• With only rare exceptions, individual microbes can be
observed only with the use of various types of
microscopes.
What is Microbiology?
 Why Study Microbiology?

 The microbes that live on and in the human body are referred to as
our indigenous microbiota.
 Indigenous microbiota inhibit the growth of pathogens in areas of the
body where they live by occupying space, depleting the food supply,
and secreting materials.
 Some microbes that colonize (inhabit) our bodies are known as
opportunistic pathogens (opportunists) -- the microbes do not cause
us any problems but they have the potential to cause infections
should there be any opportunity.
 Microbes are essential for life on this planet; they contribute more
oxygen to our atmosphere than do plants.
 Why Study Microbiology?

 Many microbes are involved in the decomposition of dead organisms

and the waste products of living organisms – decomposers /
saprophytes
 Decomposition is the process by which substances are broken down
into simpler forms of matter
 A saprophyte is an organism that lives on dead or decaying organic
matter
 Some microbes are capable of decomposing industrial wastes (oil
spills, for example).
 Bioremediation involves the use of genetically engineered microbes to
clean up pollutants.
 Why Study Microbiology?

 The study of the relationships between microbes and the

environment is called microbial ecology
 Microbes serve as important links in food chains
 The use of living organisms or their derivatives to make or modify
useful products or processes is called biotechnology.
 An antibiotic is a substance produced by a microbe that is effective in
killing or inhibiting the growth of other microbes.
 In genetic engineering, a gene or genes from one organism (e.g., from
a bacterium, a human, an animal, or a plant) is/are inserted into a
bacterial or yeast cell.
 Pathogens cause two major types of diseases:
infectious diseases and microbial intoxications.
 An infectious disease results when a pathogen
colonizes the body and subsequently causes disease.
 A microbial intoxication results when a person ingests
a toxin (poisonous substance) that has been produced
by a microbe.
 First Microorganisms on Earth

 Scientists tell us that Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago
and, for the first 800 million to 1 billion years of Earth’s existence,
there was no life on this planet.
 Fossils of primitive microbes (as many as 11 different types) found in
ancient sandstone formations in northwestern Australia date back to
about 3.5 billion years ago.
 By comparison, animals and humans are relative newcomers. Animals
made their appearance on Earth between 900 and 650 million years
ago.
 Candidates for the first microbes on Earth are archaea and
cyanobacteria.
 Earliest Known Infectious Diseases

 The earliest known account of a “pestilence” occurred in Egypt about 3180

BC.
 This may represent the first recorded epidemic, although words such as
pestilence and plague were used without definition in early writings.
 Around 1900 BC, near the end of the Trojan War, the Greek army was
decimated by an epidemic of what is thought to have been bubonic plague.
 The Ebers papyrus, describing epidemic fevers, was discovered in a tomb in
Thebes, Egypt; it was written around 1500 BC.
 A disease thought to be smallpox occurred in China around 1122 BC.
Epidemics of plague occurred in Rome in 790, 710, and 640 BC, and in Greece
around 430 BC.
 Earliest Known Infectious Diseases

 There are early accounts of rabies, anthrax, dysentery, smallpox,

botulism, measles, typhoid fever, typhus fever, diphtheria, and
syphilis. The syphilis story is quite interesting. It made its first
appearance in Europe in 1493.
 Many people believe that syphilis was carried to Europe by Native
Americans who were brought to Portugal by Christopher Columbus.
The French called syphilis the Neapolitan disease; the Italians
called it the French or Spanish disease; and the English called it the
French pox.
 Other names for syphilis were Spanish, German, Polish, and Turkish
pocks. The name “syphilis” was not given to the disease until 1530.
 Pioneers in the Science of Microbiology

 1673-1723, Antoni van

Leeuwenhoek (Dutch)
described live
microorganisms that he
observed in teeth scrapings,
rain water, and peppercorn
infusions.
 1861: Louis Pasteur demonstrated that
microorganisms are present in the air.

Conditions Results
Nutrient broth placed in Microbial growth
flask, heated, not sealed

Nutrient broth placed in No microbial growth

flask, heated, then
sealed
Spontaneous generation or biogenesis?
Next experiment, Pasteur’s S-shaped flask kept
microbes out but let air in. These experiments
form the basis of aseptic technique
The Golden Age of Microbiology
1857-1914
Beginning with Pasteur’s work, discoveries
included the relationship between microbes and
disease, immunity, and antimicrobial drugs
Pasteur showed that microbes are responsible
for fermentation.
Fermentation is the conversation of sugar to
alcohol to make beer and wine.
Microbial growth is also responsible for spoilage
of food.
Bacteria that use alcohol and produce acetic
acid spoil wine by turning it to vinegar (acetic
acid).
• Pasteur demonstrated that these
spoilage bacteria could be killed by heat
that was not hot enough to evaporate
the alcohol in wine. This application of a
high heat for a short time is called
pasteurization.
• Pasteur’s process involved heating wine
to 55°C and holding it at that
temperature for several minutes.
• Today, pasteurization is accomplished by
heating liquids to 63°C to 65°C for 30
minutes or to 73°C to 75°C for 15
seconds.
• It should be noted that pasteurization
does not kill all of the microbes in liquids
—just the pathogens.
The Germ Theory of Disease
1876: Robert Koch provided proof that a bacterium
causes anthrax and provided the experimental
steps, Koch’s postulates, used to prove that a
specific microbe causes a specific disease.
Koch was a physician and Pasteur’s young rival
Koch's Postulates
are used to
prove the cause
of an infectious
disease.
Koch's
Postulates are
a sequence of
experimental
steps to relate
a specific
microbe to a
specific
disease.
1928: Alexander
Fleming discovered
the first antibiotic.
He observed that
Penicillium fungus
made an antibiotic,
penicillin, that killed
S. aureus.
1940s: Penicillin was
tested clinically and
mass produced.
Modern Developments

• Bacteriology is the study of bacteria.

• Mycology is the study of fungi.
• Parasitology is the study of protozoa and
parasitic worms.
• Recent advances in genomics, the study of
an organism’s genes, have provided new
tools for classifying microorganisms.
Classification of Microbes
Taxonomy
• The science of classifying organisms
• Provides universal names for organisms
• Provides a reference for identifying
organisms
Classification of Microbes
Taxonomy
• Systematics or phylogeny
• The study of the evolutionary history
of organisms
• All Species Inventory (2001-2025)
• To identify all species of life on Earth
Classification of Microbes

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Domain Dumb
Kingdom Kings
Phylum Play
Class Chess
Order On
Family Funny
Genus
Green
Squares
Species
Classification of Microbes

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Binomal
Domain
Nomenclature uses
Kingdom the Genus and
Phylum Species name to
Class identify each
Order creature.
Family
Genus
Species
Classification of Microbes

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Each name is Latinized
There is a specific way to write each name.
Homo sapiens
The first word is capitalized

Name is in italics

Homo sapiens
H. sapiens
Chapter 1 The Microbial World and You
Classification of Microbes
Classification of Microbes

•Eukaryotic species:
• A group of closely related organisms that breed
among themselves
•Prokaryotic species:
• A population of cells with similar characteristics
• Clone: Population of cells derived from a single cell
• Strain: Genetically different cells within a clone
•Viral species:
• Population of viruses with similar characteristics
that occupies a particular ecological niche
Classification of Microbes