What is Microorganism or Microbes ?

 Microbes are tiny living things that are found all around us and are too small
to be seen by the naked eye.
 They live in water, soil, and in the air.
 The human body is home to millions of these microbes too, also called
microorganisms.
 Some microbes make us sick, others are important for our health.

 The most common types are:

1. Bacteria (Eubacteria, Archaebacteria)
2. Fungi (Yeast and Molds).
3. Protozoa.
4. Viruses
 The Discovery Era
• Antonie van Leeuwenhoek First person to observe
Study of Microbes and accurately describe microorganisms (bacteria
called Microbiology and protozoa) called ‘animalcules’ (little animals) in
1676 and he is also considered as the “Father of
microbiology”

• Louis Pasteur(1822-1895) Pasteur developed a

process (today known as pasteurization) to kill
microbes. pasteurization is accomplished by heating
liquids to 63 to 65 C for 30 minutes or to 73 to 75 C
for 15 seconds.

• Robert Koch (1843-1910): was a pioneer in medical

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek microbiology and worked in cholera, anthrax and
(1632-1723)
tuberculosis. He was awarded a Nobel prize in
(Father of Microbiology)
1905(Koch's postulates) he set out criteria to test.

• Alexander Fleming (1929): Discovered penicillin.

On The Basis Of Shape
Bacterial cell wall
Gram-Negative Gram-Positive
 Methods of Reproduction
• Asexual Reproduction- In asexual reproduction single organism
produce genetical identical offspring

Asexual
Reproduction-

Endospore Vegetative
Formation Reproduction

• Sexual Reproduction
Sexual
Reproduction

conjugation Transformation Transduction