1-1: History of Microbiology

Question 1

TRUE or FALSE

Infectious disease by microorganisms (like the black death in 14th century in Eurasia) has been blamed on spiteful gods, witchcraft, bad air, etc.

Answer 1

TRUE

Question 2

The black death in the 14th century that killed 1/3 population of Europe was actually caused by a bacterial pathogen called ______________

Answer 2

Yersinia pestis

Question 3

He is the microscope pioneer and coined the word “cell”

First known depictions of microorganisms

Answer 3

Robert Hooke

Question 4

He is considered as the “father of microbiology”

A Dutch amateur microscope builder, science enthusiast

First person to see bacteria (1676)

Answer 4

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

Question 5

Anton van Leeuwenhoek first called bacteria as _____

Answer 5

animalcules

Question 6

This is a scientific theory that claims life can emerge spontaneously from non-living materials

Ex: when you leave out bread, mold grows.

Answer 6

Spontaneous generation

Question 7

This chemist came up with the idea of recipe for spontaneous generation of mice. (Dirty rags + Wheat + 21 days = mice)

He also coined the term “gas”

Answer 7

Jan Baptist von Helmont

Question 8

In 1864, this scientist disproved spontaneous generation.

He claimed that spontaneous generation requires fresh air.

a. Charles Darwin
b. Louis Pasteur
c. Robert Hooke

Answer 8

Louis Pasteur

Question 9

The idea of Louis Pasteur’s experiment is that organisms need ___ to breathe.

Answer 9

air

Question 10

What are some other major accomplishments of Louis Pasteur?

Answer 10

pasteurization - sterilization technique important for food safety/ storage

fermentation - microbes are what causes fermentation

advancement of vaccine development- anthrax, rabies

germ theory of disease

Question 11

This theory of disease that was supported by the work of Pasteur and others states that some diseases are caused by microbes

Answer 11

Germ theory of disease

Question 12

Who provided definitive evidence of the germ theory of disease?

a. Louis Pasteur
b. Robert Koch
c. Robert Hooke

Answer 12

Robert Koch

Question 13

What are Robert Koch’s postulates in providing evidence for the germ theory of disease?

He studied anthrax

Answer 13

1. The suspected pathogen must be present in all cases of the disease and absent from healthy animals. (remove blood or tissue sample and observe by microscopy)
2. The suspected pathogen must be grown in pure culture. (streak agar plate with sample from a diseased animal.
3. Cells from a pure culture of the suspected pathogen must cause disease in a healthy animal. (Inoculate/ immunize healthy animal with cells of suspected pathogen)
4. The suspected pathogen must be reisolated and shown to be the same as the original. (streak agar plate with sample from a diseased animal)

Question 14

What are the implications/limitations of Koch’s postulates?

Answer 14

• cause & effect
  -scientific rigor, reproducibility
• just because you can’t culture a pathogen, doesn’t mean it doesn’t cause disease.
  -some disease-causing microbes can be present in healthy people, only cause disease in certain people/conditions.

Question 15

Which scientist invented the methods and principles led to isolation of bacterial cultures?

He also rigorously proved the cause of bacterial disease

HE discovered tuberculosis and cholera

Answer 15

Robert Koch