1 - History and Scope of Microbiology Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is microbiology and what is it important for
The study of organisms too small to be seen by naked eye. Important for food, antibiotics and fighting disease
Cellular organisms
Fungi, Protists, Bacteria and Archaea
Acellular organisms
Viruses, Viroids, Satellites and Prions
Define Spontaneous Generation
Idea that living organisms could develop from nonliving matter (eg, maggots on meat). Proposed by Aristotle
When was the black death
13347 - 1352 Europe
Who published Micrographia and what was it
Robert Hooke. Drawings and observations of biological materials and info on building microscopes
Who is the father of microbiology
Anton van Leeuwenhoek. First person to observe microorganisms.
Who constructed the first electron microscope
Ernest Ruska
Who disproved spontaneous generation and how
- Francesco Redi: well kept rotting meat won’t develop maggots
- Lazzaro Spallanzani: no bacterial growth in SEALED glass flasks that contained water and seeds after placing in boiling water for ~45 minutes
- Louis Pasteur: Used heat and air trapping to prevent growth (MAIN ONE)
What concepts arose from refuting spontaneous generation
Sterilisation (kills living organisms), and Aseptic technique (reduce contamination of sterile site)
What were Pasteur’s experiments
- Flask with swan neck is heated to destroy microorganisms. Results in:
- Flask with air trapped remains sterile
- Flask with swan neck removed grows bacteria (air contaminates)
- Flask tipped so liquid enters swan neck grows bacteria
Who proposed the germ theory
Louis Pasteur
What is the germ theory
Idea that microorganisms can cause disease
What are Koch’s postulates
- The microorganism must be present in every case of the disease but absent from healthy organisms
- Suspected microorganisms must be isolated and grown in pure culture
- Same disease must result when the isolated microorganism is inoculated into healthy host
- The same microorganisms must be isolated again from diseased host.
Exceptions to Koch’s postulates
- Asymptomatic carriers
- Obligate human pathogens with no animal model
- Organisms that can’t be grown in pure culture (viruses)
What is selective culture
Providing nutrients required by some but not all microorganisms in a sample. A way to isolate microbes with certain growth preferences
What is autotrophic growth
use chemicals as sole source of energy and carbon
Explain the significance of microscopy in discovering microorganisms
Direct observation, Enabled Koch’s postulates.
What is a pure culture
Isolation of single organisms, absence of other species
Explain how the enrichment procedure was developed
enrichment using compounds that promote or inhibit growth. Winogradsky column.
Describe the interaction of plants with microbes giving specific examples
Disease: potato blight, rust and smut are fungal diseases; tobacco mosaic virus; nitrogen fixation
