Fundamentals of Microbiology

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Fundamentals of Microbiology

• The Microbial World and You

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Of Microscopes and Observations

• Anton van Leeuwenhoek
• simple, single-lens microscope
• observed animalcules
• first to observe bacteria

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From Monks Room to Unit of Life

• Robert Hooke thought what he was looking at
  resembled the rooms monks occupied..
• Cells

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A Long Wait for Technology -from the 17th to the
19th century

• It was the middle of the 19th century before
  major improvements of the compound microscope
  made study of microorganisms reasonable
• There were basic techniques for studying microbes
  which were not devised until the late 19th century

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Perplexing Questions Drove Development of
Microbiology

• Does spontaneous generation occur?

• What is the nature of contagious disease?

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Spontaneous Generation

• Pile garbage in the streets .. Bring to life
  rats
• Hang meat to cure Generate flies
• Put mutton broth out to cool Create
  microorganisms

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Misconceptions Can Die Hard

• Needham
• experiments showed that the part of air necessary
  to living organisms is oxygen
• Spallanzani
• elegant experiment disproving spontaneous
  generation
• sealed flask necks then boiled broth.nothing
  grew
• Needham or something else used to dispute any
  work discrediting the idea of spontaneous
  generation.
• Took in the neighborhood of 200 years to put this
  idea to rest

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Enter Louis Pasteur - Beer and Wine Expert

• Believed that fermentation was microbial process
  rather than a strictly chemical one
• Believed that microorganisms carried on dust
  particles were responsible for spoilage

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Two Little Experiments-One Giant Leap for
Biogenesis

• Sealed flasks containing boiled mutton broth
• opened in the dusty streets of Paris meant
  contamination
• opened in the clear clean air of the snow fields
  on Mont Blanc meant no microorganisms

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