Clinical Microbiology Quiz - BIOL 205

Course Introduction

• Course Title: Clinical Microbiology
• Course Code: BIOL 205

Introduction to Microbiology

• Microbes are organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye.
• Types of microbes include bacteria, fungi, protozoa, microscopic algae, and viruses.
• Course goals include introducing key concepts and overarching themes.
• Focus on why microbes are important to students' future careers
  • Relevance of microbes to personal and professional lives.

History of Microbiology

• 1665: Robert Hooke observed cork cells, laying the groundwork for cell theory.

• 1676: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observed microbes using a magnifying lens, marking the first documented observations.

• 1858: Rudolf Virchow proposed biogenesis, opposing the idea of spontaneous generation.

• 1861: Louis Pasteur disproved spontaneous generation.

  • Pasteur's experiment used a swan-necked flask to demonstrate that microbes in the air caused contamination.

• Microbes are present in nonliving matter like air, solids, and liquids.

• Microbes can be destroyed using heat.

• Aseptic techniques prevent contamination.

First Golden Age of Microbiology

• Discoveries tied microbes to disease.
• Germ theory of disease: microbes cause disease.
• Koch's postulates outline the steps for establishing causation between a particular microbe and a disease.
• Important discoveries by key scientists including Pasteur, Lister, Koch, Finlay, and others.

Second Golden Age of Microbiology

• Development of chemotherapy treatments for disease.
• Synthetic drugs, such as antibiotics
  • Antibiotics (chemicals produced by bacteria and fungi that kill microbes)
• Recombinant DNA technology

Microbes and Life

• Microbes are indispensable to life on Earth.
• Microbes constitute bases of aquatic food webs.
• Microbes recycle chemical elements through decomposition.
• Photosynthesis driven largely by microbes (phytoplankton).
• Convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, a useful form for other organisms.

Microbes and Human Welfare

• Microbes provide essential life process models.
• Used as "model organisms" in research.
• Humans utilize microbes to produce chemicals.
• Fermented foods (e.g., vinegar, cheese, bread).
• Microbes are used in waste treatment, bioremediation, and pest control.

Biotechnology

• Use of biological processes to solve problems
• Recombinant DNA technology enables bacteria and fungi to produce products that they could not naturally make
• Products in manufacturing (e.g., cellulose) and disease treatment (e.g., insulin)
• Vaccines and gene therapy to remedy missing or defective human genes.

Microbes and Human Disease

• Pathogens are disease-causing microbes (only a small percentage).
• Disease—a condition that impairs normal functioning.
• Infectious disease—pathogens invades a host organism, like humans, plants, etc.)
  • Knowledge of disease allowing prevention
  • Healthcare professions are on the front lines against serious pathogens.
• Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) rising in occurrence.
  • Factors include mutation, geographic spread, and exposure.
  • Antibiotic-resistance infections (e.g. MRSA, MDR-TB).
  • Viral infections (e.g., Zika, MERS, COVID-19).

Microbes and Disease (Biofilm)

• Biofilm: Community of microbes.
• Biofilms adhere to surfaces (rocks, pipes, etc)
• Protective slime-like outer layer.
• Frequent cause of infections, and resistant to many antibiotics.

Natural Defenses

• Resistance: Ability of the body to ward off disease, often by resisting pathogens that try to invade.
• Resistance factors include skin, stomach acid, and natural antimicrobial chemicals.
• normal microbiota: microbes normally present in the human body, often contributing to resistance.

The Human Microbiome

• Microbiome: All the microorganisms in an environment (e.g. human body).
• Benefits of human microbiome
  • Maintain good health
• Prevent pathogenic microbes growth
• Help train immune system.
• Project and Initiative research: Understanding human microbiome makeup and its relation to human diseases, as well as roles in ecosystems.

Naming Microorganisms

• Linnaean system of nomenclature
  • Two-part names (Genus species).
• Naming conventions: italicization or underlining, capitalization.
• Examples (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus)

Classifying Microorganisms

• Classification systems in 3 domains (Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya).
• Common microbe groups (e.g. bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa).

Microbe Types

• Acellular and cellular microbes (e.g., virus, bacteria, prion)
• Differences in size.