Introduction to Microbiology and Microbes

Introduction to Microbiology

• Microbiology studies microscopic organisms (microbes) that can function and reproduce as single cells

Types of Microbes Included in Microbiology

Viruses

• Non-living entities, as they depend entirely on a host to perform any activity
• Involve chemical macromolecules with a protein coat containing DNA or RNA
• Inactive outside a host as they cannot feed or replicate alone
• Hijack the host cell to produce what they need to reproduce once inside

Bacteria

• Are prokaryotic organisms which are single-celled
• Diverse and have a variety of forms, functions, and preferred biological niches
• Every cell forms separate colonies and E. coli is an intestinal bacterium
• Optimum E. coli functioning temperature is 37°C
• E. coli usually appears in pairs and has a slightly elongated form

Fungi

• Are eukaryotes and are single-celled
• Reproduce by budding
• Begin as a spore that germinates and develops into a hypha
• Hyphae consist of a chain of cells sharing cytoplasm for efficient fluid and solute movement along its length
• The hypha branches and develops into a mycelium.
• Mycelium is the fungus body that resembles plant roots
• Fungi can be rounded and harmless, but are able to attack other tissues when they change to a threadlike form
• Include yeasts which are single-celled and reproduce by budding
• Filamentous form causes diseases in the body and is because of a change in the yeast's morphology
• Candida always exists in the body, but produces discomfort under stress
• Mushroom fungi are large colonies that can reproduce from a single cell

Mushroom Fungi

• Reproduce in two ways:
  • Producing spores and each spore functions as a seed
  • Spores can stay viable in harsh conditions and can germinate and develop into a colony when conditions are favorable
  • Any cell from the fungus can be sowed to produce a new colony

Mold

• A mycelium without a cap and spores create detached spores
• Two well-known fungi are:
  • Fusarium which attacks plant roots
  • Trichoderma, a soil fungus that is ecologically used in agriculture to combat pathogenic fungi

Algae

• Are single-celled and can produce colonies from each individual alga

Importance of Microbiology

• Microbes (bacteria) are the first organisms on Earth and are a well-chosen organism
• Microbes (bacteria) serve as a basic medium
• Important to investigate these organisms and control their function in application

Biological Weapon

• Microbiology is a way to spread diseases and harm entire populations
• Examples include:
  • Anthrax- Bacillus spore inhalation causes suppression of bodily systems
  • Botulism- anaerobic Clostridium causes fermentation and bloating of improperly cooked canned goods
  • Mainly canned meat

Uses in Microbiology

Agriculture

• Farmers use the properties of bacteria to enrich crops without polluting the soil with chemical fertilizers
• The carbon cycle is important to the soil
• Plants secrete secretions into the soil (dead cells and sugars from the root)
• Microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) release minerals such as nitrogen and carbon in return
• Minerals break down and recycle

Nitrogen Fixation

• Nitrogen is important for protein and nucleic acid synthesis
• Atmospheric nitrogen (2) cannot be broken down by the plant
• Fertilizer includes nitrogen that is not in the N2 form
• Soil bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen (2) to ammonium ion NH3+ which is what the plant needs
• This is better than using fertilizer, because fertilizer has more than the plant needs which then contaminates the groundwater
• Certain bacterium corresponds to each plant to fix atmospheric nitrogen

Animals

• Animals suffer illnesses and produce byproducts like Salmonella eggs
• Due to this, creatures are treated with antibiotics
• This is unhealthy for humans who eat creatures used as food
• Microbiology promotes methods to manage animal illnesses without antibiotics

Food Industry

• Food preservation and microbial food creation
• Certain foods are products of microbial activity, including soy and yogurt
• Additives are produced by bacteria and fungi and put into food

Diseases

• Involves disease detection and treatment through antibiotics
• The development of antibiotic resistance is preventable through scientific studies
• Involves preventative care through vaccinations

Medical Biotechnology

• Produces medication through bacteria and fungi use, such as penicillin which uses mold to target bacteria
• Gene Therapy involves the genetic engineering and duplication of genes, including external genes to supplement missing genes and internal genes of transcription factors

Environmental Sciences

• Involves generating bio-energy alternatives to fuel and oil through bacterial/fungal decomposition of plant matter
• Cleanse environment utilizing bacteria and fungi to decompose hazardous materials
• Pesticides are resistant and can’t break down to threaten water sources
• Chemicals in drinking water

Molecular Evolution

• RNA began as both the coder and catalyst
• Then came proteins into the vesicle, and a division of labor began
• Example: RNA replicates and proteins catalyze
• DNA was constructed at the end of the process
• Carbon isotope (14C) tests helped researchers determine that bacteria were the first organisms on earth
• Suggests bacteria arrived from somewhere else on meteorites
• Extremely small creatures exist in space
• Scientists suggest nanobacteria reached Earth on meteorites

Development of Bacteria

• Earliest rocks were created 4 billion years ago
• Sedimentary rocks contained fossils of bacteria
• Sedimentary rocks were covered in water (no oxygen)
• Anaerobic bacteria living in severe conditions of heat, pressure, and nutrition
• Photosynthetic creatures who started to enrich the environment with oxygen
• Evolved to live in an oxygen environment with defense mechanisms
• Atmosphere began to form, creations began to arrive on land, and then the evolution of higher creatures began

Phylogenetic Evolution

• Phylogenetic division classifies all living things into branches and families based on their ancient ancestors

Aristotle

• Divided the world into minerals, plants, and animals based on movement and nutrition

Linnaeus

• Classified the world based on plants and animals, their movement, and nutrition
• Minerals were considered to be non-living because they are unable reproduce

Haeckel

• Classified the world based on multicellular animals, single-cell animals, and plants

1950s

• Classification was applied to single-cell organisms based the creation of a nuclear shell and lack thereof

Whittaker

• Discovered a group not part of these classifications and developed a separate fungal classification based of their ability to feed
• Classification by Whittaker:
  • Plants are autotrophic
  • Animals are heterotrophic
  • Fungi decompose food outside their body
  • Possess cell components similar to animal cells, and are mobile like animals, and do not perform photosynthesis unlike plants
  • Two groups of single-cell w/wout shell and with/without shell.

Woese

• Used PCR to analyze DNA strands of primitive organisms and divide kingdom into archaea and bacteria

Classification of organisms

• Classification is now split up into 3 groups:
• Eukaryotes
  • Cellular creatures with a nucleus and organelles, and a very diverse superkingdom in the taxonomy of the natural world
  • Protists, slimes, algae, and other single-celled fungi, as well as multicellular kingdoms of fungi, flora, and fauna
• Prokaryotes
  • Microscopic creatures with a single cell lacking a true nucleus
  • Smaller than eukaryotes
• Surrounded by a cell wall (diff from plant cells), which offers stability and sometimes kinetic ability, they do not have an intracellular skeleton
• There are two groups in prokaryotes:
  • Archaea are primitive bacteria, the first on Earth, and developed in extreme conditions, such as extreme temperatures, high pressures, high concentrations of salt, anaerobic conditions, etc
  • Bacteria are real modern world bacteria that don't live in extreme heat and pressure
• Size affects the surface area to volume ratio.
• High Bacterial:Eukaryote ratio in farmland
• Human Skin: 2million + bacteria / sq cm

Archaeal, Bacterial and Eukaryotic Differences

Diversity and Ecology

• Extremely small and are eukaryotic
• Nanobacteria exist and are very small measuring less than m 200
• Since they are very small their volume to surface area means they can only nourish themselves by substance diffusion
• High Bacterial:Eukaryote ratio in farmland
• Human Skin: 2million + bacteria/sq cm
• Kinds - known, able to be cultured, fraction found in freeform
• Estimate - million soil types
• Types - new molecular, liter of seawater, etc.
• Types constitute the living mass and the largest amount of species present on planet Earth
• Environments - found in any environment existing on the planet
• Associations live in symbiosis, contest and parasitic.
• Relationships:

Symbiosis

• Human intestinal flora decompose food matter into building blocks that can be absorbed in the intestines
• Human provide convenient temperature for living and food that the flora use Bacteria at the ends of plant stalks in roots, attaching nitrogen, provides them with sugars from root tip cap cells
• Metabolic: a broad set of types, paths not in eukaryotes like fixed nitrogene
• Metabolitic importance, nature's key cycles
• Function - plants and animal, creation of the atmosphere's 1000nm and fixation of oxygen
• Elements in soil improve and restore life components.
• Modality used to study.

Milestones in Microbiology Research

• 1676: Leeuwenhoek - first noticed existence in bacteria
• 1796: Edward Jenner - first immunization shot for smallpox
• 1850: Ignaz Semmelweis - hand washing to prevent disease spread
• 1860: Louis Pasteur - proved germ theory of disease
• 1864: Louis Pasteur - invalidated theory of spontaneous generation in growth mediums
• 1867: Joseph Lister - implemented antiseptic surgery
• 1876: Robert Koch - proposed Koch's postulates
• 1882: Robert Koch - culture on a sold food source
• 1884: Christian Gram - Gram stain invention used in microscopy
• 1885: Lous Pasteur - first rabies immunization process
• 1887: R.J. Petri - dish invention
• 1892: Demitri Iosifovich Ivanovski - viruses are discovered
• 1928: Alexander Flemming - penicillin discovered.
• 1983: Kary Mullis - PCR invention

Pasteur's Experiment - Development of Sterilization Process**

• Tried to prove that a live organism can only develop from a living organism
• Goal was to disprove the claim that a stable structure, for instant a pear or apple could undergo development from living organisms
• Chemical substance was taken in a glass of water, if the instrument was open to nature bacterial development was able to be seen inside
• Placed bend pipes and sterilized then, due to the pipe, only gasses were effected the process, so it was effective over time
• Conclusion must be a living or living element in order to produce the organism organism

Koch's Experiment

• Was a doctor and study epidemic and found the growth to find bacteria.
• Trial was taken on ill creature, bacteria extracted where germs of disease, transferred to another creature to create health, result creature became ill
• Principles of Koch:
• Microbe must be present and all cases from illness and exist for the all illness must grow bacteria from the foreign body, away from the body. Bacterial transfer is essential for improvement and healing. Must use similar symptoms in all creation. Must isolate sickness to ensure source was the key
• PURE CULTURE- for studying, isolation and breeding

Microbiology: Measuring and Metrics

The Size and Scale of Measurement

• Micrometers: Used for measuring bacterial cells - A micrometer (µm) is one millionth of a meter(10⁻⁶ m)
• Nanometers: Used for measuring viruses and cell structures - A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter •(10−9 m)

Basic Units for Measurement Using Scientific Notation

• 1 micrometer (μm) = 10⁻⁶ meter = 10⁻³ mm
• 1 nanometer (nm) = 10−9 meter = 0.001 micrometer = 10 angstrom (Å)
• 1 angstrom (Å) = 10−10 meter

Properties Common to all Microscopes

• Microscopes magnify objects, allowing us to see smaller microbes
• Two main principles: • Magnification: ability to enlarge objects • Resolution: ability to distinguish two points, but increase in magnification decreases resolution • Preparing Slides: • Prepare a sample: a smear consists of microbes spread onto a glass slide • Stain specimen to penetrate light, and sometimes mobility

Microscopy: Types and Properties

• Light Microscopy: can be used to see the specimen with the structure of a slide
  • Use and structure is 10x + multiple lens with 100x, 40, or 10
  • Use to see more specific detail with color and immersion with oil,
    • Magnification - 100x is big to see bacteria, because they are small and full of water it is a slide
• Electron Microscopy: used for smaller specimens, the most advanced with color to see bacteria and with black colors to see bacteria and viruses.
  • To see specific details and images, microscope is needed.

Light Microscopy

• Condenser lenses and oil immersion

Phase Contrast

• Allows for review of multi layer and separate colors
• Used mainly to review parts of the plant and layers inside
• Light assisted

Confocal

• Based on laser view of the bacteria in a habitat

Electron

• Uses and scans the entire area and the surface, magnifying 1000x, for roots and plants , has 2 types
  • Treatment use- to create more protein, use a fix to cover the bacterial/area exact to return the high

Categories of Staining and Fixing

Differential straining**

• Process used for bacteria according to the groups
  • Most common by Gram

Structurally Straining**

• Process for Bacteria Structuring
• Distinguishes separate body by Fat, reproduction, wall

Vital Strain**

• Process used to distinguish the life and date

Straining Gram

• Gram is a staining used to view types according to thickness.
  • Bacteria- has thick shell.
  • Bacteria- had line shell
• Steps of Gram are applied with clear parts.
• Adding idodine with purple.
• With idoine for three minutes creating complex that cant get past, but all cells remain purple
• Alcohols that make big holes, that is easy to see and no color
• For high bacteria purple remains and everything has a high number of purple to clean color
• Stain with color
• Positive bacteria purple and negative pink
• Alcohol-
• Clear for bacteria

- Results

• High bacteria will get color high cell (high cell) and High negative high color ( low cell

Bacterial

• Form the structure of a sphere in the surface

(coccus)

High bacteria are able to harvest the surface and nutrients easily , in liquid , so therefore more beneficial

• A bacilli is what can harvest food in both areas , so more efficient than coccus
• Spirillum- which lives a viscous texture, and allows the ability to to move in the environment to harvest and hunt more easily
• Stalk and hypha - can from large areas

(filamentous)

Can create different texture

Classification

• Straining Process.
• Grahmn - can have negative and positive results for the treatment*
• Best optimal temperature for results
• Creation process
• Breathing style and electrical result • ability to movement-

Forms

• Ability for cells to use carbon source for example for sugar or cellulose.
• Require a specific food supply
• Component wall
• Structure of nucliec
• Acids and results

Today's division and classifications for strains.

Bacterial composition in the world.**

• 50% is carbohydrate- everything that results must have the ability with environment
• To understand relationship with pH

That have these enzymes

• Cytoplasm- for 1/2 28
• Some more more things in bacterial composition

Bacteria Structure

Structure and Volume

• 4 um is the ratio and that that can have a number when radius has
• Characteristics- important and useful

3 Main components that from together

• Top surface
• Shell, surface and cell wall, plus membrane inside
• Cytoplsama and chromosome, and the outside and dna

2 main components for membranes surface

• Structure of protein mostly in Gram. Protein the other sides the functions
• Fimeria are the most parts. - Has high number

The Flagella (for the outside of the

• Allows us to move more easily in environment
• The bacteria has flagellin and flexibility , therefore able to fold and stay straight and rotate.
• Hook is what does move Outer ring of cell wall Innner shell is where cell wall is located

* Basal Body and inside

14 nm, 0-3

• The structure,
• Inner is the cytoplasm outer is the cell wall is at
• That all to connect more easily Basal- Connects bacteria with all sides

Types to help function

• Movement
• To change and transfer all different chemicals
• Test if movement happens is that the bacteria has no direct relationship due to the new food being used

How bacteria work

• Each with small food and bacteria, then you need to start to change with cell, in what and how to the components

Some of bacteria

• Lysigenesis as different food

Structure and Volume

• 10-1. Is not direct as different food
• Testing methods:
• To test for function you can determine how the bacteria move using these components.
• Testing requires an extended experiment.

Bacterial

• That are not beneficial 1, 2 , - as well as can make 3 or 4 .
• The function is that
• There is only two for the life and death so does not work on it's own. The cell.
• Can show its best effect on high and all of them are different components and have to work together to perform .

Mutations

• All or for what and have that helps for what are some methods

Mutation the change in dna can affect , that

• The bacteria if not know

That can be hard

Then why not use a higher number

To test what is function from the test, you will need to be very familiar testing bacteria.

Explore microbiology, the study of microscopic organisms. Discover viruses, non-living entities needing hosts for activity. Learn about bacteria, diverse single-celled prokaryotes like E. coli. Understand fungi, single-celled eukaryotes reproducing by budding and forming hyphae.