MICROBIOLOGY IN
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
LECTURE 3
* Microbiology in Historical Context
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vFor thousands of years, people believed that “certain
living things arose from vital forces present in the
nonliving or decomposing matter”. This ancient belief is
known as spontaneous generation or abiogenesis.
vOne of the firm believers in spontaneous generation was
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher (384-322 BC) – The Father of
Zoology.
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v In his book “History of Animals” Aristotle stated that the
great majority of fish proceed from eggs. However, there are
some fish that proceed from mud and sand. Aristotle also
believed that dead leaves falling from a tree into a pond would
transform into fishes and those falling on soil would transform
into worms and insects. He also held that some insects develop
from morning dew and rotting manure.
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vAncient Egyptians believed that mud of the Nile River
could spontaneously give rise to many forms of life- oysters,
cockles, barnacles, hermit crabs, mussels, etc.
vThere was a very common popular belief that snakes came
from the marrow of the human spine, being formed by the
melting and gathering together of its juices.
vThere was a well-established notion in antiquity that
frogs were generated from mud, an idea that persisted
beyond the Middle Ages
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vThe theory of Spontaneous Generation was disproved
in the course of time due to the experiment
conducted by Fransisco Redi (1665), Spallanzani
(1765), and later by Louis Pasteur (1864) in his
famous ―S-neckǁ experiment.
vThis theory was disapproved, as scientists gave
definite proof that living things arise only from others
of the same kind- is known as the theory of
biogenesis.
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Francesco Redi (1668):
v A strong opponent of spontaneous generation, the
Italian physician Francesco Redi set out in 1668 to
demonstrate that maggots did not arise spontaneously
from decaying meat.
vRedi filled two jars with decaying meat. The first was
left unsealed; the flies laid their eggs on the meat, and
the eggs developed into larvae.
vThe second jar was sealed, and because the flies could
not lay their eggs on the meat, no maggots appeared.
*
vStill, Redi's antagonists were not convinced; they
claimed that fresh air was needed for spontaneous
generation.
vSo Redi set up a second experiment, in which he
covered a jar with a fine net instead of sealing it.
vNo larvae appeared in the gauze-covered jar, even
though air was present. Maggots appeared only when
flies were allowed to leave their eggs on the meat
*
*
Louis Pasteur (1861):
vArguments about spontaneous generation continued
until 1861, when the issue was resolved by the French
scientist Louis Pasteur
vWith a series of ingenious and persuasive experiments,
Pasteur demonstrated that microorganisms are present
in the air and can contaminate sterile solutions, but that
air itself does not create microbes.
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Louis Pasteur (1861):
v He filled several short-necked flasks with beef broth
and then boiled their contents.
vSome were then left open and allowed to cool. In a few
days, these flasks were found to be contaminated with
microbes.
vThe other flasks, sealed after boiling, were free of
microorganisms. From these results, Pasteur reasoned
that microbes in the air were the agents responsible
for contaminating nonliving matter.
*
vPasteur next placed broth in open-ended, long-necked
flasks and bent the necks into S-shaped curves.
vThe contents of these flasks were then boiled and
cooled. The broth in the flasks did not decay and
showed no signs of life, even after months.
vPasteur's unique design allowed air to pass into the
flask, but the curved neck trapped any airborne
microorganisms that might contaminate the broth.
*
*
vPasteur showed that microorganisms can be present in
nonliving matter-on solids, liquids, and air. Furthermore,
he demonstrated conclusively that microbial life can be
destroyed by heat and that methods can be devised to
block the access of airborne microorganisms to nutrient
environments.
vThese discoveries form the basis of aseptic techniques,
techniques that prevent contamination by unwanted
microorganisms, which are now the standard practice in
laboratory and many medical procedures.
*
*
v Beginning with the work of Pasteur, there was an
explosion of discoveries in microbiology.
The period from 1857 to 1914 has been
appropriately named the Golden Age of
Microbiology.
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1. The Development of Microscope:
v The first careful and exacting observations awaited the
clever single-lens microscope hand-fashioned by Antonie
van Leeuwenhoek (in 1674) a Dutch linen merchant and
self-made microbiologist.
vThe original purpose of the microscopes was to examine
cloth for flaws, but Leeuwenhoek turned them to other
uses as well.
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Figure 1.1: Antony van Leeuwenhoek. Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723)
and his microscopes. (a) Leeuwenhoek holding a microscope. (b) A
drawing of one of the microscopes showing the lens, a; mounting
pin, b; and focusing screws, c and d. (c) Leeuwenhoek‘s drawings
of bacteria from the human mouth.
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1. The Development of Microscope:
vLeeuwenhoek‘s wide-ranging investigations included
observations of tiny organisms he called animalcules
(little animals), blood, and other human tissues
(including his own tooth scrapings), insects, minerals,
and plant materials.
vHe constructed more than 250 small, powerful
microscopes that could magnify up to 300 times.
vBecause of Leeuwenhoek‘s extraordinary contributions to
microbiology, he is known as the Father of Bacteriology
and Protozoology.
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2. Fermentation and Pasteurization
vOne of the key steps that established the relationship
between microorganisms and disease occurred when a
group of French merchants asked Louis Pasteur to find
out why wine and beer soured.
v At the time, many scientists believed that air converted
the sugars in these fluids into alcohol.
vPasteur found instead that microorganisms called yeasts
convert sugars to alcohol in the absence of air. This
process, called fermentation, is used to make wine and
beer.
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2.Fermentation and Pasteurization
vSouring and spoilage are caused by different
microorganisms present in the air.
vThese bacteria change the alcohol in the beverage into
vinegar (acetic acid) and are responsible for the souring
of beverages.
vPasteur's solution to the spoilage problem was to heat the
beer and wine just enough to kill most of the bacteria that
caused the spoilage. The process, called pasteurization, is
now commonly used to reduce spoilage and kill potentially
harmful bacteria in milk as well as in some alcoholic drinks.
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3. The Germ Theory of disease
v The realization that yeasts play a crucial role in
fermentation was the first link between the activity of a
microorganism and physical and chemical changes in
organic materials.
vThis discovery alerted scientists to the possibility that
microorganisms might have similar relationships with plants
and animals specifically, that microorganisms might cause
disease. This idea was known as the germ theory of
disease.
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3. The Germ Theory of Disease
vIn 1865, Louis Pasteur was called upon to help fight
silkworm disease, which was ruining the silk industry
throughout Europe.
vYears earlier, in 1835, Agostino Bassi, an amateur
microscopist, had proved that another silkworm disease was
caused by a fungus.
vUsing data provided by Bassi, Pasteur found that the more
recent infection was caused by a protozoan, and he
developed a method for recognizing afflicted silkworm
moths.
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3. The Germ Theory of disease
v In the 1860s, Joseph Lister, an English surgeon, applied
the germ theory to medical procedures.
vDisinfectants were not used at the time, but Lister knew
that phenol (carbolic acid) kills bacteria, so he began
treating surgical wounds with a phenol solution.
vThe practice reduced the incidence of infections and
deaths and other surgeons quickly adopted it.
In fact, his findings proved that microorganisms cause
surgical wound infections.
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3. The Germ Theory of disease
v Robert Koch in 1876 a German physician discovered the cause of
anthrax, a disease that was destroying cattle and sheep in
Europe.
vKoch discovered rod-shaped bacteria now known as Bacillus
anthracis in the blood of cattle that had died of anthrax.
vHe cultured the bacteria on nutrients and then injected
samples of the culture into healthy animals.
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3. The Germ Theory of disease
vWhen these animals became sick and died, Koch isolated the
bacteria in their blood and compared them with the bacteria
originally isolated.
vHe found that the two sets of blood cultures contained the
same bacteria.
vKoch thus established a sequence of experimental steps for
directly relating a specific microbe to a specific disease. These
steps are known today as Koch's postulates.
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4. Vaccination
v Often a treatment or preventive procedure is developed before
identification of the pathogen.
vEx. Smallpox. Smallpox epidemics were greatly feared. The
disease periodically swept through Europe, killing thousands, and
it wiped out 90% of the American Indians on the East Coast .
vEdward Jenner, a young British physician in 1796 was informed
by a young milkmaid that she couldn't get smallpox because she
already had been sick from cowpox - a much milder disease.
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4. Vaccination
v He decided to put the girl's story to the test.
vFirst Jenner collected scrapings from cowpox blisters. Then he
inoculated a healthy 8-year-old volunteer with the cowpox
material by scratching the person's arm with a pox-contaminated
needle.
vThe scratch turned into a raised bump. In a few days, the
volunteer became mildly sick but recovered and never again
contracted either cowpox or smallpox.
vThe process was called vaccination, from the Latin word vacca,
meaning cow.
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4. Vaccination
v The protection from disease provided by vaccination (or by
recovery from the disease itself) is called immunity.
vJenner's experiment marked the first time in a Western culture
that a living viral agent - the cowpox virus - was used to produce
immunity.
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5. The Birth of Modern Chemotherapy: Dreams of a "Magic
Bullet"
v After the relationship between microorganisms and disease was
established, medical microbiologists next focused on the search
for substances that could destroy pathogenic microorganisms
without damaging the infected animal or human.
v Treatment of disease by using chemical substances is called
chemotherapy.
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5. The Birth of Modern Chemotherapy: Dreams of a "Magic
Bullet"
vChemicals produced naturally by bacteria and fungi to act
against other microorganisms are called antibiotics.
vChemotherapeutic agents prepared from chemicals in the
laboratory are called synthetic drugs.
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5.1. The First Synthetic Drug
v Paul Ehrlich, a German physician, in 1910 launched a search for
a bullet that will kill pathogen without harming the host.
vAfter testing hundreds of substances, he found a
chemotherapeutic agent called salvarsan, an arsenic derivative
effective against syphilis. The agent was named salvarsan
because it was considered to offer salvation from syphilis and it
contained arsenic.
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5.1. The First Synthetic Drug
vBefore this discovery, the only known chemical in Europe's
medical was an extract from the bark of a South American tree,
quinine, which had been used to treat malaria.
vBy the late 1930s, researchers had developed several other
synthetic drugs that could destroy microorganisms. Most of these
drugs were derivatives of dyes.
v In addition, Sulphonamides (sulpha drugs) were synthesized at
about the same time.
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5.2. A Fortunate Accident - Antibiotics
v The first antibiotic was discovered by an accident.
vSir Alexander Fleming, a Scottish physician and bacteriologist,
almost tossed out some culture plates that had been
contaminated by mold.
vFortunately, he took a second look at the curious pattern of
growth on the contaminated plates. Around the mold was a clear
area where bacterial growth had been inhibited.
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Figure : The discovery of penicillin. Sir Alexander Fleming took
this photograph in 1928. The colony of Penicillium mold
accidentally contaminated the plate and inhibited nearby
bacterial growth.
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