Biological Sciences
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. It explores their structure, function, and interactions with other organisms and the environment. Microbiologists investigate the roles of microorganisms in health, disease, food production, environmental sustainability, and biotechnology.
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10 Key excerpts on "Microbiology"
eBook - PDF- Smith, P(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Agri Horti Press(Publisher)
Introduction 1 1 Introduction Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are microscopic, unicellular, and cell-cluster organisms. This includes eukaryotes such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes. Viruses and prions, though not strictly classed as living organisms, are also studied. Microbiology typically includes the study of the immune system, or Immunology. Generally, immune systems interact with pathogenic microbes; these two disciplines often intersect which is why many colleges offer a paired degree such as “Microbiology and Immunology”. Microbiology is a broad term which includes virology, mycology, parasitology, bacteriology and other branches. A microbiologist is a specialist in Microbiology and these other topics. Microbiology is researched actively, and the field is advancing continually. It is estimated only about one per cent of all of the microbe species on Earth have been studied. Although microbes were directly observed over three hundred years ago, the field of Microbiology can be said to be in its infancy relative to older biological disciplines such as zoology and botany. History Ancient The existence of microorganisms was hypothesized for many centuries before their actual discovery. The existence of unseen microbiological life was postulated by Jainism which is based on Mahavira’s teachings as early as 6th century BCE.. Paul Dundas notes that Mahavira asserted existence of unseen microbiological creatures living in earth, water, air and fire. Jain scriptures also describe nigodas which are sub-microscopic creatures living in large clusters and having a very short life and are said to pervade each and every part of the universe, This ebook is exclusively for this university only. Cannot be resold/distributed. General Microbiology 2 even in tissues of plants and flesh of animals.
eBook - PDF- Urvashi Swami, Vijay Singh Gondil(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Delve Publishing(Publisher)
The chapter then touches upon the history of Microbiology in brief. The various types of Microbiology are also discussed in this chapter. Microbiology with its innumerable application in diverse fields have also been explained this chapter. The chapter then covers some prospects that this field holds and the challenges it pose for the future. Microbiology plays a significant role in achieving sustainable development goals. Its role in addressing food security and mitigating climate change has been discussed in this section. Finally, the chapter discusses how the fields of Microbiology and geology are connected and hence arises the need for the subject geoMicrobiology. 1.1 INTRODUCTION Microbiology is a discipline of biology that deals with study of microorgan-isms. Microorganisms and their activities have a significant impact on life on Earth. They are notably involved in almost every process on this planet. Microorganisms are more important for us because they have an impact on all facets of human life. Microorganisms live in humans, on humans and around humans. Microbiology is concerned with the study of organisms that cannot be seen by naked eye due to their extremely small size. They are a diverse group of simple life forms. The field is concerned with the structure, function, and classification of such organisms and look for ways to exploit and control their activities in order to serve humanity. These microorganisms or microbes are comprised of algae, archaea, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and prions. These microbes have key roles in the following: • Maintenance of nutrient cycle • Process of biodegradation or bio deterioration • Regulation of climate change Introduction to Microbiology 3 • Food spoilage/ decay • Disease and its control • Study of biotechnology A significant role of microbes lies in the process of manufacturing vital medicines which are extremely versatile in their usage.
- David M. Carlberg(Author)
- 2004(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
1 1 THE SCOPE OF Microbiology I. INTRODUCTION Microbiology is the branch of biology that deals with the smallest living things, microorganisms. These organisms include bacteria, algae, fungi, and protozoa. Viruses, while not living organisms in a strict sense, are also included in the study of microorganisms, as are subviral infectious particles such as viroids and prions. Microorganisms are universal. They nearly always occur wherever other forms of life are present, but they also thrive in places where environmental conditions are too harsh for other life. Microorganisms are frequently the only living things found at the bottoms of oil wells, for example, or in the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, ice-covered lakes in Antarctica, and the extremely dry desert soils of Asia and South America. Bacteria that grow in environments at temperatures higher than the boiling point of water have been isolated near volcanic vents deep in the Pacific Ocean. Natural microbial populations can reach unbelievable levels. Common garden soil is particularly rich in microorganisms. A cubic centimeter (about 1/5 tsp.) may contain as many as 10 9 bacteria, possibly consisting of up to 7000 different species, most of which have not been named. This mass represents 0.3% of the total bulk of the soil. Stated another way, an acre of soil down to a depth of 3 ft contains about 3000 lb of bacteria. Scientists have estimated that bacteria make up about half of all the living biological mass on Earth. The bodies of all animals, including humans, are also rich sources of microorganisms. As many as a million bacteria may live on each square centimeter of our skin, and saliva may contain 10 9 microorganisms per milliliter. Nasal washings from normal, healthy adults have been shown 2 Cleanroom Microbiology for the Non-Microbiologist to yield as many as 10 5 microorganisms per milliliter. Fecal matter contains about 10 11 bacteria per gram, which represents about half its dry weight.
eBook - PDFMicrobiology
Principles and Explorations
- Jacquelyn G. Black, Laura J. Black(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
We consider two dimensions of the scope of Microbiology: (1) the vari- ety of kinds of microbes, and (2) the kinds of work micro- biologists do. The Microbes The major groups of organisms studied in Microbiology are bacteria, algae, fungi, viruses, and protozoa (Figure 1.2a–e). All are widely distributed in nature. For example, a recent study of bee bread (a pollen-derived nutrient eaten by worker bees) showed it to contain 188 kinds of fungi and 29 kinds of bacteria. Most microbes consist of a single cell. (Cells are the basic units of structure and function in living things; they are discussed in ▶ Chapter 5.) Viruses, tiny acellular entities on the borderline between the living and the nonliving, behave like living organisms when they gain entry to cells. They, too, are studied in Microbiology. Microbes range in size from small viruses 20 nm in diameter to large protozoans 5 mm or more in diameter. In other words, the largest microbes are as much as 250,000 times the size of the smallest ones! (Refer to ▶ Appendix A for a review of metric units.) Bacteria Among the great variety of microorganisms that have been identified, bacteria probably have been the most thoroughly studied. The majority of bacteria (singular: bacterium) are single-celled organisms with spherical, rod, or spiral shapes, but a few types form filaments. Most are so small they can be seen with a light microscope only under the highest magnification. Although bacteria are cellular, they do not have a cell nucleus, and they lack the membrane-enclosed intracellular structures found in most other cells. Many bacteria absorb nutrients from their envi- ronment, but some make their own nutrients by photosyn- thesis or other synthetic processes. Some are stationary, and others move about. Bacteria are widely distributed in nature, for example, in aquatic environments and in decay- ing matter. And some occasionally cause diseases. Archaea Very similar to bacteria are the group known as Archaea.
eBook - PDF- Stuart Hogg(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
I Introduction 1 Microbiology: What, Why and How? Microorganisms (or microbes) inhabit every corner of the globe, and are essential for the maintenance of the world’s ecosystems. They include organ- isms responsible for some of the most deadly human diseases, and others that form the basis of important industrial processes. Yet until a few hundred years ago, nobody knew they existed! This book offers an introduction to the world of microorganisms, and in this opening chapter, we offer some answers to three questions: What is Microbiology? Why is it such an important subject? How have we gained our present knowledge of Microbiology? 1.1 What is Microbiology? Things aren’t always the way they seem. On the face of it, ‘Microbiology’ should be an easy word to define: the science (logos) of small (micro) life (bios), or to put it another way, the study of living things so small that they can’t be seen with the naked eye. Bacteria neatly fit this definition, but what about fungi and algae? These two groups each contain members that are far from microscopic. On the other hand, certain animals, such as nematode worms, can be microscopic, yet are not considered to be the domain of the microbiologist. Viruses represent another special case; they are most cer- tainly microscopic; indeed, most are submicroscopic, but by most accepted definitions they are not living (why? – see Chapter 10 for an explanation). Nevertheless, these too fall within the remit of the microbiologist. Essential Microbiology, Second Edition. Stuart Hogg. C 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 4 CH1 Microbiology: WHAT, WHY AND HOW? In the central section of this book you can read about the thorny issue of microbial classification and gain some understanding of just what is and what is not regarded as a microorganism. 1.2 Why is Microbiology important? To the lay person, Microbiology means the study of sinister, invisible ‘bugs’ that cause disease.
eBook - PDFThe Science of Food
An Introduction to Food Science, Nutrition and Microbiology
- P. M. Gaman, K. B. Sherrington(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Pergamon(Publisher)
CHAPTER 15 An Introduction to Microbiology Microbiology is the study of microorganisms (microbes). Microorganisms are very small, usually single-celled, organisms which are not individually visible to the naked eye. They can only be seen with the aid of a microscope. They are widely distributed in the environment and are found in foods. Certain of them, if present in food in large enough numbers, can cause food poisoning. Micro- organisms are the main cause of food 'going off', i.e. food spoilage. However, not all microorganisms are undesirable. In fact they are essential to all forms of life since they break down complex organic matter and return nutrients to the soil. Microorganisms are used by man in the production of certain foods, e.g. bread and yoghurt. Although some of the effects of microorganisms have been known and utilised for thousands of years, these microscopic organisms were first seen and studied only 300 years ago. In 1675 a Dutch lens grinder, van Leewenhoek, made a microscope with lenses of sufficiently good quality that he was able to observe microorganisms in a variety of materials such as teeth scrapings and pond water. The significance of his findings was not appreciated at the time. It was nearly 200 years later that a Frenchman, Louis Pasteur, studied fermentation processes and demonstrated that it was microorganisms which caused an undesirable sour taste in some wines. He developed a process of heating wine to kill the microorganisms which caused the souring. This process is still used today to kill undesirable organisms in many food products and is known as pasteurisation. While Pasteur was working in France, Robert Koch, in Germany, demonstrated that anthrax, a fatal disease of sheep and cattle, was caused by a bacterium. From this time onwards great advances were made in the field of Microbiology. The organisms responsible for a large number of diseases were identified.
eBook - PDFUsing the Biological Literature
A Practical Guide, Fourth Edition
- Diane Schmidt(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
151 CHAPTER 8 Microbiology and Immunology This chapter includes reference sources useful for Microbiology and immunol-ogy. Microbiology is “the scientific study of microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, viruses and fungi).” For purposes of this discussion, however, fungi such as yeasts are included with plant biology in Chapter 10, Plant Biology. Immunology is the study of immunity, “the state of relative insusceptibility of an animal to infection by disease-producing organisms” ( Oxford Dictionary of Biology , 4th ed., 2000). Because microbial systems are convenient and effective for studying a whole range of life processes, there is a significant overlap between this chapter and Chapters 5–7, cov-ering biochemistry and biophysics, molecular and cell biology, and genetics, respec-tively. Although medical Microbiology and immunology are not comprehensively discussed in this chapter, some basic materials are included that pertain to the study of pathogenic Microbiology and diagnostic immunology. ABSTRACTS AND INDEXES Abstracting and indexing serials are annotated in Chapter 4, and general sources useful for both microbiologists and immunologists are annotated in Chapter 3. Basically, the three great abstracting/indexing serials for Microbiology and immu-nology are Biological Abstracts , Chemical Abstracts , and PubMed . Current Advances in Immunology and Infectious Diseases. v. 9–, 1992–. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. Monthly. $232.00. ISSN 0964-8747. A current-awareness service with citations arranged in subject classification; also contains a comprehensive listing of review articles. Formerly: Current Advances in Immunology . Available in print and online as part of Current Awareness in Biological Sciences (see Chapter 4). Immunology Abstracts. v. 1–, 1976–. Bethesda, MD: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts.
eBook - PDF- Khushboo Chaudhary, Pankaj Kumar Saraswat(Authors)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- Delve Publishing(Publisher)
AGRICULTURAL Microbiology CHAPTER1 1. HISTORY OF Microbiology: SPONTANEOUS GENERATION THEORY The study of microbes or microorganisms is called Microbiology. The microbes, or microorganisms are minute living things that are usually unable to be viewed with the naked eye. Some examples of microbes are as follows: Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, algae, viruses, and some are parasites (helminths). Some are pathogenic and some are not. Most bacterial species cannot cause disease Beneficial Role of Microbes • Production of antibiotics and foodstuffs. • Decompose organic waste. • Produce industrial chemicals such as ethyl alcohol and acetone. • Produce fermented foods such as vinegar, cheese, and bread. Ancient Microbiology Ancient people recognized many factors involved in diseases. Most ancient people documented that some diseases are communicable, for example: When black death struck Europe entire villages were abandoned in an effort to escape the highly infectious plague (1347 A.D). No medical knowledge existed in Medieval England to cope with the disease. The Romans were a Agricultural and Food Microbiology 2 hygienic bunch and were concerned with health and cleanliness (waste and sewage). The Romans invented the first underground sewage system. The Romans understood that sewage could cause disease, therefore, decided to build an underground sewage system which is an idea we still use today. A network of pipes brought clean water into the city of Rome and removed waste. Waste flushed from the latrines flowed through a central channel into the main sewage system and thence into a nearby river or stream. The public bath houses were the place where people went to socialize and do business as well as getting clean. History of Microbiology First microbes were observed in 1673. Robert Hooke- in 1665 reported that living things were composed of cells. The compound microscope and illumination system are his.
eBook - ePub- Tony Farine, Mark A. Foss(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
16 Microbiology Learning outcomes After reading the following chapter and undertaking personal study, you should be able to:1 Identify four types of microorganism and describe their characteristics.2 Explain how bacteria are identified.3 Describe various host–microorganism relationships and relate these to health and illness.4 Identify the routes by which microorganisms enter the body and relate these to clinical practice.5 Identify potential sources of infection and mechanisms of transmission of microorganisms with particular reference to clinical practice.6 Describe how cross-infection can be prevented, especially in the health-care environment.7 Describe the response of the body to infection.8 Define immunity and distinguish between innate and acquired immune mechanisms.9 Explain the process of immunisation and relate this to health.10 Describe how in clinical practice samples of microorganisms are obtained for examination in the Microbiology laboratory and outline the tests that are performed there.11 Distinguish between cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation and describe the role played by each in the prevention of infection, with special reference to the hospital environment.12 Describe how infections are managed and the role of antibiotics.13 Explain antibiotic resistance and outline the ways in which it may be avoided.IntroductionMicrobiology is the study of organisms that are not visible to the naked eye (microorganisms ) – that is, they can be examined only with the aid of a microscope or, in the case of the smallest microorganisms, with an electron microscope. When we think of microorganisms, we probably think of those that cause disease (pathogens ). Indeed, as this chapter is being completed, the first UK bird death (a swan) caused by the H51N strain of bird flu has just been reported, and the British government has decided to continue culling badgers in an experiment to determine the effect of badgers on tuberculosis (TB) in cattle. Add to these examples the ongoing AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) pandemic
eBook - PDFMicrobiology
Practical Applications and Infection Prevention
- Bruce Colbert, Luis Gonzalez, , , Bruce Colbert, Luis Gonzalez(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
We visit the exciting fields of virology, mycology, and parasitology. Next, we discuss the microbes responsible for disease in humans. You will notice, with the exception of treatments for the virus responsible for causing acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the drugs used to treat diseases caused by these microbes are not as numerous as those for bacterial infections. Finally, we finish the chapter with some information concerning diseases caused by infectious particles called prions. We discussed bacteria in Chapter 2, and our focus in this chapter turns to viruses, molds and yeasts, parasites, and prions. As you will soon see, when a virus invades the body it often produces disease and then the body’s immune system either eliminates or controls it. Some viruses may remain dormant in our body and sometimes cause disease later in life (e.g., shingles after you have had chickenpox). Yeasts or molds may set up residence in hu-mans after treatment with antibiotics has wiped out their normal flora. This may cause serious disease, especially in patients with compromised immune systems. Parasites are microbes that live on or in another organism. Prions infect the nervous system in humans, and when symptoms of this infection are present, death usually occurs within a year. Virology Viruses are the most common infectious agents in humans and virology is the branch of science that studies them. Viruses (from a Latin term meaning “poison”) are infectious particles that have a core containing genetic material virology [vear RALL oh jee]: the study of viruses and viral diseases KEY TERMS (Continued) parasitology [pair uh sigh TALL uh jee] pinworm prion [PRI on] protozoa [pro tah ZOE uh] respiratory syncytial virus [sin SISH ul] severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spores tapeworm vaccines viral load virology [vear RALL oh jee] virus yeasts Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part.
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