{"id":1797,"date":"2022-01-28T21:29:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T15:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/?p=1797"},"modified":"2022-02-25T17:45:56","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T12:00:56","slug":"history-of-microbiology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/","title":{"rendered":"History of Microbiology and Contributors in Microbiology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Physics began in ancient times, mathematics even earlier, but the knowledge of tiny living things, their biology, and their impact on human lives have only been around since the late 19th century.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Until about the 1880s, people still believed that life could form out of thin air and that sickness was caused by sins or bad odors.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Opinions about why diseases afflicted people differed between cultures and parts of society and the treatments differed as well. Diseases were thought to be caused by<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Bad smells, treated by removing or masking the offending odor<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">An imbalance in the humor of the body, treated with bleeding, sweating, and vomiting<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sins of the soul, treated with prayer and rituals<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Although the concept of contagion was known, it wasn\u2019t attributed to tiny living creatures but to bad odors or spirits, such as the devil.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Varo and Columella<\/strong> in the first century BC postulated that diseases were caused by invisible beings (<em>Animalia minuta<\/em>) inhaled or ingested.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fracastorius of Verona (1546)<\/strong> proposed a <em>Contagium vivum<\/em> as a possible cause of infections disease and <strong>Von Plenciz (1762) <\/strong>suggested that each disease was caused by a separate agent.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/History-of-Microbiology.jpg\" alt=\"History of Microbiology\" class=\"wp-image-1798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/History-of-Microbiology.jpg 800w, https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/History-of-Microbiology-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/History-of-Microbiology-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0a0a0a;color:#0a0a0a\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0a0a0a;color:#0a0a0a\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#discovery-of-microbes-and-the-dawn-of-microbiology\" title=\"Discovery of Microbes and the Dawn of Microbiology\">Discovery of Microbes and the Dawn of Microbiology<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#the-discovery-era\" title=\"The Discovery Era \">The Discovery Era <\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#transition-period\" title=\"Transition Period\">Transition Period<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#the-golden-age\" title=\"The Golden Age \">The Golden Age <\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#development-in-medicine-and-surgery\" title=\"Development in Medicine and Surgery \">Development in Medicine and Surgery <\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#development-of-vaccines\" title=\"Development of Vaccines \">Development of Vaccines <\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#development-of-chemotherapeutics-antitoxins-and-antibiotics\" title=\"Development of Chemotherapeutics, Antitoxins and Antibiotics\">Development of Chemotherapeutics, Antitoxins and Antibiotics<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#in-20th-century-era-of-molecular-biology\" title=\"In 20th Century: Era of Molecular Biology\">In 20th Century: Era of Molecular Biology<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#louis-pasteur\" title=\"Louis Pasteur\">Louis Pasteur<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#robert-koch\" title=\"Robert Koch\">Robert Koch<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#paul-ehrlich\" title=\"Paul Ehrlich\">Paul Ehrlich<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#other-important-contributors-in-microbiology\" title=\"Other Important Contributors in Microbiology\">Other Important Contributors in Microbiology<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/#references\" title=\"References\">References<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"discovery-of-microbes-and-the-dawn-of-microbiology\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"discovery-of-microbes-and-the-dawn-of-microbiology\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Discovery of Microbes and the Dawn of Microbiology<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Microbiology is the study of living organisms of microscopic size.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The term microbiology was given by French chemist Louis Pasteur (1822-95).<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Microbiology is said to have its roots in the great expansion and development of the biological sciences that took place after 1850.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The term microbe was first used by Sedillot (1878).<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-discovery-era\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-discovery-era\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>The Discovery Era <\/u><\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Robert Hooke,<\/strong> a 17th-century English scientist, was the first to use a lens to observe the smallest unit of tissues he called \u201ccells.\u201d Soon after, the Dutch amateur biologist <strong>Anton van Leeuwenhoek<\/strong> observed what he called \u201canimalcules\u201d with the use of his homemade microscopes.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)<\/strong> of Delft, Holland (Netherland) was the first person to observe and accurately describe microorganisms (bacteria and protozoa) called &#8216;animalcules&#8217; (little animals) in 1676.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Actually he was a Dutch linen merchant but spent much of his spare time constructing simple microscopes composed of double convex lenses held between two silver plates. He constructed over 250 small powerful microscopes that could magnify around 50-300 times.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Leeuwenhoek was the first person to produce precise and correct descriptions of bacteria and protozoa using a microscope he made himself. Because of this extraordinary contribution to microbiology, <strong>Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is considered as the &#8220;Father of microbiology&#8221;.<\/strong><\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Antonie van Leeuwenhoek<\/span> is also considered to be the father of bacteriology and protozoology (protistology).<\/strong><\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He wrote over 200 letters which were transmitted as a series of letters from 1674-1723 to Royal Society in London during a 50 years period.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"transition-period\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"transition-period\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Transition Period<\/u><\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When microorganisms were known to exist, most scientists believed that such simple life forms could surely arise through spontaneous generation. That is to say life was thought to spring spontaneously from mud and lakes or anywhere with sufficient nutrients. This concept was so compelling that it persisted until late into the 19th century.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The main aspects were to solve the controversy over a <\/span>spontaneous generation which includes experimentations mainly of Francesco Redi, John Needham, Lazzaro Spallanzani, and Nicolas Appert,<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> etc, and to know the disease transmission which mainly includes the work of <strong>Ignaz Semmelweis<\/strong> and <strong>John Snow<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Francesco Redi (1626-1697):<\/strong> The ancient belief in spontaneous generation was first of all challenged by Redi, an Italian physician, who carried out a series of experiments on decaying meat and its ability to produce maggots spontaneously.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John Needham (1713-1781):<\/strong> He was probably the greatest supporter of the theory of spontaneous generation. He proposed that tiny organisms the animalcules arose spontaneously on his mutton gravy. He covered the flasks with cork as done by Redi and even heated some flasks. Still the microbes appeared on mutton broth.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799):<\/strong> He was an Italian Naturalist who attempted to refute Needham&#8217;s experiment. He boiled beef broth for longer period, removed the air from the flask and then sealed the container. Followed incubation no growth was observed by him in these flasks. He showed that the heated nutrients could still grow animalcules when exposed to air by simply making a small crack in the neck. Thus Spallanzani disproved the doctrine of spontaneous generation.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Nicolas Appert<\/strong> followed the idea of Spallanzani&#8217;s work. He was a French wine maker who showed that soups and liquids can be preserved by heating them extensively in thick champagine bottles.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ignaz Semmelweis <\/strong>and <strong>John Snow<\/strong> were the two persons who showed a growing awareness of the mode of disease transmission.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Two German scholars <strong>Schulze (1815-1873)<\/strong> and <strong>Theodor Schwan (1810-1882) <\/strong>viewed that air was the source of microbes and sought to prove this by passing air through hot glass tubes or strong chemicals into boiled infusions in flasks. The infusion in both the cases remained free from the microbes.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>George Schroeder<\/strong> and <strong>Theodor Von Dusch (1854)<\/strong> were the first to introduce the idea of using cotton plugs for plugging microbial culture tubes.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Darwin (1859)<\/strong> in his book, &#8216;Origin of the Species&#8217; showed that the human body could be conceived as a creature susceptible to the laws of nature. He was of the opinion that disease may be a biological phenomenon, rather than any magic.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-golden-age\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-golden-age\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>The Golden Age <\/u><\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Golden age of microbiology began with the work of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch who had their own research institute. More important there was an acceptance of their work by the scientific community throughout the world and a willingness to continue and expand the work. During this period, we see the real beginning of microbiology as a discipline of biology.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The concept of spontaneous generation was finally put to rest by the French chemist <a href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/louis-pasteur-and-his-contributions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Louis Pasteur<\/strong><\/a> in an inspired set of experiments involving a goosenecked flask. When he boiled broth in a flask with a straight neck and left it exposed to air, organisms grew. When he did this with his goose-necked flask, nothing grew. The S-shape of this second flask trapped dust particles from the air, preventing them from reaching the broth. By showing that he could allow air to get into the flask but not the particles in the air, Pasteur proved that it was the organisms in the dust that were growing in the broth.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Pasteur, thus in 1858 finally resolved the controversy of spontaneous generation versus biogenesis and proved that microorganisms are not spontaneously generated from inanimate matter but arise from other microorganisms.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He also found that fermentation of fruits and grains, resulting in alcohol, was brought about by microbes and also determined that bacteria were responsible for the spoilage of wine during fermentation. Pasteur in 1862 suggested that mild heating at 62.8\u00b0C (145\u00b0F) for 30 minutes rather than boiling was enough to destroy the undesirable organisms without ruining the taste of the product, the process was called Pasteurization. Pasteurization was introduced into the United States on a commercial basis in 1892. His work led to the development of the germ theory of disease.<\/span><\/li><li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Louis Pasteur is known as the &#8220;Father of Modern Microbiology \/ Father of Bacteriology.<\/span><\/strong><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>John Tyndall (1820 &#8211; 1893):<\/strong> An English physicist, deal a final blow to spontaneous generation in 1877. He conducted experiments in an aseptically designed box to prove that dust indeed carried the germs. He demonstrated that if no dust was present, sterile broth remained free of microbial growth for indefinite period even if it was directly exposed to air. He discovered highly resistant bacterial structure, later known as endospore, in the infusion of hay. Prolonged boiling or intermittent heating was necessary to kill these spores, to make the infusion completely sterilized, a process known as Tyndallisation.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Around the same time that Pasteur was doing his experiments, a doctor named <strong>Robert Koch <\/strong>was working on finding the causes of some very nasty animal diseases (first anthrax, and then tuberculosis). He gave the first direct demonstration of the role of bacteria in causing disease. He was a german physician who first of all isolated anthrax bacillus (Bacillus anthracis, the cause of anthrax) in 1876. He perfected the technique of isolating bacteria in pure culture. He also introduced the use of solid culture media in 1881 by using gelatin as a solidifying agent. In 1882 he discovered <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis<\/em>. He proposed Koch postulate which were published in 1884 and are the corner stone of the germ theory of diseases and are still in use today to prove the etiology (specific cause) of an infectious disease.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Koch\u2019s four postulates are:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The organism causing the disease can be found in sick individuals but not in healthy ones.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The organism can be isolated and grown in pure culture.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The organism must cause the disease when it is introduced into a healthy animal.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The organism must be recovered from the infected animal and shown to be the same as the organism that was introduced.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The combined efforts of many scientists and most importantly Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch established the <strong>Germ theory of disease<\/strong>. The idea that invisible microorganisms are the cause of disease is called germ theory. This was another of the important contributions of Pasteur to microbiology. It emerged not only from his experiments disproving spontaneous generation but also from his search for the infectious organism (typhoid) that caused the deaths of three of his daughters.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fanne Eilshemius Hesse (1850 &#8211; 1934)<\/strong> one of Koch&#8217;s assistant first proposed the use of agar in culture media. Agar was superior to gelatin because of its higher melting (i.e. 96\u00b0C) and solidifying (i.e. 40-45\u00b0C) points than gelatin and was not attacked by most bacteria. Koch&#8217;s another assistant Richard Petri in 1887 developed the Petri dish (plate), a container used for solid culture media. Thus contribution of Robert Koch, Fannie Hesse and Richard Petri made possible the isolation of pure cultures of microorganisms and directly stimulated progress in all areas of microbiology.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"development-in-medicine-and-surgery\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"development-in-medicine-and-surgery\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Development in Medicine and Surgery <\/u><\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Once scientists knew that microbes caused disease, it was only a matter of time before medical practices improved dramatically. Surgery used to be as dangerous as not doing anything at all, but once <strong>aseptic (sterile) technique<\/strong> was introduced, recovery rates improved dramatically. Hand washing and quarantine of infected patients reduced the spread of disease and made hospitals into a place to get treatment instead of a place to die.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Lord Joseph Lister (1827-1912):<\/strong> A famous English surgeon is known for his notable contribution to the antiseptic treatment for the prevention and cure of wound infections. Lister concluded that wound infections too were due to microorganisms. In 1867, he developed a system of antiseptic surgery designed to prevent microorganisms from entering wounds by the application of phenol on surgical dressings and at times it was sprayed over the surgical areas. He also devised a method to destroy microorganisms in the operation theatre by spraying a fine mist of carbolic acid into the air, thus producing an antiseptic environment. Thus Joseph Lister was the first to introduce aseptic techniques for control of microbes by the use of physical and chemical agents which are still in use today. Because of this notable contribution, <strong>Joseph Lister is known as the Father of Antiseptic surgery.<\/strong><\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"development-of-vaccines\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"development-of-vaccines\"><\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000000;\"><strong>Development of Vaccines <\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Vaccination<\/strong> was discovered before germ theory, but it wasn\u2019t fully understood until the time of Pasteur. In the late 18th century, milkmaids who contracted the nonlethal cowpox sickness from the cows they were milking were spared in deadly smallpox outbreaks that ravaged England periodically. The physician <strong>Edward Jenner<\/strong> used pus from cowpox scabs to vaccinate people against smallpox.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Edward Jenner (1749-1823)<\/strong> an English physician was the first to prevent small pox. He was impressed by the observation that countryside milk maid who contacted cowpox (Cowpox is a milder disease caused by a virus closely related to small pox) while milking were subsequently immune to small pox. On May 14<sup>th<\/sup> , 1796 he proved that inoculating people with pus from cowpox lesions provided protection against small pox. Jenner in 1798, published his results on 23 successful vaccinators. Eventually this process was known as vaccination, based on the latin word &#8216;Vacca&#8217; meaning cow. Thus the use of cow pox virus to protect small pox disease in humans became popular replacing the risky technique of immunizing with actual small pox material.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Jenner&#8217;s experimental significance was realized by Pasteur who next applied this principle to the prevention of anthrax and it worked. He called the attenuated cultures vaccines (Vacca = cow) and the process as vaccination. Encouraged by the successful prevention of anthrax by vaccination, Pasteur marched ahead towards the service of humanity by making a vaccine for hydrophobia or rabies (a disease transmitted to people by bites of dogs and other animals). As with Jenner&#8217;s vaccination for small pox, principle of the preventive treatment of rabies also worked fully which laid the foundation of modern immunization programme against many dreaded diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and measles etc.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Elie Metchnikoff (1845-1916)<\/strong> proposed the phagocytic theory of immunity in 1883. He discovered that some blood leukocytes, white blood cells (WBC) protect against disease by engulfing disease causing bacteria. These cells were called phagocytes and the process phagocytosis. Thus human blood cells also confer immunity, referred to as cellular immunity.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"development-of-chemotherapeutics-antitoxins-and-antibiotics\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"development-of-chemotherapeutics-antitoxins-and-antibiotics\"><\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000000;\"><strong>Development of Chemotherapeutics, Antitoxins and Antibiotics<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Emile Roux (1853-1933)<\/strong> and <strong>Alexandre Yersin,<\/strong> the two notable French bacteriologists demonstrated the production of toxin in filtrates of broth cultures of the diphtheria organism. Emil von Behring (1854 -1917) and Shibasaburo Kitasato (1852-1931) both colleagues of Robert Koch, in 1890 discovered tetanus (lock jaw) antitoxin. Only about a week after the announcement of the discovery of tetanus antitoxin, Von Behring in 1890 reorted on immunization against diphtheria by diphtheria antitoxin. The discovery of toxin-antitoxin relationship was very important to the development of science of immunology.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915)<\/strong> in 1904 found that the dye Trypan Red was active against the trypanosome that causes African sleeping sickness and could be used therapeutically. This dye with antimicrobial activity was referred to as a &#8216;magic bullet&#8217;. Subsequently in 1910, Ehrlich in collaboration with Sakahiro Hata, a japanese physician, introduced the drug Salvarsan (arsenobenzol) as a treatment for syphilis caused by Treponema pallidum. Ehrlich&#8217;s work had laid important foundations for many of the developments to come and the use of Salvarsen marked the beginning of the eni of chemotherapy and the use of chemicals that selectively inhibit or kill pathogens without causing damage to the patient.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Gerhard Domagk<\/strong> of Germany in 1935 experimented with numerous synthetic dyes and reported that Prontosil, a red dye used for staining leather, was active against pathogenic, Streptococci and Staphylococci in mice even though it had no effect against that same infectious agent in a test tube. In the same year two French scientists Jacques and Therese Trefonel showed that the compound Prontosil was broken down within the body of the animal to sulfanilamide (Sulfa drug) the true active factor. Domagk was awarded nobel prize in 1939 for the discovery of the first sulpha drug.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The credit for the discovery of this first &#8216;wonder drug&#8217; penicillin in 1929 goes to Sir <strong>Alexander Fleming<\/strong> of England, a Scottish physician and bacteriologist. Fleming had been actually interested in searching something that would kill pathogens ever since working on wound infections during the first world war (1914-1918).<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Antibiotics were discovered completely by accident in the 1920s, when a solid culture in a Petri dish (called a plate) of bacteria was left to sit around longer than usual. As will happen with any food source left sitting around, it became moldy, growing a patch of fuzzy fungus. The colonies in the area around the fungal colony were smaller in size and seemed to be growing poorly compared to the bacteria on the rest of the plate. The compound found to be responsible for this antibacterial action was named penicillin. The first antibiotic, penicillin was later used to treat people suffering from a variety of bacterial infections and to prevent bacterial infection in burn victims, among many other applications. In this way, Sir Alexander Fleming in 1929 discovered the first antibiotic penicillin.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Waksman <\/strong>at the Rutgers university, USA discovered another antibiotic, streptomycin produced by two strains of actinomycete, <em>Streptomyces griseus<\/em> in 1944. Waksman received the noble prize in 1952 for his discovery of Streptomycin used in the treatment of tuberculosis, a bacterial disease caused by <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis<\/em> that had been discovered by Robert Koch in 1882. By 1950, three other microorganism were identified that produced antibiotics, such as chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin) from <em>Streptomyces venezuelae<\/em> by Dr. Paul R. Burkholder in 1947, Aureomycin from <em>S. aureofaciens<\/em> by Dr. B.M. Dugger in 1948; and Terramycin from <em>S. rimosus<\/em> by Finlay, Hobby and collaborators in 1950.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A dramatic turn in microbiology research was signaled by the death of Robert Koch in 1910 and advent of World war I. The Pasteur Institute was closed, and the German laboratories converted for production of blood components used to treat war infections. Thus came to an end what many have called the Golden Age of Microbiology.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"in-20th-century-era-of-molecular-biology\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"in-20th-century-era-of-molecular-biology\"><\/span><strong><u><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">In 20<sup>th<\/sup> Century: Era of Molecular Biology<\/span><\/u><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">By the end of 1900, science of microbiology grew up to the adolescence stage and had come to its own as a branch of the more inclusive field of biology.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the later years the microorganism were picked up as ideal tools to study various life processes and thus an independent discipline of microbiology, molecular biology was born.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The relative simplicity of the microorganism, their short life span and the genetic homogeneity provided an authentic simulated model to understand the physiological, biochemical and genetical intricacies of the living organisms.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The field of molecular biology made great strides in understanding the genetic code, how DNA is regulated, and how RNA is translated into proteins. Until this point, research was focused mainly on plant and animal cells, which are much more complex than bacterial cells. When researchers switched to studying these processes in bacteria, many of the secrets of genes and enzymes started to reveal themselves.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Important Contributors in Microbiology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"louis-pasteur\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"louis-pasteur\"><\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/louis-pasteur-and-his-contributions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Louis Pasteur<\/a><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Louis Pasteur is known as the \u201cFather of Modern Microbiology \/ Father of Bacteriology.<\/strong> He has many contributions to microbiology:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>He has proposed the principles of fermentation for the preservation of food.<\/li><li>He introduced sterilization techniques and developed steam sterilizers, hot air oven, and autoclave.<\/li><li>He described the method of pasteurization of milk.<\/li><li>He had also contributed for designing the vaccines against several diseases such as anthrax, fowl cholera, and rabies<\/li><li>He disproved the theory of spontaneous generation of disease and postulated the \u2018germ theory of disease\u2019. He stated that disease cannot be caused by bad air or vapor, but it is produced by the microorganisms present in the air.<\/li><li>Liquid media concept- He used nutrient broth to grow microorganisms.<\/li><li>He was the founder of the Pasteur Institute, Paris.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Louis Pasteur proposed:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u2022 Principles of fermentation<br>\u2022 Pasteurization of milk<br>\u2022 Sterilization techniques<br>\u2022 The germ theory of disease<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"robert-koch\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"robert-koch\"><\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/robert-koch-and-kochs-postulates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Robert Koch<\/a><\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Robert Koch provided remarkable contributions to the field of microbiology:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>He used solid media for the culture of bacteria-Eilshemius Hesse, the wife of Walther Hesse, one of Koch\u2019s assistants had suggested the use of agar as a solidifying agent.<\/li><li>He also introduced methods for isolation of bacteria in pure culture.<\/li><li>Described the hanging drop method for testing motility.<\/li><li>Discovered bacteria such as the anthrax bacilli, tubercle bacilli, and cholera bacilli.<\/li><li>Introduced staining techniques by using aniline dye.<\/li><li>Koch\u2019s phenomenon: Robert Koch observed that guinea pigs already infected with tubercle bacillus developed a hypersensitivity reaction when injected with tubercle bacilli or its protein. This reaction is called Koch\u2019s phenomenon.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/kochs-postulates-and-its-limitations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Koch\u2019s postulates<\/a><\/strong>, a microorganism can be accepted as the causative agent of an infectious disease only if the following conditions are fulfilled:<br>i. The microorganism should be constantly associated with the lesions of the disease.<br>ii. It should be possible to isolate the organism in pure culture from the lesions of the disease.<br>iii. The same disease must result when the isolated microorganism is inoculated into a suitable laboratory animal.<br>iv. It should be possible to re-isolate the organism in pure culture from the lesions produced in the experimental animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An additional fifth criterion was introduced subsequently which states that antibodies to the causative organism should be demonstrable in the patient\u2019s serum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Exceptions to Koch\u2019s postulates:<\/strong> It is observed that it is not always possible to apply these postulates to study all human diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are some bacteria that do not satisfy all the four criteria of Koch\u2019s postulates. Those organisms are:<br>\u2022 <em>Mycobacterium leprae <\/em>and<em> Treponema pallidum<\/em>: They cannot be grown in vitro; however can be maintained in animals.<br>\u2022 <em>Neisseria gonorrhoeae<\/em>: There is no animal model; however, bacteria can be grown in vitro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Molecular Koch\u2019s postulates:<\/strong> It was a modification of Koch\u2019s postulates (by Stanley Falkow). He stated that the gene (coding for virulence) of a microorganism should satisfy all the criteria of Koch\u2019s postulates rather than the microorganism itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"paul-ehrlich\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"paul-ehrlich\"><\/span><strong>Paul Ehrlich<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>He was the first to report the acid-fast nature of tubercle bacillus.<\/li><li>He developed techniques to stain tissues and blood cells.<\/li><li>He proposed a toxin-antitoxin interaction called an Ehrlich phenomenon and also introduced methods of standardizing toxin and antitoxin<\/li><li>He proposed the \u2018side-chain theory for antibody production\u2019.<\/li><li>He discovered \u2018salvarsan\u2019, an arsenical compound (magic bullet) for treatment of syphilis, hence <strong>Paul Ehrlich is known as the father of chemotherapy.<\/strong><\/li><li>The bacteria \u2018Ehrlichia\u2019was named after him.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"other-important-contributors-in-microbiology\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"other-important-contributors-in-microbiology\"><\/span><strong>Other Important Contributors in Microbiology<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek:<\/strong> Discovered single-lens microscope and named organisms as \u2018Little animalcules\u2019.<br><strong>2. Edward Jenner:<\/strong> Developed the first vaccine of the world, the smallpox vaccine by using the cowpox virus.<br><strong>3. Joseph Lister: Joseph Lister is considered to be the father of antiseptic surgery. <\/strong>He used carbolic acid during surgery.<br>4. <strong>Hans Christian Gram: <\/strong>He developed a \u2018Gram stain\u2019.<br><strong>5. Ernst Ruska:<\/strong> He was the founder of the electron microscope.<br><strong>6. Alexander Fleming:<\/strong> He discovered the antibiotic penicillin.<br><strong>7. Elie Metchnikoff:<\/strong> He described phagocytosis and termed phagocytes.<br><strong>8. Kleinberger:<\/strong> He described the existence of L forms of bacteria.<br><strong>9. Barbara McClintock:<\/strong> She described transposons.<br><strong>10. Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger:<\/strong> were the first to develop (1977) the method of DNA sequencing.<br><strong>11. Karry B Mullis:<\/strong> Discovered polymerase chain reaction (PCR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"references\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"references\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>References<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Engelkirk, P. G., Duben-Engelkirk, J. L., &amp; Burton, G. R. W. (2011).&nbsp;Burton&#8217;s microbiology for the health sciences. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health\/Lippincott Williams &amp; Wilkins.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Levinson, W. (2014). Review of medical&nbsp;microbiology&nbsp;and immunology (Thirteenth edition.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Chicago<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Cowan, M. Kelly.Herzog, Jennifer. (2013)&nbsp;Microbiology&nbsp;fundamentals :a clinical approach New York, NY : McGraw-Hill<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Trivedi P.C., Pandey S, and Bhadauria S. (2010). Textbook of Microbiology. Pointer Publishers; First edition<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Tortora, Gerard J., Funke, Berdell R.Case, Christine L.. (2013)&nbsp;Microbiology :an introduction&nbsp;Boston : Pearson.<\/span><\/li><li>Apurba Sankar Sastry and Sandhya Bhat K. 2018. Review of Microbiology and Immunology. 6th Edition. Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Physics began in ancient times, mathematics even earlier, but the knowledge of tiny living things, their biology, and their impact on human lives have only been around since the late &#8230; <a title=\"History of Microbiology and Contributors in Microbiology\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/history-of-microbiology\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about History of Microbiology and Contributors in Microbiology\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1572],"tags":[3592,3589,3570,3581,3586,3587,3588,3584,3571,3579,3591,3594,3596,3575,3572,3576,3582,3573,3585,3548,3595,3597,3574,3590,3569,3583,3577,3578,3580,3593],"custom":{"td_video":"","featured_image":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/History-of-Microbiology.jpg","author":{"name":"Sagar Aryal","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/862472ea06500d4318f1ad82addb608e?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"categories":[{"term_id":1572,"name":"Basic Microbiology","slug":"basic-microbiology","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1572,"taxonomy":"category","description":"<strong>Microbiology is the branch of science that deals with microscopic organisms and their interaction with other microscopic and macroscopic organisms.<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Microorganisms are tiny microscopic organisms that are too small to be seen with naked eyes and thus, can only be seen with a microscope. Microorganisms include microscopic organisms like bacteria, fungi, archaea, protozoa, and viruses.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Basic microscopy deals with a diverse group of studies that help in research related to the biochemistry, physiology, cell biology, ecology, evolution, and clinical aspects of microorganisms, including the host response to these agents.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Microbiology also deals with the structure, function, classification of such organisms, along with exploiting and controlling their activities.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The concept of microbiology began with the discovery of the microscope by Anton Von Leeuwenhoek.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>On the one hand, microbes are used for their unique features which allow the production of antibiotics, amino acids, hormones, and other therapeutic compounds, and also the production of food and food-related products.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Microorganisms are also involved in the decomposition of components such as lignocellulosic biomass for second-generation ethanol or biogas.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Similarly, certain genetic features and biochemical abilities of microorganisms make them dangerous for industry (food spoilage) as well as human health.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Microbiology, initially, was only associated with pathogenic microorganisms that result in different forms of diseases in different groups of living beings.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>With the establishment of microbiology as a discipline, the application of microorganisms in different areas has also increased.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The use of microorganisms in food and pharmaceuticals has given rise to the branching of microbiology into further disciplines and studies.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Thus, over the years, the branch has been classified into further groups like agriculture microbiology, food microbiology, pharmaceutical microbiology, systemic microbiology, etc.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The studies in microbiology have also increased due to the use of microorganisms in different researches as these are easy to manipulate and reproduce when compared to other living organisms.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Studies in microbiology are essential for the discovery of new and advanced methods for the discovery of emerging microorganisms and associated diseases and applications.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Microbiology also deals with techniques for the identification of these microorganisms, their classification, and the life cycle.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>All of this allows for a better understanding of microorganisms and their role in maintaining the ecosystem.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Microbiology and microorganisms can be applied for the formation of new genetically engineered microorganisms by a process like genetic recombination.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Besides, different microorganisms have found their application in the production of food, industrial products, and antibiotics.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","parent":0,"count":60,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1572,"category_count":60,"category_description":"<strong>Microbiology is the branch of science that deals with microscopic organisms and their interaction with other microscopic and macroscopic organisms.<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Microorganisms are tiny microscopic organisms that are too small to be seen with naked eyes and thus, can only be seen with a microscope. Microorganisms include microscopic organisms like bacteria, fungi, archaea, protozoa, and viruses.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Basic microscopy deals with a diverse group of studies that help in research related to the biochemistry, physiology, cell biology, ecology, evolution, and clinical aspects of microorganisms, including the host response to these agents.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Microbiology also deals with the structure, function, classification of such organisms, along with exploiting and controlling their activities.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The concept of microbiology began with the discovery of the microscope by Anton Von Leeuwenhoek.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>On the one hand, microbes are used for their unique features which allow the production of antibiotics, amino acids, hormones, and other therapeutic compounds, and also the production of food and food-related products.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Microorganisms are also involved in the decomposition of components such as lignocellulosic biomass for second-generation ethanol or biogas.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Similarly, certain genetic features and biochemical abilities of microorganisms make them dangerous for industry (food spoilage) as well as human health.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Microbiology, initially, was only associated with pathogenic microorganisms that result in different forms of diseases in different groups of living beings.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>With the establishment of microbiology as a discipline, the application of microorganisms in different areas has also increased.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The use of microorganisms in food and pharmaceuticals has given rise to the branching of microbiology into further disciplines and studies.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Thus, over the years, the branch has been classified into further groups like agriculture microbiology, food microbiology, pharmaceutical microbiology, systemic microbiology, etc.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The studies in microbiology have also increased due to the use of microorganisms in different researches as these are easy to manipulate and reproduce when compared to other living organisms.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Studies in microbiology are essential for the discovery of new and advanced methods for the discovery of emerging microorganisms and associated diseases and applications.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Microbiology also deals with techniques for the identification of these microorganisms, their classification, and the life cycle.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>All of this allows for a better understanding of microorganisms and their role in maintaining the ecosystem.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Microbiology and microorganisms can be applied for the formation of new genetically engineered microorganisms by a process like genetic recombination.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Besides, different microorganisms have found their application in the production of food, industrial products, and antibiotics.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","cat_name":"Basic Microbiology","category_nicename":"basic-microbiology","category_parent":0}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1797"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microbenotes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}