History of environmental microbiology Flashcards
Early microbiology- when was microbiology first used?
in fermendation and food preservation.
- humans learned how to prevent microbes from spoiling their food by: drying, salting, smoking, pickling, etc.
- humans used microbiology to make cheese, wine, beer, unknowingly.
1665-1683: advancement in microbiology?
they observed little cells in the water and called them “animacules”
what are the three interrelated lines of microbiology research? which two streams were focused on first?
- germ theory of disease:
- hereditary and evolution:
later on…
3. environmental microbiology
1796 major advancement in microbiology?
Edward Jenner and the smallpox vaccine.
- milkmaids that were exposed to cowpox were less likely to die from small pox
- exposure to cowpox makes you less susceptible to smallpox.
- he infected a little boy with cowpox, allowed time for “immunity” to build. months later, gave the boy smallpox, and the boy did not contract the disease due to his immunity from cowpox.
1883: Sassure and hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria
-in an experiment, he noticed that hydrogen and oxygen were converted to water in the presence of soil.
-first time we observe microbes manipulating the environment.
1879: Nitrification is a microbial process.
How did they see this?
NH4+ –> NO2- –>NO3-
column:
- liquid sewage rich in NH4+ at the top
- sterile sand and chalk ( carbon source)
-flow through
- there was an initial lag phage before nitrification began
- as the ammonium (NH4) concentration in the filtrate decreased. the nitrate concentration decreases
- exposing the column to chloroform or high temperatures ended the process.
1850-1880: Louis Pasteur
- disproved theory of spontaneous generation of microbial life
- investigated fermentation and DEVELOPPED PASTEURIZATION
- theorized that many observed “chemical” processes were actualy biological.
1880-1890: Robert Koch
Developped the 4 Koch postulates to determine the role of microorganisms in infectious diseases.
