History of Microbiology Flashcards
Key features of how Robert Hooke helped develop microbiology:
- Compound microscope
- Coined the phrase cells when observing cork
- Micrographia, published in 1665
Key features of how Antonie van Leeuwenhoek helped develop microbiology:
- Simple microscope 200x
- Wrote to Royal Society - “animalcules” in 1683
When was abiogenesis first discovered and by who?
Aristotle 384-322 BC
How first challenged abiogenesis?
Francesco Redi
What is abiogenesis?
Spontaneous generation
What did John Needham’s argue about abiogenesis?
Case of life force and vital atoms
What refuted spontaneous generation in the microscopic world?
Lazzaro Spallanzani
Who came up with the term ‘germ’?
Charles Bonnet
Who conclusively disproved spontaneous generation?
Louis Pasteur
How did Louis Pasteur disprove the spontaneous generation?
By the swan neck experiment
Who came up with the germ theory of disease?
Robert Kock
What is Koch’s Postulates?
- Suspected pathogenic organism must alway be present in animals surfing from disease and should not be present in healthy individuals
- Organims must be cultivated in pure culture away from animal body
- Cells from a pure culture of the suspected organism should cause disease in healthy animal
- Organsim should be preisolated and shown in the same as the original
What tool can be used to fulfil the first postulate?
Microscopy straining
What tool can be used to fulfil the second postulate?
Laboratory culture
What tool can be used to fulfil the third postulate?
Experimental animals
What tool can be used to fulfil the fourth postulate?
Laboratory resolution and culture
In terms of today, how accurate or relevant is Koch’s Postulates?
It is still accurate however not alway able to satisfy all postulates for every infectious disease
When may we not be able to follow Koch’s Postulates?
- Animal model not always available for a particular disease
- Cannot culture the suspected pathogen
Who discovered antibiotics?
Alexander Fleming
What did Alexander Fleming discover?
Penicillum notatum prevented growth of Staphylococcus aureus
How did Chain and Florey contribute to antibiotics?
Provided how to produce and synthesise and generate penicillin
How did Edward Jenner discover vaccinations?
- Epidemic of smallpox hit
- Noted that milkmaids with cowpox did not become infected
- Took material from pustules of milkmaids and inoculate a child
What book did Edward Jenner publish in 1798?
An inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae
How is the ‘Tree of life’ currently generated?
- By comparing nucleic acid sequences specifically rRNA
- Present in all living things
Which rRNA is used in making the ‘Tree of life’?
16s rRNA
How do you compare 16S rRNA between species?
- Isolate DNA encoding for 16S rRNA
- Amplify it and sequence it
- Compare different sequences
- Generate phylogenic tree
Out of the three domains which are included in prokaryotes?
Bacteria and archaea
Out of the three domains which are included in eukaryotes?
Eukarya
What are some modern advances in microbiology?
- phylogenetic stains
- Community sampling of rRNA revealing diversity of bacteria in nature
- Discover of marine Archaea
- First genome sequence
- First large scale metagenomics project
