Addis Ababa University

College of Health Sciences

Dpt of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology (DMIP)

BASICS OF INFECTION & IMMUNITY (BioMM - 2152 ) for

Anesthesia students

Kelemework Adane (PhD)

February, 2022

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• Introduction to Microbiology

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 Learning objectives

Upon completion of this lesson students are expected to:

• Define microbiology and microorganisms

• Explain how microorganisms affect our lives

• Describe the history of microbiology and germ theory of diseases

• Explain the basis for classifying and naming of microorganisms

• Describe eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells

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 Why you need to study about Microbiology?

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 What is Microbiology?

§ The study of organisms too small to be seen by the naked eye-

microorganisms
§ The word microbiology is derived from three Greek words:
Micros – small
Bios – life
Logos - science

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 • What are microorganisms ?
• too small to be seen with the naked eye, very
diverse and found almost everywhere

Relative size of organisms and molecules

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Medical Microbiology
– The study of pathogenic microbes and their role in human
illness.
– Includes

• Bacteriology: prokaryotes, single-celled

• Virology: Non cellular, parasitic infectious agents

• Mycology: Fungi; Microscopic (molds & yeasts)
» Macroscopic (mushrooms & puff balls)
• Protozoology: single-celled parasites (but mostly under
medical Parasitology)

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 Beneficial & harmful aspects microorganisms
Beneficial aspects
• Recycles vital elements (carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, hydrogen,
and oxygen)
– Maintain balance of environment
• Nitrogen fixation
• Photosynthesis
• Recycles water (sewage treatment)
• Clean up toxic wastes (bioremediation)
• Manufacture of food and drink

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 Beneficial aspects…
Microbes are used to produce Antibiotics

• 1929 Alexander Fleming

developed Penicillin from
mold
– Penicillium notatum

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 Beneficial aspects…

• Bacteria synthesize chemicals that our body needs

• Example: Escherichia coli

– B vitamins - for metabolism

– Vitamin K - blood clotting

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 Harmful Effects

§ Cause disease & basis for bioterrorism

§ Food spoilage

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 History of microbiology
The First Observations
Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723)
§ First person - Invented microscope and discovered the
microbial world.
§ He saw minute moving objects which he called “little
animalcules”

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 Spontaneous Generation vs. Biogenesis

§ Spontaneous generation - Living things arise from nonliving

things
Ødecaying meat → maggots and flies
Øgrain  mice
§ Biogenesis - Living cells can arise only from preexisting living
matter.

Ø e.g. animalcules arise from “ germs” or “seeds” present in air

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 The Experiments

• In attempting to prove or disprove spontaneous

generation, scientists performed controlled experiments.

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 Experiment #1
• 1668: Francesco Redi (biogenesis) placed decaying meat in
different jars then made these observations:

Conclusion: maggots were the offspring of flies, not products of

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 Experiment #2

•1745: John Needham (spon gen) put boiled nutrient

broth into flasks.

Conditions Results

Nutrient broth placed flasks, Microbial growth

boiled, and then sealed

Conclusion: microbes arose spontaneously in broth from a

“life force.”

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 Experiment #3
•1767: Lazzaro Spallanzani (biogenesis) boiled nutrient
solutions in sealed flasks.

Conditions Results

Nutrient broth placed in No microbial growth

flask, sealed, then boiled

Suggested that microbes were introduced into these flasks

from the air.

Needham argued that life originates from a “life force” that was
destroyed during Spallanzani’s extended boiling.
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 Needham’s and Spallanzani’s Experiments

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 Experiment #4

• 1858: Louis Pasteur (biogenesis) demonstrated

that microorganisms are present in the air
– Filtered air through a cotton filter

– Examined the cotton filter under a

microscopic

– Cotton was full of microorganisms

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 Experiment #5
• 1861: Pasteur’s Swan-Necked Flasks experiment to further
confirm his findings in the air

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 The germ theory of disease

• Certain diseases are caused by the invasion of the body by

germs (microorganisms)
– 1876- Robert Koch- established “scientific principles” to
show a cause and effect relationship between a microbe &
a disease

– The principles are known as Koch’s postulates

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 Koch’s postulates

1. The same microbe is always associated with a specific

disease.
2. The microbe must be isolated from the host with the
disease and grown in pure culture

3. The specific disease must be reproduced when a pure

culture of the bacteria is inoculated into a healthy
susceptible host
4. The original microbe must be recovered from the
experimentally infected host

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 1. Same 3. Pure
organism organism
present in each causes same
case. disease.

Together
these
indicate
infectious-
disease
causation.

2. Organism grown 4. Same

in pure culture. organism
recovered.
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 § Koch established the etiology of 3 diseases
• 1. Cholera (fecal-oral disease)

– Vibrio cholerae

• 2. Tuberculosis (pulmonary infection)

– Mycobacterium tuberculosis

• 3. Anthrax (sheep and cattle)

– Bacillus anthracis

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 Exceptions to Koch’s Postulates

• Growth on artificial media is impossible in some cases

– Treponema pallidum -Syphilis

– Mycobacterium leprae-Leprosy

– All viruses can not grow on artificial media

• Ethical objections- infecting subjects with infectious agents

– No animal models for some disease

• e.g. HIV/AIDS

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 Development of antimicrobial chemotherapy

Paul Ehrlich

Alexander Fleming
penicillin

– He observed that Penicillium

fungus made an antibiotic,
penicillin, that killed S.
aureus.

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 Taxonomy and classification of
microorganisms

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 Taxonomy & classification of microorganisms

• Taxonomy is the science dealing with the description,

identification, naming, and classification of organisms

• Classification is the ‘grouping’ of organisms based on particular

characters

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 – Originally 2 Kingdoms: Animals & Plants

(certain organisms do not fit)

– Robert Whittaker: 5 Kingdoms (1969)

[Link]/Monera(Bacteria & cyanobacteria)

2. Protista

3. Myceteae/Fungi

4. Plant

5. Animal

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 Binomial System of Nomenclature

• Binomial system was devised by Carolus Linnaeus

• Each organism has two names
– Genus name – italicized and capitalized (e.g., Escherichia)

– Species name– italicized but not capitalized (e.g., coli)

Escherichia coli

– Can be abbreviated after first use (e.g. E. coli)

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 Bacterial example
KINGDOM Prokaryote/Monera
PHYLUM Gracilicutes
CLASSS Cotobacteria
ORDER Eubacteriales
FAMILY Enterobacteriacea
GENUS Escherichia
SPECIES coli

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 Fungal example
KINGDOM Eukaryote
PHYLUM Ascomycota
CLASS Ascomycetes
ORDER Eurotiales
FAMILY Trichocomaceae
GENUS Aspergillus
SPECIES fumigatus

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 Viral classification (different system)

International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)

Host Organism; Particle Morphology & Genome Type
ORDER - suffix virales
FAMILY - suffix viridae
SUBFAMILY - suffix virinae
GENUS - suffix virus
SPECIES - individual virus

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 Viral classification example

ORDER - Mononegavirales
FAMILY - Filoviridae
GENUS - Filovirus
SPECIES - Ebola virus

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 Eukaryotic vs. prokaryotic cells

• All organisms other than viruses and prions are made up of cells

• Bacteria are prokaryotes, all other organisms are eukaryotes

Prokaryotic cells

• A distinct nucleus is absent

• DNA is in the form of a single circular chromosome

• Additional DNA is carried in plasmids

• Transcription and translation can be carried out simultaneously
• Ribosome size 70S

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 Eukaryotic vs. prokaryotic cells

Eukaryotes

• Several chromosomes within a nucleus (linear)

• Nucleus bounded by a nuclear membrane

• Transcription requires formation of mRNA and movement of

mRNA out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm

• Translation takes place on ribosomes

• Membrane-bound organelles

• Ribosome size 80S

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 Eukaryotic cell Prokaryotic cell
(e.g. animal)
Flagellum
Rough endoplasmic Cell membrane Nucleoid Cell wall
reticulum
Nucleus

Gram +

Pili
Gram -
Granule

Capsule
Cytoplasm Cell membrane Outer membrane
Mitochondria Ribosomes Cell wall
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 Summary

• Medical microbiology
– Study of pathogenic microbes causing diseases
• Microorganism can be beneficial or harmful to humans
• The germ theory of disease started in 1860’s after Pasteur's
experiments and Koch’s accompany
• Koch’s postulates are scientific principles to show cause and effect
relationship between a microbe and a disease
• Antibiotic discovery started in 1920’s when Alexander Fleming
discovered penicillin
• Binomial System of Nomenclature is used to name bacteria and
fungi
• Prokaryotic cells lack membrane bounded organelles and true
nucleus
• Eukaryotic cells have membrane bounded organelles and true
nucleus

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 • Thank you!

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