Introduction to Microbiology

and Classification of Microbes

Dr. Vinay. P. S Ph.D.

Associate Professor- Microbiology
The Scope of Microbiology

 Microbiology: The study of

living things too small to be
seen without magnification

 Microorganisms or
microbes- these
microscopic organisms
 Commonly called
“germs, viruses,
agents…” but not all
cause disease and many
more are useful or
essential for human life
 There are more microbes in the human body

 Microbes cover your skin from head to toe; and their

diversity can vary depending upon your skin
temperature, texture, thickness, humidity, and chemistry
 For instance, women's hands typically harbor more lactic
acid bacteria — which food purveyors use to ferment
wine, pickles, and yogurt — than men's hands.
 Men's hands, on the flip side, generally have more
corynebacterium bacteria, which play a role in
synthesizing monosodium glutamate, or MSG.
 Your left hand could have a different microbial
community than your right hand.
 Microbes keep your vital organs — such as your brain,
digestive system, and immune system — working
properly.
 In fact, your digestive tract alone — including your small
and large intestine — houses about 99% of your entire
microbiome.
 At least 1,200 different types of bacteria live in our
mouth.
 They can produce foul-smelling sulfurous chemicals in
your mouth while you sleep.
 Research suggests that the microbiome plays a role in
digestion, the regulation of your immune system,
disease prevention, wound healing, gut lining protection,
brain development.
 Skin bacteria also synthesize many useful compounds for
the body, including antibiotics and acids that kill other
harmful microbes, and carbon dioxide, which can slow
the growth of fungus.
Microbiological nomenclature

 In microbiology the binominal system of

nomenclature is accepted where each species
has a generic and a specific name. The generic
name is written with a capital letter, and the
specific name – with a small letter. For example:
the anthrax bacillus – Bacillus anthracis; the
tetanus bacillus – Clostridium tetani.
The Modern Age of Microbiology
CLASSIFICATION OF
MICROORGANISMS
Protista Virus
 DNA-viruses and RNA-viruses

 Eukaryotes Prokaryotes
 Fungi Blue-green algae
 Algae Bacteria
 Protozoa Scotobacteria Photobacteria
 Slime moulds 1. Class Bacteria

2. Class Rickettsias
3. Class Mollicutes
Classification of Microorganisms:
Microbes can be classified into four major groups:
1- Protozoa and Helminths 2- Bacteria.
3- Fungi. 4- Viruses.

1- The Protozoa: These are unicellular organisms with protoplasm

differentiated into nucleus and cytoplasm.
Diameters in the range of 2-100 μm.
The most important groups of medical protozoa are:
A-Amoeba: Entamoeba species. Mode of Motility: pseudopodia.
a

B- Mastigophora: Mode of Motility: the Flagella.

Gastrointestinal flagellates: Giardia intestinalis
Urogenital flagellates: Trichomonas vaginalis

Tissue and blood flagellates: Trypanosoma, Leishmania .

Trypanosoma, and Leishmania .

a
C- Ciliophora: motile by cilia.

Example: Balantidium coli.

D- Sporozoa: intracellular infection.

Example: Plasmodium that cause Malaria.

Protozoans
Giardia Ameba
E- Helminths.
These are multicellular organisms also called as worms but the reproductive
and infective forms like eggs, ova and cysts are microscopic.

These can be classified into 3 groups based on its morphology and structural
differences:
1- Nematodes
2- Trematodes (Flukes/ flat worms)
3- Cestodes
Common examples include: Ascaris lumbricoides (round worm)
Enterobius vermicularis (pin worm)
Filarial worms (Cause elephantiasis)
Ancylostoma duodenalae (Hook worm)
 Scientific Name Common Name
Diphyllobothrium latum Fish tapeworm, Broad tapeworm

Dipylidium caninum Dog tapeworm

Echinococcus granulosus Sheep tapeworm, Hydatid tapeworm

Echinococcus multilocularis Hydatid tapeworm

Hymenolepis nana Dwarf tapeworm
Taenia saginata Beef tapeworm
Taenia solium Pork tapeworm
Ancylostoma duodenale Hookworm
Ascaris lubricoides Large intestinal roundworm
Dracunculus medinensis Guinea worm
Enterobium vermicularis Pinworm
Loa loa Eye worm
Necator americanus Hookworm
Onchocerca volvulus Nodular worm, Binding worm
Strongyloides stercoralis Threadworm
Toxocara canis Dog roundworm
Toxocara cati Cat roundworm
Trichinella spiralis Trichina worm
Trichuris trichiura Whipworm
Wuchereria bancrofti Filarial roundworm
Clonorchis sinensis Chinese liver fluke
Fasciola hepatica Sheep liver fluke
Fasciolopis buski Giant intestinal flike
Paragonimus westermani Lung fluke
Schistosoma haematobium Blood fluke, Vesicular blood fluke

Schistosoma japonicum Blood fluke, Vesicular blood fluke

Helminth
Tapeworm Ascaris round worm
2- The bacteria:
Bacteria are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms that multiply by
binary fission.

Bacteria can be classified according to morphology, arrangement, and staining

reaction into the following groups:
1- Filamentous bacteria: Streptomyces: antibiotic producers.

2- True bacteria:
Cocci: Gram positive: Staphylococcus, Streptococcus.
Gram negative: Neisseria.
Bacilli: Gram positive: Bacillus, Clostridum, Corynebacterium.
Gram negative: Enterobacteriaceae, Brucella.
3- Spirochetes: Slender flexuous spiral bacteria.
Borrelia, Treponema, Leptospira.
4- Mycoplasma: The Smallest bacteria that lack of a rigid cell wall.
5- Rickettsiae and Chlamydiae: intracellular parasites.
Structure of bacterial cells:
Size, Shape, and Arrangement of bacterial cells:

Morphology and arrangement of bacterial cells are criteria used for

classification of bacteria into following groups:
1. Cocci (Singular: coccus).
2. Rods (bacilli), (Singular: rod, bacillus).
3. Vibrios (Singular: vibrio).
4. Spirilla (singular :Spirillum)
5. Spirochetes. (Singular: Spirochaete).
1. Cocci:
These are round or oval bacteria measuring about 0.5-1.0 micrometer in

diameter. When they multiplying, cocci may form pairs, chains, or

irregular groups.
Bacteria
a

Cocci in pairs are called diplococci, for example, meningococci

and gonococci.
Cocci in chains are called streptococci, for example Streptococcus pyogens.

Cocci in irregular groups are called Staphytococci, for example, Staphylococcus aureus.
2. Rods (bacilli):

These are stick-like bacteria with rounded, square, or swollen ends. They
measure 1-10 micrometer in length by 0.3-1.0 micrometer in width.
It may arranged in:
A- Chains, for example, Streptobacillus species.
B- Branching chains, for example, lactobacilli .
C- Mass together, for example, Mycobacterium leprae.
D- Remain attached at various angles resembling Chinese letters, for
example, Corynebacterium diphtheria.
3-Vibrios:
These are small slightly curved rods measuring 3-4 micrometer
in length by 0.5 micrometers in width.
Most vibrios are motile with a single flagellum at one end.
They show a rapid darting motility.
For example:
vibrio cholerae.
4-Spirochetes:
These are flexible, coiled, motile organism, 6-20 micrometer in length.
They progress by rapid body movements.
Spirochetes are divided into three main groups:
A- Treponemes. B- Borreliae. C- Leptospires.
3- The Fungi:
These are saprophytic or parasitic organisms possessing relatively rigid cell
walls.

Medical fungi can be divided into:

1- Mould: Branching filaments; hyphae, mycelium. Usually 2 to 10 μm in width.
Example: Epidermophyton, Trichophyton,
Microsporum, Aspergillus.
2- True Yeasts: these are ovoid or spherical cells that reproduce asexually by
budding and sexually with formation of spores.
Example : Cryptococcus spp.

3- Dimorphic fungi:
Produce a vegetative mycelium in artificial
media, but are yeast like in infected lesions.
Example: Histoplasma.

4- Yeast- like fungi: Example: Candida ( Pseudomycelium).

Fungi
a
4- The viruses:
Viruses consist of DNA or RNA enclosed in a simple protein shell known
as a capsid.

General properties of viruses

They are very small in size, from 20-300 m.

They contain one kind of nucleic acid (RNA or DNA) as their genome.

They are metabolically inert

They are obligate intracellular parasites.

They are only seen by electron microscope.

Depend on the parasitized cell for survival and multiplication

Viruses
Bacteriophage Avian Flu
a
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The Golden Age of Microbiology
The Branches of Microbiology
HISTORY OF MICROBIOLOGY

Many contributors many contributions but a

few are…….
 Robert Hook – 1665

Englishman, used a primitive

compound (two magnifying
lenses) microscope, reported
that life’s smallest units were
little boxes – Cells, his work
started the process of the
development of the Cell
theory of life
Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek –
1673

Probably the first person to

observe living cells with a
simple microscope, amateur
scientist, ground his own
lenses and described what we
know today as bacteria – rod
shaped , spiral shaped , etc.
“animalcules”
Francesco Redi – 1668

Opposed the prevailing theory of Spontaneous

Generation, maggots in meat , He used covered jars to
show that maggots came from flies –strong evidence
against spontaneous generation
Now we teach the theory of Biogenesis – Life comes
from Life
But issue of Spontaneous Generation was actively
believed for many more years
Francesco Redi Experiment
Edward Jenner

Is credited with first vaccine –of smallpox during the

late 1700’s he observed that milk maids didn’t get the
disease, cattle had a similar disease called cowpox,
milk maids had cow pox lesions, but not small pox, he
purposefully took scrapings from cowpox blister and
scraped a 8 year old volunteer. With the material –
child got mild illness but not small pox.

Vaccination comes from Latin word “vacca” meaning cow. Jenner laid
the foundation for Pasteur's later work with other vaccinations.
Louis Pasteur

French scientist who dealt the death

blow to the spontaneous generation
theory.

He devised the ingenious curved

necked flasks that prevented
contaminated air from reaching boiled
beef broth – the broth remained
uncontaminated even though exposed
to the air
Robert Koch

Developed Koch’s postulates – important

technique for determining the actual microbial
cause agent of a disease
1. He discovered the tuberculosis bug
(tubercle bacillus, Mycobacterium
tuberculosis)
2. He discovered the cause of anthrax
(Bacillus anthracis) – from blood of dead
cattle.
3. establishment of a procedure for
determining microbial cause of disease.
Iwanowski 1892

Discovered that plant disease can be caused by small

organisms that were so small they passed through filters,
Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was later identified as the cause
- beginning of virology (Today we have discovered new and
weird things like viroids, prions)
Paul Ehrlich

German doctor, wanted to find a “magic

bullet” an agent that would kill the
disease agent without hurting the patient
1. Developed Salvarsan, “salvation from
syphilis”agent
2. This was an arsenical – arsenic
compound, that was effective against
syphilis acted as antimicrobial agent and
it was chemical – chemotherapy
Joseph Lister – 1860

English surgeon who applied ideas of the germ theory to

surgery, remembered the work of Semmenwellis in Hungary in
the 1840’s, if a Dr. would wash their hands childbed fever was
prevented. He knew that phenol would kill bacteria; so treated
wounds with phenol - and no infection

1. First antiseptic use in surgery,

2. Also proved that microbes cause surgical infections
Semmenwellis theory
Joseph Lister
 Antisepsis in surgery
Alexander Fleming

Scottish physician and bacteriologist - 1928

Observed mold growing on a bacteria culture, there was a ring of
clearing around the mold where the bacteria didn’t grow, the mold
was later found to be a Penicillium species and the naturally secreted
chemical was called penicillin, an antibiotic
1. Antibiotics are natural agents
2. Synthetic drugs are chemicals produced in labs (sulfas)
3. Fleming’s work - shelved until early WWII, sulfas were failing,
needed penicillin to cure battle field wounds
Watson and Crick, Elucidated the
structure of DNA, 1953

Salk - Polio vaccine, 1950’s polio was

a scary epidemic, Salk developed a
vaccine by
treating the virus with formalin (IPV)
inactivated polio virus

Sabin 1963 live Polio virus vaccine,

attenuated –altered virus, OPV-oral
polio vaccine
Watson and crick Salk Sabin
Thank you