PHA204 PHARMACEUTICAL MICROBIOLOGY - I

An introduction to
Microbiology
Mashmum Shababa Shahid
Department of Pharmacy, IUB
Definition & evolution of microbiology
• Microbiology – the scientific study of microorganisms.

• Microbiology is the study of living organisms of microscopic size, which include

bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, and the infectious agents at the borderline of
life that are called viruses.

• It is concerned with the form, structure, reproduction, physiology, metabolism

and classification of microorganisms or microbes.

• It also includes the study of their distribution in nature, their relationship to each
other and to other living organisms, their effects on human beings and on other
animals and plants, and their abilities to make physical and chemical changes in
our environment.
• Microorganisms are closely associated with the health and welfare of human
beings; some are beneficial, while others are detrimental.

• For example, microorganisms are involved in the making of yoghurt, cheese, and
wine; in the production of penicillin, interferon and alcohols; and in the
processing of domestic and industrial wastes.

• On the other hand, microorganisms can cause disease, spoil food, and
deteriorate materials.

• Most microbes are unicellular in nature and all their life processes are performed
by a single cell.

• Higher forms of life or multicellular organisms are composed of many cells that
are arranged in tissues and organs to perform specific functions.
•Regardless the complexity of an organism, the cell is the basic structural unit
of life and all living cells are fundamentally similar.
• Cell theory refers to the concept where cells are referred to as the basic structural
and functional units of all organisms.

• Schleiden and Schwann (founders of cell theory) recognized that all cells, no
matter what the organism, are very similar in structure.

• Protoplasm (Greek proto, "first"; plasm, "formed substance", characterize the living
material of a cell) is a colloidal organic complex consisting largely
of protein, lipids, and nucleic acids.

• These substances are enclosed by membranes or cell walls; and the protoplasm
always contains nuclei or an equivalent nuclear substance.

• Developments in electron-microscope techniques have made it possible to

reveal the complex intricacies of intracellular organization.
• All biological systems have the following characteristics in common:

(1) the ability to reproduce

(2) the ability to ingest or assimilate food substances and metabolize them for
energy and growth

(3) the ability to excrete waste products

(4) the ability to react to changes in their environment (sometimes called

irritability)

(5) susceptibility to mutation.

• Viruses, which represent the borderline of life, are simpler in structure and
composition than single cells.
General structure of a virus
• Viruses are obligate parasites; which grow within an appropriate host cell (i.e.,
plant, animal, microbe).

• They cannot multiply outside a host cell and is able to direct the synthesis of
hundreds of identical viruses using the cell's energy and biochemical machinery.

• A viral particle is made up of substances unique to life: nucleic acids and

proteins.

• The entire domain of microbiology can be sub-divided into a plethora of

diversified, well-recognized, and broadly accepted fields, namely:

Bacteriology: the study of bacteria

Mycology: the study of fungi

Phycology: the study of algae

Protozoology: the study of protozoans

Virology: the study of viruses

Classification of microorganisms
• Present-day classification in biology was established by the work of Carolus Linnaeus, a
Swedish botanist.

• Modern botanical and zoological nomenclature is a system of naming plants and

animals based on the principles established for the plant and animal kingdoms.

• There are organisms that do not fall naturally into either the plant or the animal
kingdom. Hence, a new kingdom is established to include those organisms which are
typically neither plants nor animals.
Haeckel's kingdom

• German zoologist, E. H. Haeckel, suggested that a third kingdom called Protista,

be formed to include those unicellular microorganisms.

• These organisms, the protists, include bacteria, algae, fungi, and protozoa.

• Bacteria are lower protists whereas, algae, fungi and protozoa are called
higher protists. Viruses are not cellular organisms and therefore cannot
be classified as protists.

Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic protists

• The absence of membrane-bound internal structures in one group of protists

(bacteria) and the presence of membrane-bound structures in all the others
(fungi, algae, and protozoa) - was a discovery of fundamental significance.
• These two cell types have been designated prokaryotic and eukaryotic;
organisms of each cell type are called prokaryotes and eukaryotes, respectively.
• Prokaryotes: bacteria
• Eukaryotes: protozoa, fungi and algae
Features distinguishing Prokaryotes from Eukaryotes
Feature Prokaryote/ Prokaryotic cell Eukaryote/ Eukaryotic cell
Organism Bacteria Algae, fungi, protozoa, plants, and
animals.
Size range 1-2 by 1-4µm or less Greater than 5µm in width or
diameter
Genetic system
- Location Nucleoid, chromatin body, or Nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts
nuclear material
Bounded by nuclear membrane;
- Structure of Not bounded by nuclear more than one chromosome
nucleus membrane; one circular
chromosome
Chromosomes have histones; mitotic
Chromosomes does not contain nuclear division
histones; no mitotic division
Nucleolus present; functionally
Nucleolus absent; functionally related genes not clustered
related genes may be clustered
Feature Prokaryote/ Prokaryotic cell Eukaryote/ Eukaryotic cell
- Sexuality Zygote nature is merozygotic Zygote is diploid
(partial diploid)
Cytoplasmic nature and
structures

- Cytoplasmic streaming Absent Present

- Pinocytosis Absent Present

-Gas vacuoles Can be present Absent

- Mesosome Present Absent

- Ribosomes 70S, distributed in the 80S arrayed on membranes as in

cytoplasm endoplasmic reticulum; 70S in
mitochondria and chloroplasts

- Mitochondria Absent Present

Feature Prokaryote/ Prokaryotic cell Eukaryote/ Eukaryotic cell
- Chloroplasts Absent May be present

- Golgi structures Absent Present

- Endoplasmic reticulum Absent Present

- Membrane-bound Absent Present

(true) vacuoles
Outer cell structures

- Cytoplasmic Generally, do not contain Sterols present; do not carry

membranes sterols; contain part of out respiration and
respiratory and, in some, photosynthesis
photosynthetic machinery

- Cell wall Peptidoglycan (murein or Absence of peptidoglycan

mucopeptide) as component
Feature Prokaryote/ Prokaryotic cell Eukaryote/ Eukaryotic cell
- Locomotor organelles Simple fibril Multifibrilled with "9+2"
microtubules

- Pseudopodia Absent Present in some

Metabolic mechanisms Wide variety, particularly that Glycolysis is pathway for
of anaerobic energy-yielding anaerobic energy-yielding
reactions; some fix nitrogen mechanism
gas; some accumulate poly-β-
hydroxybutyrate as reserve
material
Whittaker's Five-Kingdom Concept
• This system of classification is based on three levels of cellular organization
which evolved to accommodate 3 principal modes of nutrition: photosynthesis,
absorption and ingestion.
The major groups of protists are highlighted in the diagrams below.
Bacteria

Viruses
Fungi:
yeasts
&
molds
Protozoa
Algae
Distribution of microorganisms in nature
• Microorganisms are ubiquitous in nature and are carried by air currents from the
earth's surface to the upper atmosphere.

• Importantly, microorganisms may be carried from one host to another as

follows:

a) Animal sources. Certain organisms are pathogenic for humans as well as

animals and may be communicated to humans via direct, indirect, or
intermediary animal hosts.

b) Airborne. Pathogenic microorganisms in the respiratory tract may be

discharged from the mouth or nose into the air and usually settle on food,
dishes or clothing. They may carry infection if they resist drying.
c) Contact infections. Direct transmission of bacteria from one host to another, for
e.g., sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

d) Foodborne. Food as well as water may contain pathogenic organisms usually

acquired by handling food infected by persons or via fecal or
insect contamination.

e) Fomites. Inanimate objects e.g., books, cooking utensils, clothing or linens that
can harbor microorganisms and could serve to transport them from one location
to another.

f) Human carriers. Persons who have recovered from an infectious disease do

remain carriers of the organism causing infection and may transfer the organism
to another host.
g) Insects. Insects may be the physical carriers, for instance: housefly (Musca
dosmetica), or act as intermediate hosts, such as the Anopheles mosquito.

h) Soilborne. Spore-forming organisms in the soil may enter the body via a cut or
wound. Invariably fruits and vegetables, particularly root and tuber crops, need
thorough cleansing before being eaten raw.

• Microbiology is the specific branch of biology that essentially deals with the
elaborated investigation of microscopic organisms termed as microbes.

• These are typically either unicellular or multicellular microscopic organisms that

are distributed abundantly both in the living bodies of plants and animals and
also, in the air, water, soil, and marine kingdom.

• Each and every microbe bear both specific and special characteristic features
that enable them to survive adequately in a wide spectrum of environments such
as: streams, ponds, lakes, rivers, oceans, ice, water-borne pipes, hot springs,
gastro-intestinal tract (GIT), roots of plants and even in oil wells.

• The advantageous fields of microbiology are essentially the ones mentioned

below:

1. Food microbiology – helps in the overall preservation and preparation of

food, food-prone diseases and its ultimate prevention.

2. Aquatic microbiology – water purification; microbiological examination;

biological degradation of waste; ecology.

3. Aero-microbiology – contamination and spoilage; dissemination of diseases

4. Agricultural microbiology – soil fertility; plant and animal diseases

5. Industrial microbiology – production of medicinal products such as antibiotics

and vaccines; fermented beverages, industrial chemicals; production of proteins
and hormones by genetically engineered microorganisms

6. Exomicrobiology – Exploration for life in outer space

7. Geochemical microbiology – coal, mineral and gas formation; prospecting for

deposits of coal, oil, and gas; recovery of minerals from low-grade ores

8. Medical microbiology – causative agents of disease; diagnostic procedures for

identification of causative agents; preventive measures

9. Pharmaceutical microbiology – producing life-saving drugs, like antibiotics e.g.,

penicillins, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, tetracyclines, streptomycin.
Characterization, classification & identification of Microorganisms
• In order to identify and classify microorganisms, we need to learn their
characteristics.

• Studying the characteristics of a culture (i.e., a population of

microorganisms) containing usually millions or billions of cells of only one kind is
equivalent to studying the characteristics of a single organism.

• A culture that consists of a single kind of microorganism (one living specie),

regardless of the number of individuals, in an environment free of other living
organisms is called a pure culture.

• A pure culture is one grown from a single cell. This is also referred to as an
axenic culture, but microbiologists refer to such a culture as a pure culture.
Major characteristics of microorganisms

1) Morphological characteristics. Cell shape, size, and structure; cell

arrangement; occurrence of special structures and developmental forms;
staining reactions; and motility and flagellar arrangement.

2) Chemical composition. The various chemical constituents of the cells.

3) Cultural characteristics. Nutritional requirements and physical conditions

required for growth, and the manner in which growth occurs.

4) Metabolic characteristics. The way in which cells obtain and use their energy,
carry out chemical reactions, and regulate these reactions.

5) Antigenic characteristics. Special large chemical components (antigens) of the

cell, distinctive for certain kinds of microorganisms.

6) Genetic characteristics. Characteristics of the hereditary material of the cell

(DNA or RNA); and occurrence and function of other kinds of DNA that may be
present, such as plasmids.

7) Pathogenicity. The ability to cause disease in various plants or animals or even

other microorganisms.

8) Ecological characteristics. Habitat and the distribution of the organism in

nature and the interactions between and among species in natural environments.

Microbial classification, nomenclature and identification

• Taxonomic groups or Taxa are constructed from strains.

• A strain is made up of all the descendents of a pure culture; usually a succession
of cultures derived from an initial colony, having a specific history and
designation.

• The basic taxonomic group (taxon) is the species, which is a collection of

strains having similar characteristics.

• The type strain is the strain that is designated to be the permanent reference
specimen for the species.

• Therefore, type strains are particularly important and special attention is given to
their maintenance and preservation, particularly by national
reference collections. ATCC is the United States or the National Collection of
Type Cultures (NCTC) in England.

A bacterial species invariably includes multiple strains that are of common origin and show more
similarity to each other than to any other strain. We could consider the type strains to be the most
important strains in NCTC because they are the points of reference that other strains must be
compared with when determining which species, they belong to.

Usually, the first strain of a species to be isolated serves as the type strain, however there are
exceptions. It is also important to note that the type strain is not necessarily either
phenotypically or genomically the most typical representative of a bacterial species.

An example is NCTC 86, being isolated in 1885 from a sample of human faeces and is the first known
isolate of Escherichia coli, does not serve as the type strain of the species. This strain does not
appear to possess any genes associated with pathogenicity. However, there are vast numbers of
clinically significant E.coli strains that are capable of producing virulence factors such as adhesins,
haemolysins and toxins.
• Just as bacterial species are composed of a collection of similar strains, a bacterial
genus (pl. genera) is composed of a collection of similar species.

• Taxonomic groups of higher rank than genus are listed below:

Family – A group of similar genera

Order – A group of similar families

Class – A group of similar orders

Division – A group of similar classes

Kingdom – A group of similar divisions

• Taxonomists make classifications following 2 qualities: (i)

stability (ii) predictability
Taxonomic rank
• The three methods used for
arranging bacteria into taxa:

(i) The intuitive method (ii)

Numerical taxonomy (iii) Genetic
relatedness

• Each species of microorganism has

only one officially accepted name,
by international agreement.

• This system provides for precise

communication.
Questions ?