Microbe Challenge

July 25, 2011Sloan C

Workshops

Vimlarani Chopra, PhD

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Objectives• What is microbiology? • What are microorganisms? • How tiny are bacteria? • How do we identify

microorganisms? • Are they our friends or foes? • Are they present every where? • What are some disease causing

organisms?

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Microbiology• The study of organisms too small to be

seen without magnification• Microorganisms include:

Bacteria (unicellular)Viruses (acellular)Fungi (multicellular)Protozoa (unicellular)Helminthes (worms) Algae (multicellular)10, 000 to 500,000 X

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How tiny is bacteria? • An individual bacterium is very tiny. • One or two micrometers across. • Micro means 1/000,000 (one-millionth), they are commonly

one millionth of a meter in diameter. • A meter is 39.37 inches (3.33 inches longer than a yard). How many bacteria lying snugly side-by-side would it take to

reach one meter?• About one million lying side by side to reach one meter, or

500,000 if they were 2 micrometers wide. • Bacteria divide every 12 to 20 minutes (1:2:4:8...........).

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Microbial Dimensions

• Microorganisms are measured in micrometers.

• Viruses are measured in nanometers

• Worms are measured in millimeters.

• 300 years of contributions

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Study of Microorganisms• Identification of

Bacteria Stain the bacteria Three shapes Culture Bacteria Use DNA based tools Binomial (scientific)

nomenclature

• Naming Bacteria Gives each microbe 2 names:

Genus - noun, always capitalizedspecies - adjective, lowercase

Both italicized or underlinedStaphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis)Escherichia coli (E. coli)

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Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)• First to observe living

microbes• Single-lens magnified up to

300X• Disproved the early belief

that some forms of life could arise from vital forces present in nonliving or decomposing matter (flies from manure, etc)

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Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

• Many diseases are caused by the growth of microbes in the body and not by sins, bad character, or poverty, etc.

• Showed microbes caused fermentation and spoilage

• Developed pasteurization• Demonstrated what is now

known as Germ Theory of Disease

• Developed a rabies vaccine9

What do Microorganisms do?• Live on astonishing variety of places and live on every

food you can imagine• Nutrient production and energy flow• Decomposition• Biotechnology

production of foods, drugs and vaccines

• Genetic engineering• Bioremediation• Infectious disease world wide 2000 microbes 10 B new infections / year 13 M deaths from infections / year

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• How to grow bacteria? • How to grow bacteria

colonies? • How to count bacteria? • Study the effect of pH on

household bacteria. • Study the effect of temperature

on bacteria growth. • Study the effect of antibiotics

on bacteria count.• Study the effect of light on

bacteria growth.

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• Study the effect of UV light on bacteria growth?

• Study Bacteria classification.  • How can we control the growth

of anaerobic bacteria? • How can we control the growth

of aerobic bacteria? • Study the effect of different

nutrients on bacteria growth. • How fast do the bacteria grow?

Conclusion • All microorganisms are not disease

causing microbes commonly known as pathogens.

• Many are our dear friends recycle waste matter and help us salvage our mother Earth.

http://en.yupis.org/game-YIPy/#playhttp://en.yupis.org/games/viral-vendetta/

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqOVYpkZ0qs&feature=related