Project 1 The Pioneers of Microbiology

Leeuwenhoek

Antonie Van Leewenhoek (1632-1723)

He is commonly known as the “Father of Microbiology”and considered to be the first
microbiologist.

He  discovered bacteria, free-living and parasitic microscopic protists, sperm cells, blood
cells,microscopic nematodes and rotifers, and much more.

At some time before 1668, Antony van Leeuwenhoek learned to grind lenses, made simple
microscopes, and began observing with them.

Leeuwenhoek's skill at grinding lenses led him to build microscopes that magnified over 200
times, with clearer and brighter images.

He was the first to see microscopic foraminifera. He discovered blood cells, and was the
first to see living sperm cells of animals. He discovered microscopic animals such as
nematodes and rotifers.

Using his handcrafted microscopes, he was the first to observe and describe single-celled
organisms, which he originally referred to as animalcules, and which are now
referred to as microorganisms.

Koch

 

Robert Koch (1843-1910)

 

Is known for his role in identifying the specific causative agents of tuberculosis, cholera,

and anthrax and for giving experimental support for the concept of infectious disease.

 

Koch’s work with anthrax is notable in that he was the first to link a specific

microorganism with a specific disease, rejecting the idea of spontaneous generation

and supporting the germ theory of disease.

 

Koch created and improved laboratory technologies and techniques in the field of

microbiology, and made key discoveries in public health.

 

His research led to the creation of Koch’s postulates, a series of four generalized principles

linking specific microorganisms to specific diseases that remain today the “gold standard”

in medical microbiology.

 

These postulates outlined a method for linking cause and effect of an infectious disease

and also established the significance of laboratory culture of infectious agents.

Appert

Nicolas Appert (1749-1841)

He is commonly known as the “Father of Food Preservation"

He experimented for 15 years and succeeded at preservation first by partially cooking
food, including meats, and sealing it in glass bottles with cork stoppers, wire, and sealing
wax, and then boiling the bottles for more than 12 hours in water, expelling potentially
harmful air.

In 1804, Appert opened the world's first canning factory in the French town of Massy, south
of Paris.

By 1809, he had succeeded in preserving certain foods and presented his findings to the
government.

Appert’s discovery provided the first reliable method for preserving many different types
of foods for extended periods of time so that they could be used by troops on deployment.

He was responsible for numerous inventions, including the bouillon cube. He also devised a
method for extracting gelatin from bones without using acid.

Appert may not have understood the science behind food preservation, yet his canning
process is directly responsible for the multitude of prepared foods that sit on grocery store
shelves around the world.

Schwann

Theodor Schwann (1810-1882)

His theory and observations became the foundation of modern histology.

His many contributions to biology include the development of cell theory, the discovery of
Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system, the discovery and study of pepsin, the
discovery of the organic nature of yeast, and the invention of the term metabolism.

He observed animal cells under the microscope,noting their different properties and found
particular interest in the nervous and muscular tissues.

He discovered the cells which envelope the nerve fibers, now called Schwann cells in his
honor.

Schwann discovered the striated muscle in the upper esophagus and initiated research into
muscle contraction, since expanded upon greatly by Emil du Bois-Reymond and others.

Müller directed Schwann's attention to the process of digestion, and in 1837 Schwann
isolated an enzyme essential to digestion, which he called pepsin.

Haeckel

Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919)

He discovered, described and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree
relating all life forms

He coined many terms in biology including anthropogeny,  ecology, phylum, phylogeny, stem
cell and the Kingdom Protista

Haeckel promoted and popularized Charles Darwin's work in Germany and developed the
controversial recapitulation theory ("ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny") claiming
that an individual organism's biological development, or ontogeny, parallels and
summarizes its species' evolutionary development, or phylogeny

Between 1859 and 1866, he worked on many "invertebrate" groups, including radiolarians,
poriferans (sponges) and annelids (segmented worms). He named nearly 150 new species of
radiolarians during a trip to the Mediterranean.

Hooke

Robert Hooke (1635-1703)

In the early 1660’s he was the first to use a microscope for scientific reasons.

He wrote a book called Micrograhpia describing what he saw while using the microscope.

He developed the compound microscope and illumination system

He even coined the name cells for small circular structures he saw. His discovery of cells is
credited as a fundamental step for microbiology.

Hooke’s curiosity guided the study of microbiology to a new light.

Because of him microscopes are a necessary part of studying pathogens and non-pathogens.

Redi

 

Francesco Redi (1626-1697)

 

In 1668 conducted an experiment to show the generation of maggots.

 

He tested the hypothesis that flies have to land on meat in order for maggots to grow. In

the experiment he used three pieces of meat. One meat was exposed to air, which

developed maggots due to contact files. The second meat was covered with paper since

the flies could not contact the meat no maggots grew. The last meat was covered with

cheesecloth which the flies grew maggots on but there was no maggots on the meat itself.

 

His discovery helped shine light to the falsehood of the theory of spontaneous generation.

Metchnikoff

Elie Metchnikoff (1845-1916)

Credit for coining the term Phagocytosis goes to him which literally mean phagocytose
(eating of cell). In 1884, he published the account of phagocytosis and formulated the basic
theory on which the science of immunology is founded i.e. body is protected from infection
by leucocytes that engulf bacteria & other invading microbes.

While studying starfish larvae, he observed that certain cells engulfed splinters that he had
introduced into larvae. These are called phagocytes.

He formulated the theory that the phagocytes were body’s first and most important line of
defense against infection.

His discovery made the study of microbiology significant to many other scientists.

Needham

 

John Needham (1713-1781)

 

He contributed to the theory of spontaneous generation

 

He conducted  an experiment using gravy and wheat.

 

Needham would heat up broth for a short period of time.

 

Then he’d let it cool so that he could later cover it up. Later on, microorganisms would

develop in the jar. He believed life coming from the broth was due to spontaneous

generation.

 

Though his experiment was later disproved, Needham contributed to the science of

microbiology by studying the theory of spontaneous generation.

Schleiden
 
Matthias Schleiden (1804-1881)

In 1838 Schleiden proposed that all plants are composed of cells; together with his friend
Theodor Schwann he formulated the cell theory of life.

Schleiden observed various cell structures and activities such as protoplasmic streaming.

Schleiden also found that certain fungi live on or within the roots of some plants. This
relationship between fungi and plants, called mycorrhiza ("fungi roots"), has since been
shown to be very common and extremely beneficial to both organisms.

His contribution gave new information to microbiology which would later help understand
cell division and DNA replication. Also helping scientist understand that specific cells have
specific duties.

Von Dusch and Schroeder

 

Theodor Von Dusch 1824-1890  Georg Schroeder 1810-1885

 

Von Dusch along with Georg Schroeder performed convincing a experiment in 1854 that

disproved the spontaneous generation theory of life by passing air through cotton into

flask containing heated broth. No growth of microbe was observed in the infusion due to

the filtration of microorganism by cotton.

 

Cotton plugs are still use today in test tubes for labs Today we use cotton to clean and

cover wounds

 

Cotton is also used to filter the air and trap the sticky particles that can damage the

engine of a car

 

Cotton vacuum filters trap dirt and dust that contain microbes retaining 98.8% of particles.

Joblot

 

Louis Joblot (1645-1723)

 

He was a mathematician, theorist and inventor.

 

Contemporary of Leeuwenhoek, he also pursued microscopy

 

In 1718 Joblot presented his own developments and modifications of the microscope,

observations of protozoa, and his opposition to the theory of spontaneous generation

 

Joblot’s new microscope permitted precise focusing by eliminating stray light and enabling

the mounting of a diverse array of specimens. The microbes became clearer and more

visible.

Tyndall

 

John Tyndall (1820-1893)

 

In 1877 demonstrated that dust did carry germs and that if dust was absent, broth remained

sterile even if directly exposed to air.

 

He developed a sterilization method called Tyndallization method which is the cooling and

heating with steam for 3 days to kill germs and their spores

 

Tyndall sterilization has led to the modern sterilization of food in pressure system for 15

minutes at 121°C

 

Lister

 

Joseph Lister 1827–1912

 

In 1867, he developed a system of antiseptic surgery designed to prevent micro organisms

from entering wounds by application of phenol on surgical dressings and at times it was

sprayed over surgical area.

 

He also devised a method to destroy the micro organisms in the operation theatres by

spraying fine mist of carbolic acid into air, thus producing antiseptic environment.

 

He also heated or sterilized the instruments to be used during surgery. Thus, he was fist to

introduced aseptic technique for the control of microorganisms by the use of physical and

chemical agents, which are still in use today

Spallanzani

 

Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799)

 

In 1765 he proved and discovered that floating microorganisms in plant and animal samples

were in fact living organisms on their own. They were also present in water and in the air.

 

He nulled the previously proposed studies by John Needham (vital force).

 

His studies are relevant to microbiology because they prove that there is microscopic life in

all living organisms and they are also present at the single cell level in elements such as

water and air.

Cohn

Ferdinand Cohn (1828-1898)

Considered to be the father of modern bacteriology, began his studies as a botanist and
ultimately made discoveries which led to the creation of a new field of study.

He was the first scientist who believed that bacteria should be classified as plants. His
contributions include a system of classification and the discovery of spores.

His journal, Beitrage zur Biologie der Pflanzen, contained the first essays on modern
bacteriology.

Gram

 

Hans Christian Gram (1853-1938)

 

1884, he developed a method of staining bacteria, to make them more visible under

a microscope.

 

A gram stain is made using a primary stain of crystal violet and a counterstain of safranin

 

Bacteria that turn purple when stained are called 'Gram positive', while those that turn red

when counterstained are called 'Gram negative'.

 

This technique, the Gram stain, continues to be a standard procedure in medical

microbiology.

Pasteur

 

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

 

French chemist and microbiologist who was one of the most important founders of medical

microbiology.

 

He pioneered the study of molecular asymmetry

 

He discovered that microorganisms caused fermentation and disease

 

He originated the process of pasteurization.

 

He developed vaccines against anthrax and rabies.

 

Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778)

Swedish botanist, naturalist, physician and zoologist.

He was the first person to lay down the principles to determine the natural genera and
species of organisms, and to form a uniform system for naming them (also known as
binomial nomenclature).

Linnaeus is considered to be the founding father of modern taxonomy as well as ecology.

#	Name of Scientist	APPLICABLE THEORY		List of Experiment or Discovery
		Spontaneous Generation	Biogenesis
1	Appert			showing that meat could be preserved when it was placed in glass bottles and boiled
2	Cohn	NA		define and systematically classify bacteria
3	Gram	NA		devised a staining technique that divides all bacteria into two groups
4	Haeckel			speculated life arose from a vat of “Urschleim” (primeval slime); tree of life
5	Hooke			invented the compound microscope
6	Joblot			concluded that material freed of all life could not generate living things; introduced side arm on microscope
7	Koch	NA		showed that a specific infectious disease is caused by a specific microorganism that can be isolated and cultured on artificial media
8	Leeuwenhoek			invented the light microscope
9	Linnaeus	NA		first to develop a taxonomic system for classifying organisms
10	Lister	NA		devised a can of dilute carbolic acid to make a fine spray over the patient and surgeons during an operation to reduce the number of infections
11	Metchnikoff			first to have described the beneficial effects of bacteria; coined the term phagocytosis
12	Needham			experiments seemingly proved the existence of a "vegetative force"
13	Pasteur			“swan neck flask”
14	Redi			demonstrated that flies are not generated spontaneously in meat but come from other flies
15	Schleiden	NA		one of the founders of cell theory: discovered that plants have cells and that cells come from preexisting cells
16	Schroeder	NA		introduce the idea of using cotton plugs for plugging microbial culture tubes
17	Schwann			one of the founders of cell theory: discovered that animals have cells
18	Spallanzani			improved on Needham’s experiments and nullified  Needham’s results
19	Tyndall			showed the existence of heat-resistant bacterial spores; demonstrated dust carried germs
20	Von Dusch			introduce the idea of using cotton plugs for plugging microbial culture tubes