Microbiology

Microbiology is distinct as the study of microorganisms. Discipline now includes their functional ecology and molecular biology as well as the traditional studies of physiology and structure. The discipline starts in the late in the century of 17th with Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of bacteria by using simple microscopy of mixed natural cultures. By the 1850s, 60s, Louis Pasteur’s simple experiments using sterilized beef broth lastly refuted the long-held theory of spontaneous generation as an origin for microbiology and microbes moved into mainstream science.

The previous days were characterized through studying environments like sediments and soil, natural fermentations and infections and it was not until Robert Koch developed methods for pure culture in the late century of 19th in which the science moved to a reductionist phase where microbes were characterized in the laboratory and isolated.

By the  20th  century microbiologists focused on  the  characterization  and  discovery of several different microorganisms which including a new  kingdom of microorganisms the  Archaea new  eubacterial pathogens including MRSA methicillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus and Legionella and  the  complex of pathogens related with  HIV human immunodeficiency virus  including the  fungal pathogen  Pneumocystis. The innovation of the   unique communities establish in extreme environments with   their temperature-tolerant DNA deoxyribonucleic acid   polymerase enzymes has further opened up the new area of molecular biology.

The rapid advances of methods in molecular biology have allowed microbiology to return to the natural environments. The Techniques like as SCCP single-stranded conformation polymorphism and DGGE denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, DNA chips and in situ hybridization now provide us the tools to study microbial community ecology at the molecular level. The Microbiology has returned to its roots!