LECTURE 12
The development of
bacteriology and
immunology in the 20th
century. The beginning
of virusology
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The development of bacteriology
The development of immunology
The development of virusology
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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Microbiology is concerned with the structure, function, and classification
of these organisms and with ways of controlling and using their
activities.
Its foundations were established in the later 19th century, with the work
of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. Since then, many disease-causing
microorganisms have been identified and means of controlling their
harmful effects have been developed.
In addition, means of channeling the activities of various
microorganisms to benefit medicine, industry, and agriculture have been
discovered. Molds, for example, produce antibiotics, notably penicillin.
The 17th-century discovery of living forms existing invisible to the
naked eye was a significant milestone in the history of science, for from
the 13th century onward it had been postulated that “invisible” entities
were responsible for decay and disease.
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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The word microbe was coined in the last quarter of the 19th century to describe
these organisms, all of which were thought to be related. As microbiology
eventually developed into a specialized science, it was found that microbes are a
very large group of extremely diverse organisms.
Daily life is interwoven inextricably with microorganisms. In addition to
populating both the inner and outer surfaces of the human body, microbes
abound in the soil, in the seas, and in the air. Abundant, although usually
unnoticed, microorganisms provide ample evidence of their presence—
sometimes unfavourably, as when they cause decay of materials or spread
diseases, and sometimes favourably, as when they ferment sugar to wine and beer,
cause bread to rise, flavour cheeses, and produce valued products such as
antibiotics and insulin.
Microorganisms are of incalculable value to the Earth’s ecology, disintegrating
animal and plant remains and converting them to simpler substances that can be
recycled in other organisms.
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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Microbiology essentially began with the development of the microscope.
Although others may have seen microbes before him, it was Antonie van
Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch draper whose hobby was lens grinding and making
microscopes, who was the first to provide proper documentation of his
observations.
His descriptions and drawings included protozoans from the guts of animals and
bacteria from teeth scrapings. His records were excellent because he produced
magnifying lenses of exceptional quality. Leeuwenhoek conveyed his findings in a
series of letters to the British Royal Society during the mid-1670s.
Although his observations stimulated much interest, no one made a serious
attempt either to repeat or to extend them. Leeuwenhoek’s “animalcules,” as he
called them, thus remained mere oddities of nature to the scientists of his day,
and enthusiasm for the study of microbes grew slowly. It was only later, during
the 18th-century revival of a long-standing controversy about whether life could
develop out of nonliving material, that the significance of microorganisms in the
scheme of nature and in the health and welfare of humans became evident
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
Progress in the 20th century
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All of these developments occurred in Europe. Not until the early 1900s
did microbiology become established in America. Many microbiologists
who worked in America at this time had studied either under Koch or at
the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Once established in America, microbiology
flourished, especially with regard to such related disciplines as
biochemistry and genetics.
In 1923 American bacteriologist David Bergey established that science’s
primary reference, updated editions of which continue to be used today.
Since the 1940s microbiology has experienced an extremely productive
period during which many disease-causing microbes have been identified
and methods to control them developed. Microorganisms have also been
effectively utilized in industry; their activities have been channeled to the
extent that valuable products are now both vital and commonplace.
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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The study of microorganisms has also advanced the knowledge of all
living things. Microbes are easy to work with and thus provide a simple
vehicle for studying the complex processes of life; as such they have
become a powerful tool for studies in genetics and metabolism at the
molecular level.
This intensive probing into the functions of microbes has resulted in
numerous and often unexpected dividends.
Knowledge of the basic metabolism and nutritional requirements of a
pathogen, for example, often leads to a means of controlling disease or
infection.
The main figures of the 20th century and their contribution in studying
microbiology are:
Gaston Ramon
Alexander Fleming
Howard Florey
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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Ernst Boris Chain
Selman Abraham Waksman
N.S. Heatly
Walter Reed, James Caroll and Jenesse Lazear
K. Landstainer
C. Levaditi
J. Salk
Albert Sabin
Jules Bordet
G. Gengou
August Wassermann
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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Gaston Ramon (September 30, 1886 - June 8, 1963) was a French veterinarian
and biologist.
During the 1920s, Ramon made major contributions to the development of
effective vaccines for both diphtheria and tetanus. In particular, he developed a
method for inactivating the diphtheria toxin and the tetanus toxin using
formaldehyde which, in its essentials, is still used in vaccines manufactured today.
He also developed a method for determining the potency of the vaccines, an
essential element required for the reproducible production of these
pharmaceuticals.
Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish biologist
and pharmacologist. Fleming published many articles on bacteriology,
immunology and chemotherapy. His best-known achievements are the discovery
of the enzyme lysozyme in 1923 and the antibiotic substance penicillin from the
fungus Penicillium notatum in 1928, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Howard Walter Florey and Ernst Boris
Chain.
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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In 1999, Time Magazine named Fleming one of the 100 Most Important People of
the 20th Century for his discovery of penicillin, and stated; "It was a discovery
that would change the course of history. The active ingredient in that mold,
which Fleming named penicillin, turned out to be an infection-fighting agent of
enormous potency.
When it was finally recognized for what it was—the most efficacious life-saving
drug in the world—penicillin would alter forever the treatment of bacterial
infections. By the middle of the century, Fleming's discovery had spawned a huge
pharmaceutical industry, churning out synthetic penicillins that would conquer
some of mankind's most ancient scourges, including syphilis, gangrene and
tuberculosis".
Ernst Boris Chain (19 June 1906 – 12 August 1979) was a German-born British
biochemist, and a 1945 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or
Medicine for his work on penicillin.
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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Chain was born in Berlin to a Russian father who moved from his birthland to
study chemistry abroad, and a German Berliner mother. In 1930, he received his
degree in chemistry from Friedrich Wilhelm University.
He began working on phospholipids at Cambridge University under the direction
of Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins. In 1935, he accepted a job at Oxford
University as a lecturer in pathology. During this time he worked on a range of
research topics, including snake venoms tumour metabolism, lysozymes, and
biochemistry techniques.
In 1939, he joined Howard Florey to investigate natural antibacterial agents
produced by microorganisms. This led him and Florey to revisit the work of
Alexander Fleming, who had described penicillin nine years previously. Chain and
Florey went on to discover penicillin's therapeutic action and its chemical
composition. He also theorized the structure of penicillin, which was confirmed
by X-ray crystallography done by Dorothy Hodgkin. For this research, Chain,
Florey, and Fleming received the Nobel Prize in 1945.
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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Selman Abraham Waksman (22 July 1888 – 16 August 1973) was a American
biochemist and microbiologist whose research into organic substances—largely
into organisms that live in soil—and their decomposition promoted the discovery
of Streptomycin, and several other antibiotics.
A professor of biochemistry and microbiology at Rutgers University for four
decades, his work led to the discovery of over twenty antibiotics (a word which
he coined) and procedures that have led to the development of many others. The
proceeds earned from the licensing of his patents funded a foundation for
microbiological research, which established the Waksman Institute of
Microbiology located on Rutgers University's Busch Campus in Piscataway, New
Jersey (USA).
In 1952 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in recognition
"for his discovery of "streptomycin" the first antibiotic active against
tuberculosis", despite the fact that this medicine was indeed discovered by Albert
Schatz, one of Waksman's graduate investigators working under his direction.
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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Albert Bruce Sabin (August 26, 1906 – March 3, 1993) was an
American medical researcher best known for having developed an oral
polio vaccine.
With the menace of polio growing, Sabin and other researchers, most
notably Jonas Salk in Pittsburgh and Hilary Koprowski and Herald Cox
in New York and Philadelphia, sought a vaccine to prevent or mitigate
the illness.
In 1955, Salk's "killed" vaccine was released for use. It was effective in
preventing most of the complications of polio, but did not prevent the
initial, intestinal infection. In addition, those who received the Salk
vaccine could pass on the polio virus. Sabin first tested his live attenuated
oral vaccine in late 1954.
From 1956-1960 he worked with Russian colleagues to perfect the oral
vaccine and prove its extraordinary effectiveness and safety. The Sabin
vaccine worked in the intestines to block the poliovirus from entering the
bloodstream. It was in the intestines, Sabin discovered, the poliovirus
multiplied and attacked. Thus, the oral vaccine broke the chain of
transmission of the virus and made possible the world wide eradication
of polio.
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of
all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with, among other
things, the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both
health and disease; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological
disorders (autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivities, immune deficiency, transplant
rejection); the physical, chemical and physiological characteristics of the
components of the immune system in vitro, in situ, and in vivo.
Immunology has applications in several disciplines of science, and as such is
further divided.
Jules Jean Baptiste Vincent Bordet (1870 –1961) was a Belgian immunologist
and microbiologist. The bacterial genus Bordetella is named after him.
he described phagocytosis of bacteria by white blood cells. In 1898 he described
hemolysis evoked by exposure of blood serum to foreign blood cells.
The development of bacteriology and immunology in the 20th century. The beginning of
virusology
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In 1900, he left Paris to found the Pasteur Institute in Brussels, and made
his discovery that the bacteriolytic effect of acquired specific antibody is
significantly enhanced in vivo by the presence of innate serum
components which he termed alexine (but which are now known as
complement). This mechanism became the basis for complement-fixation
testing methods that enabled the development of serological tests for
syphilis.
With Octave Gengou he isolated Bordetella pertussis in pure culture in 1906
and posited it as the cause of whooping cough. He became Professor of
Bacteriology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in 1907.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to him in 1919
for his discoveries relating to immunity.