1. bacteriology, branch
of microbiology dealing with the study
of bacteria.
The beginnings of bacteriology paralleled
the development of the microscope. The
first person to see microorganisms was
probably the Dutch naturalist Antoine van
Leeuwenhoek, who in 1683 described some
animalcules, as they were then called, in
water, saliva, and other substances. These
had been seen with a simple lens
magnifying about 100–150 diameters. The
organisms seem to correspond with some of
the very large forms of bacteria as now
recognized.
2. As late as the mid-19th century,
bacteria were known only to a
few experts and in a few forms
as curiosities of the microscope,
chiefly interesting for their
minuteness and motility.
3. Modern understanding of the forms of bacteria
dates from Ferdinand Cohn’s brilliant
classifications, the chief results of which were
published at various periods between 1853 and
1872. While Cohn and others advanced
knowledge of the morphology of bacteria, other
researchers, such as Louis Pasteur and Robert
Koch, established the connections between
bacteria and the processes of fermentation and
disease, in the process discarding the theory
of spontaneous generation and improving
antisepsis in medical treatment.
4. From 1870 onward he mostly
studied bacteria. He published
over 150 research reports
during his lifetime. The
University of Breslau became
an innovative center for plant
physiology
and microbiology while he was
there. His classification of
bacteria into four groups based
on shape (sphericals, short
rods, threads, and spirals) is still
in use today
5. Among other things Cohn
showed that Bacillus can
change from a vegetative state
to an endospore when
conditions are hard. Heat
resistant spores of B.
subtilis caused a controversy
over spontaneous generation.
Cohn explained why boiled
infusions
of hay and cheese could still get
microbial growth. It was
because they contained heat
resistant spores
6. The modern methods of
bacteriological technique had
their beginnings in 1870–85
with the introduction of the use
of stains and by the discovery of
the method of separating
mixtures of organisms on plates
of nutrient media solidified with
gelatin or agar.
7. bacteria, singular bacterium,
any of a group of microscopic
single-celled organisms that live
in enormous numbers in almost
every environment on Earth,
from deep-sea vents to deep
below Earth’s surface to the
digestive tracts of humans.
8. Important discoveries came in
1880 and 1881, when Pasteur
succeeded in immunizing
animals against two diseases
caused by bacteria. His research
led to a study of disease
prevention and the treatment of
disease by vaccines and immune
serums (a branch
of medicine now called
immunology). Other scientists
recognized the importance of
bacteria in agriculture and the
dairy industry.
9. Bacteriological study
subsequently developed a
number of specializations,
among which are agricultural,
or soil, bacteriology;
clinical diagnostic bacteriology;
industrial bacteriology; marine
bacteriology; public-health
bacteriology; sanitary, or
hygienic, bacteriology; and
systematic bacteriology, which
deals with taxonomy.
10. Bacteria lack a membrane-
bound nucleus and other
internal structures and are
therefore ranked among the
unicellular life-forms
called prokaryotes
11. Topics of general Bacteriology
Bacterial morphology
structure of bacterial cell
Bacterial cell anatomy
Bacterial physiology
Bacterial Growth
Bacterial nutrition
Bacterial product
Bacterial Genetics
Host parasite relationships
Antimicrobial
13. Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology is a
manual referring to the taxonomy of prokaryotic
bacteria. It was prepared by the American
bacteriologist, David Hendricks Bergey in 1923. It is a
manual that deals with the identification of bacteria.
14. from 1984, Bergey's Manual
was renamed Bergey's Manual
of Systematic Bacteriology is
being published in separate
volumes. This manual
includes 35 sections based on
characters like general shape,
morphology, gram staining,
presence of endospore,
motility, oxygen relationships,
mode of energy production
