TLC EventTLC EventMicrobes Are Everywhere: Do They Microbes Are Everywhere: Do They

All Want To Kill Me?All Want To Kill Me?

Part I: What is a microbePart I: What is a microbeAmy CzuraAmy Czura

Part II: Micro lab: making slidesPart II: Micro lab: making slidesAmy Czura & Paul AndersonAmy Czura & Paul Anderson

Part III: Micro lab: observing your bacteriaPart III: Micro lab: observing your bacteriaAmy Czura & Paul AndersonAmy Czura & Paul Anderson

Microbes Are Everywhere: Do They All Want To Kill Me?

NO!

What are Microorganisms / Microbes:

-they are typically unicellular-they are typically too small to see with the unaided eye -they include:

bacteria & archaeafungiprotozoaalgaeviruses

Microorganisms / Microbes Continued:-they are located almost everywhere on the planet-only a small % are pathogens

pathogen = organism that causes disease-most are involved in environmental / ecosystem balance:

*breakdown waste

*fix nitrogen

*photosynthesis – carbon fixationfoundation of food chains

*digestion in animals

Bacteria

Coccus Bacillus Spiral

Average Human Cell = ~50µm

Average Bacterium = ~1-3µm

A dime ($0.10) = 18,000µm

Human Cheek CellHuman Cheek Cell

BacteriaBacteria

It would take over 127 million bacteria to cover one face of a dime!

How big is a bacterium?About one micrometer (µm): one one-thousandth of a

thousandth of a meter. Very, very small.

Archaea

Methanogens

Halophiles

Thermophiles

Fungi

Protozoa

Algae

Viruses

Virus: an obligate intracellular parasite

Integrating VirusesHerpesHIVChickenPox /Shingles

The next new fluInfluenza virus: constantly changing

Prions“proteinaceous infectious particle”PrPC protein in neurons, folded incorrectly

PrionsDisease: spongiform encephalopathy

Mad cow, Sheep scrapie, Kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob

BioQUEST

First bacteria appear in the fossil record 3.5 billion years ago, first cellular life on earth, but

Microbes were not discovered until the 1670s: Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (bacteria & protozoa)

Microbes not linked to disease until 1876: Robert Koch (Bacillus anthracis causes Anthrax)Koch’s Postulates

Viruses were discovered in the late 1890s as “filterable infectious agents” but were not observed until the electron microscope was developed in the 1930s

HEPA “high efficiency particulate air” filters trap things 0.2µm and larger:

typical bacterium is 1µm typical virus is smaller than 0.1µm

First antibiotic was discovered in 1928: Fleming(Penicillium mold contamination on Staphylococcus plates)

Production of penicillin for public use not until the 1940s

1950s through 1970s and beyond: New antibiotics discovered, new chemotherapy agents designed in lab

Late 1960s – early 1970s public health officials declare society is witnessing the end of infectious disease!

(Meanwhile Penicillin went into public use in 1943 and the first Penicillin resistant strain of Staphylococcus was discovered in 1947)

Widespread overuse and misuse of antibiotics & antimicrobial drugs has resulted in the evolution of multi-drug resistant bacteria strains

In the U.S. death rates from infectious disease increased 58% between 1980 and 1992

In 2009 infectious disease was still the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease, cancer, and stroke

Worldwide, in the 21st century, infectious disease still accounts for 16-26% of all deaths annually

Total microbes on earth that are pathogens is less than 10%

Most microbes are beneficial!

Normal Microbiota-colonize inside and outside surfaces:

skin: Staphylococcus speciesmouth/nose: Staphylococcus and Streptococcus specieslarge intestine: Enterobacteriaceae family e.g. E. colivagina: Lactobacillus species

-often protective:E. coli produce bacteriocins to kill SalmonellaLactobacillus create acid pH to prevent yeast growthAll occupy space preventing pathogen colonization

-other beneficial activities:vitamin production in gut

Vitamin K for clotting factor synthesisBiotin for glucose metabolismVitamin B5 for neurotransmitter synthesis

Normal Microbiota

-can be opportunistic pathogensStaphylococcus infections of woundsUTIs from intestinal bacteria

-immunocompromised patients:organ transplant recipientscancer patientsHIV positive / AIDS

Microbes are good for the environment

Recycling nutrients back into the food chain:Decomposition

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Photosynthesis: Cyanobacteria & AlgaeCarbon fixation

Harvesting light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen

Nitrogen fixation & Nitrification

Microbes are very useful to humans

www.wedotanks.com

Compost Methane

Wastewater (Sewage) treatment

Bioremediation= using microbes to break down toxins

e.g. Pseudomonas has enzymes to digest crude oil as a food source

Commercial applications:Produce acetone, vinegar, methanol, ethanol...Household enzyme based cleaners and detergentsBiodegradable plastic-like polymers

Your favorite blue jeans:“Stone washed” denim: cellulase from fungusCotton and polyester: polymers made by bacteriaPeroxidase from mushrooms for bleachingIndigo dye from indole made in bacteria

Agriculture: Insect Pest ControlBacillus thuringiensis

Agriculture: Genetic Engineering of PlantsAgrobacterium tumefaciens

insert genes for: -pest control-nitrogen fixation-drought tolerance

Therapeutics:

Antibiotics

Human gene products-insulin-growth hormone

Vaccines

Food