Microbes are the smallest living, mostly single-celled organisms that can only be seen through a very precise microscope. Their size is so small that it is measured in micrometers (1 µm=1/1000 mm) or even nanometers (1 nm=1/1000 µm).
What does microbiology study
Microbiology is a science that studies the sphere of life of microorganisms: structure, functioning, living conditions, development and reproduction.
The first person who managed to examine and describe microbes was the Dutchman A. Leeuwenhoek. At the end of the 17th century, he made lenses that magnified the image by more than 200 times. He was shocked by the fact that he saw through them that microbes are a whole world with its own characteristics of existence. Thus was laid the foundation of a new science - microbiology. Leeuwenhoek illustrated and described the discovered microbes. Photos and pictures with their image of those times - photographed magnifications through a microscope.
Types of microbes
The countless variety of microbial species is impressive. Microbes is a short name for hundreds of different types of microbes. They differ from each otherappearance, structure, living conditions, ability to reproduce. There are non-cellular, multicellular and unicellular microbes. Photos with their visualization help to easily attribute each individual to a particular species. Microbial classification:
- bacteria;
- viruses;
- phages;
- mushrooms;
- microalgae;
- simple;
- yeast.
Bacteria
A whole section of microbiology - bacteriology - opens up a huge world of bacteria - prokaryotic organisms. They differ from eukaryotes (multicellular, protozoan, algae, fungi) in the absence of chlorophyll, a well-formed nucleus with genetic material and organelles. The size of the bacterium is not constant, it can vary depending on the external environment (from 0.1 to 28 microns). The most popular classification of bacteria is by morphological structure.
Cocky
Cocci are called spherical microbes that can take on a spherical, bean-shaped, elliptical or lanceolate shape.
- Micrococci can be found singly, in pairs or randomly. They are called saprophytes and live in water and air.
- Diplococci reproduce by dividing two in one plane. These include meningococci (carriers of meningitis) and gonococci.
- Streptococci are similarly divided in one plane, but in whole chains. Species that are pathogenic for the human body are known to transmit tonsillitis and various erysipelas.
- Tetracocci are located in two pieces on two planes, mutuallyperpendicular. Pathogenic individuals are very rare.
- Sardines are characteristic bales of cells of 8, 16 or more on three mutually perpendicular planes. Almost all of their representatives live exclusively in the air.
- Staphylococci can divide simultaneously in several planes, located randomly relative to each other, in appearance they resemble bunches of grapes.
Band-shaped
Cylindrical microorganisms are much more common than other species. They are divided into bacteria that do not have the ability to form spores (diphtheria, dysentery, tuberculosis, partiphoid, E. coli), and bacilli capable of creating spores (anthrax, hay, tetanus, anaerobic). Classification by division method:
- Diplobacteria, diplobacilli differ in location only in one plane, two cells each (pneumonia).
- Streptobacteria, streptobacilli in the process of division occupy one plane, on which they build a whole chain (anthrax).
- The main part of cylindrical microbes are randomly arranged in one individual.
Collection
Twisted microbes can take the form of a comma, these are vibrios (for example, cholera). Spirilli have several whorls, spirochetes are thin coiled sticks (syphilis).
It is important to note that all microbes and bacteria are polymorphic, they have a unique ability to change their shape under the influence of a variety of factors: the environment, temperature, acidity, etc. It is thisthe ability underlies many laboratory studies of microbes aimed at developing medicines that will help to further fight bacteria pathogenic to humans.
Viruses
Viruses are a vast community of microbes, differing from others in the absence of a cellular structure as such. Of the sizes is incomparably smaller than the size of bacteria: from 5 to 150 nm. To see them, you will have to adjust the electron microscope to the highest level of accuracy. Most representatives of viral microorganisms consist only of protein and nucleic acid (RNA, DNA).
Some microbes and viruses can be the causative agents of many serious human diseases (flu, hepatitis, measles). In addition, there are species that are also pathogenic for animals (plague, foot and mouth disease).
Mycophages are fungal viruses. Bacteriophages are viruses of bacteria, they live almost everywhere where there is at least some life. Some phages have a very useful ability to destroy a microbial cell, so they are often used in the manufacture of medicines for the prevention and treatment of various types of infections.
Rickettsia are a special type of microbes that can be classified as both bacteria and viruses. They are immobilized, rod-shaped intracellular parasites, unable to form spores or capsules.
Mushrooms
These are special micro-organisms of plant origin, devoid of chlorophyll and the ability to synthesize organic substances. Moreover, their life requires ready-made organic substances, thereforealmost all of them grow on the basis of substrates of different origin. There are some fungal species pathogenic for humans, animals and plants.
Fungi differ from bacteria in that their cells are more plant-like, have nuclei and vacuoles. They are presented in the form of hyphae - long threads that can branch and intertwine.
Mushrooms can reproduce in several ways: vegetative division, asexual and sexual - the formation of spores. Fungal spores are characterized by high resistance, they can live for a long time in different environments and move long distances until they enter the nutrient medium, where they quickly transform into hyphae.
Mold fungi are very common, they can be easily seen with the naked eye on spoiled food products. They look like a curdled coating of a non-uniform color. There are some types of fungi that do not just spoil food, they produce mitoxin toxic to humans and animals, such as aspergillus or fusarium.
However, mushrooms are not always harmful, their many beneficial properties are successfully used by manufacturers of medicines. The most effective and popular antibiotic penicillin is made on the basis of mushrooms from the penicillium species.
Actinomycetes is an exceptional species of microorganisms that has the structure and properties of bacteria and a method of reproduction similar to fungi.
Yeast
These are immobilized unicellular microbes10 to 15 microns in size, which can be round, oval, in rare cases cylindrical and sickle-shaped. Yeasts are structurally similar to fungi, containing a vacuole and a nucleus. Possible methods of reproduction are fission, budding, or with the help of spores. They quickly develop in the soil, on food, plants. Yeast on the surface of food products leads to their fermentation and souring. Alcoholic fermentation converts sugar into alcohol, a process that is the basis of the alcohol industry and home winemaking.
There are types that are pathogenic for the human body. For example, a fairly common genus of yeast candida contributes to the spread of an unpleasant disease - candidiasis.
Beneficial microbes in the human body
The human body is inhabited by trillions of different bacteria, which can be both harmful and beneficial. There are also bacteria that are vital for the normal functioning of our body. The total weight of bacteria in an adult can reach 4 kg, and ¾ of them live in our intestines. The rest feel great in the genitourinary system, on the surface of the skin and mucous membranes. Interestingly, the child's body is colonized by microorganisms already in the process of his birth, and by the age of 10, the intestinal microflora is already fully formed. Some microbes are extremely dangerous for children, so the first year of a child's body hygiene should be very thorough.
What microbes live in the gut:
- lactobacilli;
- bifidobacteria;
- streptococci;
- enterobacteria;
- mushrooms;
- simple;
- viruses.
Benefits of bacteria for humans
- With the help of enterobacteria, the body absorbs vitamins B, C, K, nicotinic and folic acid.
- Helps digest undigested food.
- Support ion and water-s alt exchange.
- Restrain the growth of pathogenic microorganisms.
- Contribute to the maintenance of immunity.
- Develop the lymphoid apparatus.
- Reduce the sensitivity of the intestinal walls to carcinogenic products.
- Increase virus resistance.
- Actively participate in heat balance.
Bifido- and lactobacilli occupy more than half of the intestinal microflora, they play an important role in the life of a he althy person:
- The lactic acid and acetate produced by these micro-organisms can create an environment in the gut that pathogenic microbes cannot live in.
- Bifidobacteria - a natural antihistamine that suppresses allergic reactions in the body.
- They have an antioxidant effect and fight the growth of tumor cells.
- Bifidobacteria are actively involved in the production of B vitamins.
- Bifido- and lactobacilli contribute to an increase in the percentage of human absorption of iron, calcium and vitamin D.
The importance of microbes for nature
Bacteria containing ammonifying enzymes actively contribute to the process of decay of the remains of people, animals, plants andfood waste. During protein decomposition, very important gases are released into the atmosphere: ammonia and nitrogen, which are vital for humans, animals, and plants.
Urobacteria are capable of decomposing the urea produced daily by every human and animal. And this, by the way, is at least 55 million tons every year.
Microbes capable of nitrofication oxidize ammonia. Denitrifying microorganisms contribute to the release of molecular oxygen from the soil.
Carbon is one of the most important cellular substances of the world of plants and animals. Fiber, which is eaten by many animals, contains a lot of carbon. In their stomachs, with the help of cellulose bacteria, it is fermented and released with manure back into nature. Thus, the earth receives humus, becomes much more fertile, and the atmosphere is saturated with carbon dioxide.
Thus, bacteria and microbes are a very important component of the entire living world. A lot of beneficial bacteria constantly accompany a person throughout life and protect our body from unwanted external influences. It is very important not to disturb the delicate and fragile balance between beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms.
