The historical origin of microbiology

Since ancient times, human beings have realized the life activities of microorganisms and their functions in daily life and production practice. The history of brewing wine with microorganisms in China can be traced back to the Longshan culture period more than 4,000 years ago. Sauce technology was invented 2600 years ago. The word "wine" was engraved in Oracle Bone Inscriptions of Shang Dynasty. The Book of Qi Yaomin written by Jia Sixie in the Northern Wei Dynasty (533 ~ 544) lists the methods of making koji, wine, sauce, vinegar and pickles with grain.

On the stone carvings left over from ancient Greece, the operation process of brewing is recorded. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, China had already decomposed organic matter by the action of microorganisms, and fermented manure to accumulate fertilizer. In 1 century, Fan Sheng Zhi put forward the system of intercropping melon and adzuki bean with cooked manure. In the 2nd century A.D., there was a record of treating silkworm in the Classic of Materia Medica for Participating in Doctors. In Zuozhuan in the 6th century, it was recorded that Maiqu was used to treat diarrhea. /kloc-there are records about vaccination methods in the medical mirror of the 0 th century. 1796, the British Jenner invented vaccinia, which laid the foundation for the development of immunology. 17th century, Dutch Levin Hooke observed tartar, rainwater, well water and plant extracts with a simple microscope made by himself (magnification 160 ~ 260 times), and found that there were many moving "micro animals" among them, and scientifically recorded the earliest "micro animals" seen by human beings-different forms of bacteria (spherical, spherical, In 1838, German zoologist C.G. Ehrenberg divided ciliates into 22 families, including 3 families of bacteria (he regarded bacteria as animals), and coined the word "bacteria". 1854, German botanist F.J. Coase discovered the spores of bacillary bacteria. He classified bacteria into the plant kingdom and determined the taxonomic status of bacteria in the next century.

From 65438 to 1960s, the research of microbiology entered the physiological stage. French scientist L. Pasteur's research on microbial physiology laid the foundation for modern microbiology. Chemist Pasteur dabbled in microbial treatment of "wine disease" and "silkworm disease". He proved that the brewing of wine and vinegar and the spoilage of some substances are all fermentation processes caused by certain kinds of microorganisms, rather than microorganisms produced by fermentation or spoilage, which was irrefutably confirmed by the famous flask experiment. He believes that fermentation is the respiration of microorganisms in an air-free environment, and the deterioration of wine is the result of the growth of harmful microorganisms; He further proved that different microbial species have unique metabolic functions, and each microorganism needs different living conditions and causes different effects; He proposed a heating sterilization method to prevent wine from spoilage, which was later called rapid pasteurization. Using this method, the newly produced wine and beer can be preserved for a long time. Koch has made great contributions to the emerging medical microbiology. Koch first demonstrated that Bacillus anthracis was the pathogen of anthrax, then discovered the pathogens of tuberculosis and cholera, and advocated disinfection and sterilization to prevent the spread of these diseases. His students also found pathogens such as diphtheria, pneumonia, tetanus and plague, which made people attach great importance to bacteria at that time and in the following decades; He pioneered the staining method of bacteria, using agar as coagulation medium to culture bacteria and separating single colony to obtain pure culture. He stipulated the methods and steps to identify pathogenic bacteria and put forward the famous Koch rule. 1860, British surgeon J. Liszt sterilized with drugs and established a sterile surgical method. 190 1 year, the famous bacteriologist and zoologist иииииииииииииииииииииии108

Russian-born French microbiologist C.H. Vinogratz discovered sulfur bacteria according to 1887 and nitrifying bacteria according to 1890. He showed the microbial process of sulfation and nitrification in soil and the chemical and nutritional characteristics of these bacteria. He discovered anaerobic autotrophic nitrogen-fixing bacteria for the first time, and studied the life activities of various physiological groups of soil bacteria by using the principles and methods of inorganic medium, selective medium and enrichment culture, revealing the various functions of soil microorganisms in the transformation of soil substances, laying a foundation for the development of soil microbiology.

In 1892, the Russian plant physiologist дииииииииииииииииииииииии108 In1915 ~1917, F.W. Tewart and F.H. de Erel observed plaque on bacterial colonies and bacteriolysis in culture medium, and found bacterial virus-phage. The discovery of virus expanded people's concept of biology from cellular form to non-cellular form.

At this stage, the establishment of microbial operation technology and research methods is a unique symbol of the development of microbiology. Since the 20th century, the infiltration of biochemistry and biophysics into microbiology, the invention of electron microscope and the application of isotope tracer atoms have promoted the development of microbiology to the biochemical stage. During the period of 1897, German scholar E. Bischner found that the cell-free extract of yeast can ferment sugar solution to produce ethanol like yeast, thus understanding the enzymatic process of yeast ethanol fermentation and combining microbial life activities with enzyme chemistry. G. Neuberg and others' research on yeast physiology and analysis of intermediate products in alcohol fermentation, A. J. Kleivo's research on microbial metabolism and its comparative biochemistry, as well as many other people's research on basic physiology and metabolic pathways with Escherichia coli as materials, have clarified the basic principles of biological metabolism and controlled its metabolism, and expanded the use of microorganisms, developed enzymology and promoted the development of biochemistry on the basis of controlling microbial metabolism. Since 1930s, people have used microorganisms to produce ethanol, acetone, butanol, glycerol, various organic acids, amino acids, protein and oils.

In 1929, A. Fleming found that Penicillium punctatum could inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus, revealed the antagonistic relationship between microorganisms and found penicillin. 1949, S.A. Wa Heasman discovered streptomycin based on his years of research on soil microbial accumulation. Since then, more and more new antibiotics have been discovered. These antibiotics are not only used for medical purposes, but also for the prevention and control of animal and plant diseases and food preservation. In 194 1 year, G.W. Bedell and E.L. Tatum irradiated Streptomyces with X-rays and ultraviolet rays, so that it mutated and obtained the auxotroph. Their research on auxotrophy can not only further understand the function and essence of genes, but also lay the foundation for molecular genetics. In 1944, O.T. Avery confirmed for the first time that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the substance that causes the genetic transformation of pneumococcal capsule formation. In 1953, J.D. Watson and F.H.C Crick put forward the double helix structure model of DNA molecule and the semi-conservative replication theory of nucleic acid. H frankel-Conrad et al. proved that RNA is the carrier of genetic information and played an important role in laying the foundation of molecular biology through the recombinant experiment of tobacco mosaic virus. Later, some important theories in microbiology were discovered, such as tRNA transport mechanism, gene triple code theory, fine structure of virus, infection and proliferation process, biological nitrogen fixation mechanism and so on, which showed the broad application prospect of microbiology. From 65438 to 0957, A. kornberg and others successfully combined and manipulated DNA in vitro. The research on gene recombination of prokaryotic microorganisms has made continuous progress. Transgenic Escherichia coli has fermented insulin, and bacteria have also produced interferon. The research of modern microbiology will continue to go deep into the molecular level and develop to the depth and breadth of production. branch

After more than a century of development, microbiology has been divided into many branches. According to incomplete statistics (1990), it has reached as many as 18 1. According to its nature, it can be simply summarized into the following six categories:

(1) According to the study of the basic laws of microbial life activities, the general subject is called general microbiology, and the branches are microbial taxonomy, microbial physiology, microbial genetics, microbial ecology and molecular microbiology.

⑵ According to the microbial objects studied, it can be divided into bacteriology, mycology (mycology), virology, prokaryote, autotrophic biology and anaerobic biology.

⑶ According to the ecological environment in which microorganisms live, it can be divided into soil microbiology, microecology, marine microbiology, environmental microbiology, aquatic microbiology and cosmology.

⑷ According to the application fields of microorganisms, the general discipline is called applied microbiology, and its branches are industrial microbiology, agricultural microbiology, medical microbiology, diagnostic microbiology, antibiotics, food microbiology, etc.

5] According to the intersection and integration of disciplines, such as chemical microbiology, analytical microbiology, microbial bioengineering, microbial chemotaxonomy, microbial numerical taxonomy, microbial geochemistry and microbial informatics.

[6] According to experimental methods and techniques, such as experimental microbiology and microbial research methods.