GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY - T.P. Pyroh - 2004

1. EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY

1.4. THE CONTRIBUTION OF NATIVE SCIENTISTS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY

Phagocytic theory of Immunity. New directions in The Development of microbiology were pioneered by the outstanding biologist I.I. Mechnikov (1845-1916). For many years, he studied the problems of inflammation and the body's Resistance to Infectious agents. The scientist discovered that the inflammatory reaction in the Organism serves a protective function. Through experiments on starfish larvae, he proved that Connective Tissue Cells—leukocytes and macrophages—are capable of phagocytosis. These cells can engulf and destroy microbial substances that invade the body. This led to the formulation of The Theory of immunity, known as the phagocytic theory of immunity.

Another major contribution of I.I. Mechnikov was the establishment of antagonism between lactic acid Bacteria and putrefactive microorganisms. He was the first to propose METABOLISM/2.html">THE CONCEPT OF human health promotion and Aging Prevention through the inclusion of fermented dairy products in the diet.

Chemosynthesis. Enrichment cultures. The prominent scientist S.M. Winogradsky (1856-1953), while studying sulfur bacteria, nitrifying bacteria, and iron bacteria, discovered a new biological phenomenon: chemosynthesis. He isolated bacteria with a novel type of Nutrition capable of utilizing atmospheric carbon dioxide as their sole carbon source, and the Oxidation of reduced inorganic sulfur compounds (H₂S), nitrogen (NH₂), iron, and molecular hydrogen as an energy source. These bacteria were named chemolithoautotrophs. Winogradsky's research established that microorganisms participate in the cycling of matter in nature, meaning they are capable of performing geochemical activity.

S.M. Winogradsky developed the microecological method for isolating cultures, which is based on creating specific conditions favorable for the growth of particular groups of bacteria. This method is also known as the enrichment culture method, as it allows for the enrichment of bacteria capable of growing faster under given conditions than other species present in the initial material. The Essence of this method lies in using a medium for isolating a specific type of microorganism upon which only the microorganism with designated properties can grow. For instance, to isolate bacteria capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, a medium containing all essential elements except nitrogen is created.

Discovery of Viruses. Bacterial filters capable of retaining bacterial cells were developed at the Pasteur Institute. This made it possible to obtain bacteria-free filtrates of microbial cultures. D.I. Ivanovsky (1864-1920) established that filtrates of extracts from tobacco plants affected by mosaic disease retained their infectivity. This indicated that the disease was caused by submicroscopic forms of microbes capable of passing through bacterial filters. Thus, viruses were discovered. D.I. Ivanovsky defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of Kyiv based on this research.

Broad development of microbiology. The author of the first national textbook on microbiology was V.L. Omeliansky (1867-1928). He was the first to isolate bacteria capable of degrading Cellulose. V.L. Omeliansky is also well known for his research on The Role of Microorganisms in the Nitrogen Cycle in nature and in the weathering of rocks, which laid the foundation for geological microbiology.

G.A. Nadson (1867-1940) was the first to apply radiant energy to obtain mutant forms of microorganisms, thereby establishing the foundations of radiation microbiology.

The founder of Epidemiology is D.K. Zabolotny (1866-1929). He developed The Doctrine of natural foci of plague, identifying the role of wild rodents as reservoirs of the plague bacillus in nature. D.K. Zabolotny studied the biology of the cholera vibrio, as well as the pathways of cholera spread from epidemiological foci of INFECTION AND ITS entry into Russia. He participated in combating cholera and plague epidemics in Ukraine, the Volga region, the Caucasus, St. Petersburg, Scotland, and the Middle East. In 1929, D.K. Zabolotny founded the Institute of Microbiology in Ukraine, which currently bears his name.

M.F. Gamaleya (1859-1949) was one of the first to observe and describe The phenomenon of bacteriophagy. He studied the causative agents of numerous infectious diseases (such as rabies, tuberculosis, and cholera), developed theories of infection and immunity, and was the first to use so-called chemical Vaccines.

Institutes of microbiology were established in the late 19th century in Moscow, Kharkiv, and Odesa.