GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY - T.P. Pyrog - 2004

1. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY

1.5. DEVELOPMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY IN THE 20th CENTURY

Driven by the advent of innovative Research Methods, the first half of the 20th century was marked by groundbreaking discoveries of highly diverse forms, structures, and metabolic types of microorganisms.

In the 1930s, the Dutch scientist A.J. Kluyver and his school investigated physiologically distant groups of microorganisms and demonstrated that the wide variety of their life activities is coupled with a uniformity of biochemical processes—in other words, the biochemical unity of life. This principle of the biochemical unity of life is manifested in the structural consistency of fundamental compounds (Proteins, Lipids, CARBOHYDRATES, and Nucleic Acids) as well as in the uniformity of energy and anabolic processes across microorganisms, plants, and animals.

A milestone achievement was the discovery of Antibiotics synthesized by microscopic Fungi, actinomycetes, and Bacteria. In 1928–1929, the English scientist A. Fleming discovered penicillin, and in 1940, American researchers A. Schatz and S. Waksman discovered streptomycin. By the early 1940s, penicillin purification technology had been developed, enabling its industrial production.

The 1940s marked the beginning of bacterial genetics research. The American scientist O. Avery and his co-workers (1944) proved that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the carrier of Genetic information. In 1953, the English biochemist F. Sanger determined the complete Introduction/19.html">Primary Structure of the Insulin protein, while American biochemists J. Watson and F. Crick deciphered The structure of DNA. In the early 1960s, American biochemist M. Nirenberg conducted pioneering research to decode METABOLISM/28.html">The Genetic Code. By the mid-1960s, through the collaborative efforts of scientists worldwide, the genetic code was fully cracked and found to be universal across All living organisms. For deciphering the genetic code, M. Nirenberg, R.W. Holley, and H.G. Khorana were awarded the Nobel Prize (1968). The late 1960s witnessed the Determination of Amino acid sequences in proteins, the 1970s brought the sequencing of nucleic acids, and the 1980s saw the invention of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and the explosive growth of PCR-based research methods. The analysis of 16S rRNA in bacteria and 18S rRNA in microscopic fungi and Yeasts revolutionized the Taxonomy of these organisms. By the end of the 20th century, phylogenetic classifications of bacteria, fungi, and yeasts had been established.

The 1970s saw the discovery of archaebacteria (methanogenic, halophilic, and A number of thermophilic bacteria), which possess distinct characteristics Setting them apart from all other bacteria.

A particularly remarkable achievement was the birth and rapid growth of a new field—biotechnology—representing an industry largely based on harnessing the metabolic activities of microorganisms. Microbiology itself branched out into several specialized disciplines: general, medical, agricultural, aquatic, geological, space, and technical (industrial) microbiology.