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The Era of Microbiology: a Golden Phoenix

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The Era of Microbiology: a Golden Phoenix RESEARCH REVIEW INTERNATIONAL MICROBIOLOGY (2006) 9:1–7 www.im.microbios.org Stanley Maloy* The era of microbiology: Moselio Schaechter a Golden Phoenix Center for Microbial Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA Summary. The discoveries over the last decade have demonstrated that micro- biology is a central scientific discipline with practical applications in agriculture, medicine, bioremediation, biotechnology, engineering, and other fields. It is clear that the roles of microbes in nature are so diverse that the process of mining this genetic variation for new applications will continue long into the future. Moreover, the rapid rate of microbial evolution ensures that there will be no permanent solu- tion to agricultural, medical, or environmental problems caused by microbes. These problems will demand a continual stream of creative new approaches that evolve along with the microbes. Thus, the excitement of this field will continue Received 10 January 2006 long into the future. However, these opportunities and imperatives demand a deep Accepted 6 February 2006 understanding of basic microbial physiology, genetics, and ecology. Major chal- *Corresponding author: lenges that lay ahead are to impart the broad training needed to entice and enable S. Maloy the next generation of microbiologists, and to educate the public and government Center for Microbial Sciences representatives about the continued and critical importance of this field for health San Diego State University and the economy. [Int Microbiol 2006; 9(1):1-7] 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182-4614, USA Tel. 1- 619-5947123. Fax 1- 619-5945676 Key words: development of microbiology · microbial ecology · microbial cell Email: [email protected] biology · integrative microbiology the natural environment, and to monitor the physiology of sin- Introduction gle cells under defined conditions. Advances in microscopy, nanotechnology, and structural biology allow the analysis of The development of powerful new technologies in the post- the underlying chemical mechanisms at a deeper and deeper World War II period led to a revolution in biology. The intro- level. In addition to enhancing our understanding of the biolog- duction of genetic tools such as transposons, coupled with the ical world, these new developments have many practical appli- ability to clone genes and determine DNA sequences, and the cations. The ability to study microbes in their own environment subsequent explosion of techniques based upon these methods rather than the test tube, coupled with the ability to dissect the made it possible to dissect the molecular genetics of essentially molecular details of microbial cells has made microbial biolo- any organism. These developments allowed us to answer ques- gy pivotal to nearly all disciplines of science. To illustrate this tions that were previously deemed unfathomable, and had a point, we will discuss the key stages in development of micro- major impact on every discipline of biology. The study of biology and how new developments have led to what we refer microbes has particularly profited from these developments. It to as the third Golden Age of microbiology [37]. was previously only feasible to study details of microbial phy- siology of pure cultures growing in the laboratory. However, it is now possible to directly characterize organisms growing in The first Golden Age The existence of microbes and their role in disease was This article is based on the invited lecture given by S. Maloy, president of the American Society for Microbiology, at the 20th National Congress of the guessed by ancient Greeks and demonstrated convincingly by Spanish Society for Microbiology on September 19, 2006, in Cáceres, Spain. a number of studies in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. 2 INT. MICROBIOL. Vol. 9, 2006 MALOY, SCHAECHTER Despite what seems today like compelling evidence, most of Table 2. The second Golden Age of microbiology these studies did not gain universal acceptance and were the Concepts subject of controversy. In the second half of the 19th century, Bacterial genetics microbiology made a grandiose entry, sweeping away doubts DNA as genetic material and its structure about the existence and importance of microbes. Within a 20- Genetic code year period, the main bacterial etiological agents of disease in Mechanism of gene expression Regulation of gene expression humans and animals were discovered, and the field of Transposons immunology was developed, leading to vaccines and serolog- Bacterial physiology ical tests. The discovery of the microbial etiology of major Membrane transport and electrochemical gradients infectious diseases led in turn to accurate diagnoses and Cellular immunology attempts at prevention and cure. Several vaccines used today Applications stem from those developed by early microbiologists. The Genetic engineering importance of microbes in the cycles of nature was elucidated Nucleic acid and protein sequencing and strain selection was applied for industrial purposes. The Microbial classification based upon genotypes Monoclonal antibodies intellectual developments and practical applications of this first Golden Age propelled microbiology into becoming one of the main branches of biology and medicine (Table 1). the Dutch Martinus Beijerinck and Albert Kluyver, environ- mental microbiology became a branch of comparative bio- The second Golden Age chemistry, emphasizing the unity of biochemical processes in all living organisms. Unfortunately, the great gains of this In the first half of the 20th century, microbiological research period in microbial biochemistry and geochemistry did not continued at an ever-increasing pace and many of the missing find a ready parallel in medical microbiology. Many details in biochemical, medical, and environmental micro- advances were made but only a few startling breakthroughs biology were uncovered. However, microbiology became emerged in this field. Microbial genetics, for most purposes, increasingly fragmented. The unity that Pasteur originally was still to be discovered, meaning that many cellular phe- brought to the discipline by applying similar approaches to nomena remained undecipherable. Although individual medical and environmental microbiology was replaced by spe- aspects of the field made important strides during this period, cialized subdisciplines. During this period, medical microbiol- microbiology was not seen as a dominant science. All this ogists and immunologists were mainly working at the organism changed as abruptly as the first Golden Age with the advent level of host and parasite. Environmental microbiologists, on of molecular genetics. the other hand, were focused on chemical processes. Thanks to The discovery of biochemical genetics and of genetic the pioneering work of the Russian Sergei Winogradsky and exchange mechanisms in bacteria and viruses ushered in a new era of stellar advances. These discoveries led to modern Table 1. The first Golden Age of microbiology concepts of the gene and the biochemical basis of genetics, the understanding of how genetic information flows from nu- Concepts cleic acids to proteins, the regulation of gene expression, and Bacterial physiology how complex structures such as bacteriophages are assem- Methods for cultivation and observation of bacteria Bacterial nutrition bled. These breakthroughs led to a paradigm shift. At that Bacterial classification based upon phenotypes time, anyone who wanted to do modern science, mindful of it Role of bacteria in cycles of nature - chemosynthesis and photosynthesis or not, had to become a microbiologist. The incipient science Medical microbiology Microbes as agents of acute disease in animals and plants of molecular biology was spawned by the use of microbes Viruses and, consequently microbial science was once again recog- Immunology nized as a fundamental scientific discipline (Table 2). Phagocytosis Antibodies Applications The third Golden Age Clinical identification of microbes Antimicrobial chemotherapy Soon after the discoveries in molecular genetics were made, Vaccines investigators studying eukaryotic systems adopted the new Industrial fermentations tools for their own use. For those systems that can be manip- ERA OF MICROBIOLOGY INT. MICROBIOL. Vol. 9, 2006 3 ulated with nearly the same ease as bacteria, such as yeast, Table 3. The third Golden Age of microbiology the transition was straightforward. Ultimately, other systems Concepts that lack the ease of manipulation and the speed of growth of Genomics and evolution bacteria benefited even more from DNA cloning and Extent of horizontal gene exchange sequencing. As the methodological playing field became Diversity in microbial populations more even, eukaryotic science blossomed, eventually over- Emerging infectious diseases Microbial ecology shadowing the work with bacteria and phages. As funding for Identification of uncultivated microbes basic microbiology became increasingly difficult to obtain in Role of microbes in modulating host development the United States and elsewhere, many aspects of this science Interactions between microbes Microbial physiology became neglected and were left to a few stalwarts. Although Mechanisms of signal transduction modern genetic techniques appropriate to “higher” organisms Global regulatory mechanisms were gradual in coming, they promised the genetic analysis Interactions between proteins of such biological phenomena as cancer and differentiation. In Metabolic networks
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