HIED 546 Microteach Long Chen Meet Microorganisms HIED 546 Microteach Long Chen

What is your intuition to define a microorganism? Tiny Simple Germs cause disease

The story begins with … …

“The Father of Microbiology” Considered to be the first microbiologist. He was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms using his handcrafted microscopes. Leeuwenhoek did not author any books; he is best known for his work on the improvement of the microscope.  Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) 

Common Definition of a Microorganism A microorganism is a microscopic organism. A microorganism could be a single cell or multicellular organism. All the Bacteria and Archaean are microorganisms. Almost all the Protozoa are microorganisms. Some of the Fungi and animals such as Rotifers are commonly defined as microorganisms.

About Microorganisms Microorganisms are found in almost every habitat present in nature. It is estimated there are 5 nonillion ( 5×10 30 ) microorganisms on earth; nearly 10 million microorganisms a milliliter of ocean water and 40 million in a gram of soil.

Meet Microorganisms Microorganisms are ubiquitous on the human body. There are 40 million microorganism in a milliliter of saliva and make up 10% of a human’s total dry weight. In many cases, animals not only live with microbes, but our health is dependent on them (gut bacteria, immune system development, etc.) All living organisms are dependent on microorganisms and their biochemical process.

Hands-on Experience

Work in groups Figure out what the organism is and tell a brief story about it.