BIOLOGY 207 1st Edition Lecture 1 Outline of Current Lecture I. Global Impact of MicrobesII. Importance of Historical Roots of MicrobiologyIII. Some Revolutionary Discoveries in Microbiology Current LectureIntroduction to the course and the microbial worldI. Global Impact of Microbesa. Microbes have existed on earth for far longer than any other life forms, billions ofyears before plants and animalsb. Their contributions allow plants and animals to live i. Production of oxygen, digestion, etc. all occur thanks to microbesii. Even within the human body, millions of microbes exist, helping us with various bodily functions1. Without microbes, there would be no oxygen nor would there be digestion of organic matter and key nutrientsc. Their presence makes up the majority of the biomass on EarthII. Importance of Historical Roots of Microbiologya. Microbes have been able to contribute to biology in many ways, since they were the first known forms of life on Earthb. Evolution and genetic exchanges occurring with the first common cell ancestor have allowed for ongoing survival and variation in life formsc. Evolutionary events allowed for there to be three major splits in microbial cell domainsi. Bacteria (prokaryotic), Archaea (prokaryotic), Eukarya III. Some Revolutionary Discoveries in microbesa. Microbes were discovered in the mid-1600s by the van Leeuwenhoek microscope, when he was attempting to study the fineness of threadsb. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) Sequences allowed us to analyze natural microbial populations starting in 1985i. This increased our computational capacity, helping us understand the sheer volume of microbial life there is on Earthii. Estimated 2,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 microbes on Earthc. The early motivation for studying microbes was human diseaseThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.i. There was a large focus on pathogenic microbesii. Between the last century, this focus has allowed us to cut down microbial mortality immensely1. In 1900, the top 3 causes of death were all related to bacteria/virus- the numbers have shifted much more towards heart disease, cancer and stroke as leading causes of death2. The initial discovery of the antibiotics came as a mistake when Sir Alexander Fleming meant to grown bacteria, but accidentally had a fungus growing in the same Petri dish; when it formed a colony inhibiting bacterial growth, he was able to study it further and form the first antibiotic which inhibited bacterial growth3. Since then, several antibiotics were created, but now, as resistant strains begin to emerge, the need for more anti-bacterial medications is arisingiii. New Challenges for the future of science and society1. Generating food and plants that can adapt to changes in the environment2. Understanding ecosystem functions and biodiversity in the face of rapid changes3. Finding new sustainable, alternative energy sources4. Individual health innovations and