Introductory Microbiology

Importance of microorganisms

• Microorganisms affect the well being of people in a great many ways. As we have already stated, they occur in large numbers in most natural environments and bring about many changes, some desirable and others undesirable. The diversity of their activities ranges from causing diseases in humans, animals and plants to the production and deposition of minerals, the formation of coal and the enhancement of soil fertility.
• There are many more species of microorganisms that perform important roles in nature than there are diseases producing species.
• Although microorganisms have existed for a long time, their existence was unknown until the invention of the microscope in the 17th century. The year 1674, marks the birth of microbiology when Antony van Leeuwenhoek, a dutch merchant, looked at a drop of lake water through a glass lens which he had ground. He described a variety of microorganisms such as protozoa, algae, yeast and bacteria. He prepared 400 simple microscopes capable of enlarging objects from 50 to 300 times.