History of microbiology

Spring 2025

Dr Diego Gonzalez, UNINE

Selected episodes in the history of microbiology History of biology is missing in most biology curricula. While some fields, like evolutionary biology, have a strong historical and historiographical tradition, allowing students to pick up notions as they go, only parsimonious references to history-often associated with the names of Semmelweis, Pasteur, Koch, or Fleming-are commonly shared among microbiologists. This CUSO activity is intended to provide PhD students in fields related to microbiology with an opportunity to learn about the long-term evolution of the discipline. It will allow them to acquire, besides elements of scientific culture, a better grasp of the historical dynamics of the field, including the impact of some major theoretical shifts and technical innovations, as well as a deeper understanding on currently accepted models and notions. Ideally, it should also help fostering in active microbiologists a broader sense of professional identity by connecting them to a legacy and to an underlying narrative in their field. This activity is organized around significant episodes, events or characters of the history of microbiology. For the first edition, it will focus on four episodes that have deeply impacted our current view of the microbial world. Two of these episodes retrace key steps in the elaboration of the presently accepted (microbial) tree of life, i.e. the presentation of the three-domain model by Carl Woese and colleagues, and the ensuing dispute around the origins and placement of the last common eukaryotic ancestor. More generally, it will explore how our understanding of the evolution of bacteria and archaea has deeply transformed our view of phylogeny, from a simple family-tree model to a much more reticulate picture. The two other episodes follow the career and main discoveries of one of the founding fathers of microbial ecology, Sergei Winogradsky, and the fate and impact of a proverbial principle of the discipline, the idea that in the microbial world, "everything is everywhere, and the environment selects." The activity will mix: ectures to establish the broad context and the main lines about each of the historical episodes; short presentations of key experiments or concepts by attending students; collective discussions about how each of the historical episodes still impacts our current scientific beliefs and practices.

UNINE

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