bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where
he became director of the department of bacteriology in
1979. He devoted much of his career to the ecology of
microorganisms including hyperthermophiles in the hot
springs of Yellowstone Park since 1965. He discovered
many bacteria and archaea and hyperthermophiles including
the thermophilic bacterium Thermus aquaticus, which he
named and from which Taq polymerase was purified, an
enzyme which is widely used in molecular biology protocols
that use PCR. He became interested in the boundary
conditions of life on the planet and with his students he
initiated research on microbial life in extreme conditions.
He published the famous book Biology of Microorganisms
which has been and still remains a basic book for many
microbiology students over the world. This book has been
updated regularly and is now in its 13th edition; it continues
to be the reference book for many microbiologists. Thomas
Brock is now a professor emeritus, and one of his students
who became professor of microbiology, Michael Madigan,
continues these lines of research on life under extreme
conditions of high and low temperatures and on the biogeochemistry of bacteria living under these extreme conditions
and continues the edition of the famous book Biology of
Microorganisms (Madigan et al. 2010).
In the 1970s, studies of microbial ecology of biogeochemical cycles were developed under the impetus of the
work of Tom Fenchel, Henry Blackburn, and Bo Barker
Jørgensen at the University of Aarhus in Denmark where
new methods using microelectrodes were developed to study
the sedimentary gradients that develop between the oxic and
anoxic conditions and microbial activities that determine in
biogeochemical cycles (Jørgensen and Fenchel 1974). These
micromethods were subsequently used for the study of
microphysical and chemical gradients that characterize the
microbial mats (Jørgensen et al. 1979; Van Gemerden et al.
1989). Fenchel and Blackburn published an important book
in microbial ecology, Bacteria and Mineral Cycling, in
which they laid the foundations of the microbial physiology
of biogeochemical cycles (Fenchel and Blackburn 1979).
Regarding the environmental microbiology and applied
microbial ecology, the pioneering work of Richard Bartha
opened the way to studies of the role of microorganisms in
the biodegradation of polluting compounds and xenobiotics.
Born in Hungary, where he made some of his university
studies, he participated in the uprising of 1956, and then he
fled to Germany where he could prepare his microbiology
doctorate with Hans Schlegel. In 1964, he joined the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, School of
Biological Sciences and the Environment of Rutgers University (United States), where he remained professor until his
retirement in 1998. He devoted his time to research on the
role of microbes in the detoxication of environments
contaminated with pesticides, hydrocarbons, and heavy
metals, either in soil or in the marine environment. With
his students including Ronald Atlas, he was responsible for
the discovery of the biodegradation of petroleum compounds
by bacteria thus opening the way to an important field of
microbial ecology on biodegradation and biotransformation
of pollutants. He showed the ability of bacteria to degrade or
biotransform not only hydrocarbons including polyaromatics but also organochlorinated pesticides and heavy
metals. It was at the origin of bioremediations methods to
rehabilitate sites contaminated with pollutants (soils, oil
spills, etc.). He became aware of the weakness of the teaching of microbial ecology, and with his student Ronald Atlas,
professor of biology at the University of Louisville (United
States) and former president of the American Society for
Microbiology, they published the first book on Microbial
Ecology in 1981 following a report published in 1975 in the
Bulletin of the American Society for Microbiology “the
teaching of microbial ecology unfortunately demands a substantial contribution with a well-documented book.” They
thus decided to write the book Microbial Ecology:
Fundamentals and Applications which appeared for the
first time in 1981 and, together with its fourth updated
edition (Atlas and Bartha 1998), remains a basic book in
microbial ecology.
Robert Mah, who was a professor of environmental
microbiology at the University of California (UCLA, United
States) from 1970 to 1995 and is now professor emeritus,
brought a great contribution to the knowledge of
methanogenic bacteria and also anaerobic halophilic
bacteria.
In the field of marine microbial ecology, the work of Rita
Colwell (1934–) is important. After studying microbiology
and oceanography, she became professor of microbiology at
the University of Maryland where she studied with many
students marine microbiology in general, and especially Vibrio pathogens, and has shown the importance of culturability
fluctuations of bacteria in the marine environment. Her
pioneering work on viable nonculturable bacteria has opened
the way for a whole area of research on viable nonculturable
bacteria (Chaiyanan et al. 2001), which led to her being
appointed to head the US NSF where she promoted work on
microbial ecology. She has held many responsibilities in
various American institutions where she has always promoted
microbial ecology and the problem of survival of bacteria,
including pathogens in aquatic environments. With Richard
Morita, she contributed to an important book on marine
microbiology: Effect of the Ocean Environment on Microbial
Activities (Colwell and Morita 1974).
With regard to marine microbiology and aquatic
environments, the School of Microbiology of Marseille has
developed following the creation of the CNRS laboratory of
bacterial chemistry by Jacques Se ´nez (1915–1999). After
working at the Pasteur Institute in the laboratory of
2 Some Historical Elements of Microbial Ecology
21
he became director of the department of bacteriology in
1979. He devoted much of his career to the ecology of
microorganisms including hyperthermophiles in the hot
springs of Yellowstone Park since 1965. He discovered
many bacteria and archaea and hyperthermophiles including
the thermophilic bacterium Thermus aquaticus, which he
named and from which Taq polymerase was purified, an
enzyme which is widely used in molecular biology protocols
that use PCR. He became interested in the boundary
conditions of life on the planet and with his students he
initiated research on microbial life in extreme conditions.
He published the famous book Biology of Microorganisms
which has been and still remains a basic book for many
microbiology students over the world. This book has been
updated regularly and is now in its 13th edition; it continues
to be the reference book for many microbiologists. Thomas
Brock is now a professor emeritus, and one of his students
who became professor of microbiology, Michael Madigan,
continues these lines of research on life under extreme
conditions of high and low temperatures and on the biogeochemistry of bacteria living under these extreme conditions
and continues the edition of the famous book Biology of
Microorganisms (Madigan et al. 2010).
In the 1970s, studies of microbial ecology of biogeochemical cycles were developed under the impetus of the
work of Tom Fenchel, Henry Blackburn, and Bo Barker
Jørgensen at the University of Aarhus in Denmark where
new methods using microelectrodes were developed to study
the sedimentary gradients that develop between the oxic and
anoxic conditions and microbial activities that determine in
biogeochemical cycles (Jørgensen and Fenchel 1974). These
micromethods were subsequently used for the study of
microphysical and chemical gradients that characterize the
microbial mats (Jørgensen et al. 1979; Van Gemerden et al.
1989). Fenchel and Blackburn published an important book
in microbial ecology, Bacteria and Mineral Cycling, in
which they laid the foundations of the microbial physiology
of biogeochemical cycles (Fenchel and Blackburn 1979).
Regarding the environmental microbiology and applied
microbial ecology, the pioneering work of Richard Bartha
opened the way to studies of the role of microorganisms in
the biodegradation of polluting compounds and xenobiotics.
Born in Hungary, where he made some of his university
studies, he participated in the uprising of 1956, and then he
fled to Germany where he could prepare his microbiology
doctorate with Hans Schlegel. In 1964, he joined the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, School of
Biological Sciences and the Environment of Rutgers University (United States), where he remained professor until his
retirement in 1998. He devoted his time to research on the
role of microbes in the detoxication of environments
contaminated with pesticides, hydrocarbons, and heavy
metals, either in soil or in the marine environment. With
his students including Ronald Atlas, he was responsible for
the discovery of the biodegradation of petroleum compounds
by bacteria thus opening the way to an important field of
microbial ecology on biodegradation and biotransformation
of pollutants. He showed the ability of bacteria to degrade or
biotransform not only hydrocarbons including polyaromatics but also organochlorinated pesticides and heavy
metals. It was at the origin of bioremediations methods to
rehabilitate sites contaminated with pollutants (soils, oil
spills, etc.). He became aware of the weakness of the teaching of microbial ecology, and with his student Ronald Atlas,
professor of biology at the University of Louisville (United
States) and former president of the American Society for
Microbiology, they published the first book on Microbial
Ecology in 1981 following a report published in 1975 in the
Bulletin of the American Society for Microbiology “the
teaching of microbial ecology unfortunately demands a substantial contribution with a well-documented book.” They
thus decided to write the book Microbial Ecology:
Fundamentals and Applications which appeared for the
first time in 1981 and, together with its fourth updated
edition (Atlas and Bartha 1998), remains a basic book in
microbial ecology.
Robert Mah, who was a professor of environmental
microbiology at the University of California (UCLA, United
States) from 1970 to 1995 and is now professor emeritus,
brought a great contribution to the knowledge of
methanogenic bacteria and also anaerobic halophilic
bacteria.
In the field of marine microbial ecology, the work of Rita
Colwell (1934–) is important. After studying microbiology
and oceanography, she became professor of microbiology at
the University of Maryland where she studied with many
students marine microbiology in general, and especially Vibrio pathogens, and has shown the importance of culturability
fluctuations of bacteria in the marine environment. Her
pioneering work on viable nonculturable bacteria has opened
the way for a whole area of research on viable nonculturable
bacteria (Chaiyanan et al. 2001), which led to her being
appointed to head the US NSF where she promoted work on
microbial ecology. She has held many responsibilities in
various American institutions where she has always promoted
microbial ecology and the problem of survival of bacteria,
including pathogens in aquatic environments. With Richard
Morita, she contributed to an important book on marine
microbiology: Effect of the Ocean Environment on Microbial
Activities (Colwell and Morita 1974).
With regard to marine microbiology and aquatic
environments, the School of Microbiology of Marseille has
developed following the creation of the CNRS laboratory of
bacterial chemistry by Jacques Se ´nez (1915–1999). After
working at the Pasteur Institute in the laboratory of
2 Some Historical Elements of Microbial Ecology
21