Microbiology and Immunology

WORLD OF MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY Biochemical analysis techniques

63

•

loss of the potato crops in Ireland resulted in the death due to

starvation of at least one million people, and the mass emigra-

tion of people to countries including the United States and

Canada. The famine was attributed to many sources, many of

which had no basis in scientific reason. Dr. C. Montane, a

physician in the army of Napoleon, first described the pres-

ence of fungus on potatoes after a prolonged period of rain. He

shared this information with Berkeley, who surmised that the

fungus was the cause of the disease. Berkeley was alone in this

view. Indeed, Dr. John Lindley, a botany professor at

University College in London, and a professional rival of

Berkeley’s, hotly and publicly disputed the idea. Lindley

blamed the famine on the damp weather of Ireland. Their dif-

fering opinions were published in The Gardener’s Chronicles.

With time, Berkeley’s view was proven to be correct. A

committee formed to arbitrate the debate sided with Berkeley.

On the basis of the decision, farmers were advised to store

their crop in well-ventilated pits, which aided against fungal

growth.

The discovery that the fungus Phytophthora infestans

was the basis of the potato blight represented the first disease

known to be caused by a microorganism, and marked the

beginning of the scientific discipline of plant pathology.

Berkeley also contributed to the battle against poultry

mildew, a fungal disease that produced rotting of vines. The

disease could e devastating. For example, the appearance of

poultry mildew in Madeira in the 1850s destroyed the local

wine-based economy, which led to widespread starvation and

emigration. Berkeley was one of those who helped established

the cause of the infestation.

BBeveridge, Terrance J.EVERIDGE, TERRANCEJ.(1945- )

Canadian microbiologist

Terrance (Terry) J. Beveridge has fundamentally contributed

to the understanding of the structure and function of bacteria.

Beveridge was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His

early schooling was also in that city. He graduated with a

B.Sc. from the University of Toronto in 1968, a Dip. Bact. in

1969, and an M.Sc. in oral microbiology in 1970. Intending to

become a dentist, he was drawn to biological research instead.

This interest led him to the University of Western Ontario lab-

oratory of Dr. Robert Murray, where he completed his Ph.D.

dissertation in 1974.

His Ph.D. research focused on the use of various tech-

niques to probe the structure of bacteria. In particular, he

developed an expertise in electron microscopy. His research

interest in the molecular structure of bacteria was carried on in

his appointment as an Assistant Professor at the University of

Guelph in 1975. He became an Associate Professor in 1983

and a tenured Professor in 1986. He has remained at the

University of Guelph to the present day.

Beveridge’s interest in bacterial ultrastructurehad led

to many achievements. He and his numerous students and

research colleagues pioneered the study of the binding of met-

als by bacteria, and showed how these metals function to

cement components of the cell wall of Gram-negative and

Gram-positive bacteria together. Bacteria were shown to be

capable of precipitating metals from solution, producing what

he termed microfossils. Indeed, Beveridge and others have

discovered similar appearing microfossils in rock that is mil-

lions of years old. Such bacteria are now thought to have

played a major role in the development of conditions suitable

for the explosive diversity of life on Earth.

In 1981, Beveridge became Director of a Guelph-based

electron microscopy research facility. Using techniques

including scanning tunneling microscopy, atomic force

microscopy and confocal microscopy, the molecular nature of

regularly-structured protein layers on a number of bacterial

species have been detailed. Knowledge of the structure is

allowing strategies to overcome the layer’s role as a barrier to

antibacterial compounds. In another accomplishment, the

design and use of metallic probes allowed Beveridge to

deduce the actual mechanism of operation of the Gram stain.

The mechanism of the stain technique, of bedrock importance

to microbiology, had not been known since the development

of the stain in the nineteenth century.

In the 1980s, in collaboration with Richard Blakemore’s

laboratory, used electron microscopy to reveal the structure,

arrangement and growth of the magnetically-responsive parti-

cles in Aquaspirillum magnetotacticum. In the past decade,

Beveridge has discovered how bacterial life manages to sur-

vive in a habitat devoid of oxygen, located in the Earth’s crust

miles beneath the surface. These discoveries have broadened

human knowledge of the diversity of life on the planet.

Another accomplishment of note has been the finding

that portions of the bacterial cell wall that are spontaneously

released can be used to package antibioticsand deliver them

to the bacteria. This novel means of killing bacteria shows

great potential in the treatment of bacterial infections.

These and other accomplishment have earned

Beveridge numerous awards. In particular, he received the

Steacie Award in 1984, an award given in recognition of out-

standing fundamental research by a researcher in Canada, and

the Culling Medal from the National Society of

Histotechnology in 2001.

See alsoBacterial ultrastructure; Electron microscope exami-

nation of microorganisms; Magnetotactic bacteria

BBiochemical analysis techniquesIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

Biochemical analysis techniques refer to a set of methods,

assays, and procedures that enable scientists to analyze the

substances found in living organisms and the chemical reac-

tions underlying life processes. The most sophisticated of

these techniques are reserved for specialty research and diag-

nostic laboratories, although simplified sets of these tech-

niques are used in such common events as testing for illegal

drug abuse in competitive athletic events and monitoring of

blood sugar by diabetic patients.

To perform a comprehensive biochemical analysis of a

biomolecule in a biological process or system, the biochemist

womi_B 5/6/03 1:09 PM Page 63