A. Microbiology is the study of organisms and agents that are generally too small to be seen clearly by the unaided eye. These organisms include viruses, bacteria, algae, fungi, and protozoa.
B. Microbiology can be applied or basic.
C. Microbiology is linked to many other scientific disciplines including biochemistry, cell biology, evolution, ecology.
D. Subdisciplines (both applied and basic research)
1. General microbiology: broad range of microbiological questions
2. Medical microbiology: microbes that cause human disease
3. Public health and epidemiology: Studies and controls transmission, frequency, and distribution of disease
4. Immunology: the immune system
5. Agricultural microbiology: impact of microbes on agriculture
6. Microbial ecology: relationships between microbes and their habitats
7. Food microbiology: Prevention of food borne disease; microbes that make food and drink
8. Industrial microbiology: commercial use of microbes to produce products
9. Biotechnology: manipulation of organisms to form useful products
