Microbes: their names
D. MAKUNIN, SCIENCE AND LIFE No. 2, 20083000 years ago, the great Greek Hippocrates guessed that infectious diseases are caused and carried by living beings.
He called them miasmas. But the human eye could not distinguish them. At the end of the XVII century, the Dutchman A. Leeuwenhoek created a sufficiently powerful microscope, and only then was it possible to describe and sketch a variety of forms of bacteria — single-celled organisms, many of which are pathogens of various infectious human diseases. Bacteria are one of the types of microbes ("microbe" is from Greek. "micros" — small and "bios" — life), however, the most numerous.
After the discovery of microbes and the study of their role in human life, it turned out that the world of these tiny organisms is very diverse and requires a certain systematization and classification. And today, experts use a system according to which the first word in the name of a microorganism means a genus, and the second is the specific name of the microbe. These names (usually Latin or Greek) are "speakers". Thus, the name of some microorganisms reflects some of the most striking features of their structure, in particular the shape. This group primarily includes bacteria. In shape, all bacteria are divided into spherical — cocci, rod—shaped — bacteria proper and convoluted - spirilli and vibrions.
Globular bacteria are pathogenic cocci (from Greek. "coccus" — grain, berry), microorganisms that differ from each other in the location of cells after their division.
The most common of them are:
— staphylococci (from Greek. "staph" — a bunch of grapes and "coccus" — grain, berry), so named because of the characteristic shape - clusters resembling bunches of grapes. The most pathogenic effect has the type of these bacteria staphylococcus aureus ("Staphylococcus aureus", as it forms clusters of golden color), causing various purulent diseases and food intoxication;
— streptococci (from Greek. "streptos" — a chain), whose cells do not diverge after division, but form a chain. These bacteria are the causative agents of various inflammatory diseases (angina, bronchopneumonia, otitis, endocarditis and others).
Rod—shaped bacteria, or rods, are cylindrical-shaped microorganisms (from Greek. "bacterion" is a stick). The name of all such microorganisms came from their name. But those bacteria that form spores (a protective layer that protects against adverse environmental influences) are called bacilli (from Lat. "bacillum" — wand). The spore-forming sticks include the bacillus of anthrax, a terrible disease known since ancient times.
The convoluted forms of bacteria are spirals. For example, spirilli (from Lat. spira — bend) are bacteria that have the shape of spirally curved sticks with two or three curls. These are harmless microbes, with the exception of the causative agent of the "rat bite disease" (Sudoku) from a person.
The peculiar form is also reflected in the name of microorganisms belonging to the family of spirochetes (from Lat. "spira" — bend and "khate" — mane). For example, representatives of the leptospira family are distinguished by an unusual shape in the form of a thin thread with small, closely spaced curls, which makes them look like a thin twisted spiral. And the very name "leptospira" is translated as "narrow spiral" or "narrow curl" (from Greek. "leptos" — narrow and "spera" — gyrus, curl).
Corynebacteria (causative agents of diphtheria and listeriosis) have characteristic bulbous thickenings at the ends, which is indicated by the name of these microorganisms: from Lat. "korine" is a mace.
According to the same principle, the names of some microorganisms belonging to the simplest are formed. For example, amoebas do not have a permanent shape, hence the name: from Greek. "amoibe" is a change. The name "toxoplasma" (parasites that multiply inside the cell) is also associated with their shape in the form of orange slices or arches: from Greek. "tokson" — arch and "plasma" — education. And trypanosomes (causative agents of "sleeping sickness") are so named because of their spindle-like body: from Greek. "tripanon" is a drill and "soma" is a body.
Today, all known viruses are also grouped into genera and families, including on the basis of their structure. Viruses are so small that in order to see them through a microscope, it must be much stronger than a conventional optical one. The electron microscope magnifies hundreds of thousands of times. Rotaviruses got their name from the Latin word "rota" — wheel, since viral particles under an electron microscope look like small wheels with a thick sleeve, short spokes and a thin rim.
And the name of the coronavirus family is explained by the presence of villi that attach to the virion through a narrow stem and expand to the distant end, resembling the solar corona during an eclipse.
The name of some microorganisms is associated with the name of the organ they affect, or the disease they cause. For example, the name "meningococci" is formed from two Greek words: "meningos" — the meninges, since it is mainly affected by these microbes, and "coccus" — a grain indicating that they belong to spherical bacteria — cocci. From the Greek word "pneumon" (lung), the name "pneumococci" is formed — these bacteria cause lung diseases. Rhinoviruses are pathogens of infectious rhinitis, hence the name (from Greek. "rhinos" — nose).
The origin of the name of a number of microorganisms is also due to their other most characteristic features. Thus, a distinctive feature of vibrio bacteria in the form of a short curved stick is the ability to fast oscillatory movements. Their name is derived from the French word "vibrer" — to vibrate, oscillate, wriggle. Among vibrions, the most well-known causative agent of cholera, which is called "cholera vibrio".
Bacteria of the genus proteus (proteus) belong to the so-called microbes, which are dangerous for someone, but not for someone. In this regard, they were named after the sea deity from ancient Greek mythology — Proteus, who was credited with the ability to arbitrarily change his appearance.
Monuments are erected to great scientists. But sometimes the names of microorganisms discovered by them also become monuments. For example, microorganisms occupying an intermediate position between viruses and bacteria were named "rickettsii" in honor of the American researcher Howard Taylor Ricketts (1871-1910), who died of typhus while studying the causative agent of this disease.
The causative agents of dysentery were thoroughly studied by the Japanese scientist K. Shiga in 1898, in his honor they subsequently received their generic name — "shigella".Brucella (pathogens of brucellosis) are named after the English military doctor D. Bruce, who in 1886 for the first time managed to isolate these bacteria.
The bacteria united in the genus "yersinia" are named after the famous Swiss scientist A. Yersen, who discovered, in particular, the causative agent of the plague — yersinia pestis.
Unicellular intestinal parasites of giardia were first described in detail in 1859 by Professor of Kharkov University D. F. Lambl.
The simplest unicellular organisms (causative agents of leishmaniasis) of Leishmania, described in detail by him in 1903, are named after the English doctor V. Leishman.
The name of the American pathologist D. Salmon is associated with the generic name "salmonella", a rod-shaped intestinal bacterium that causes diseases such as salmonellosis and typhoid fever.
And the German scientist T. Escherichia owes its name to Escherichia coli, which were first isolated and described by him in 1886.
The circumstances under which they were discovered played a role in the origin of the names of some microorganisms. For example, the generic name "legionella" appeared after an outbreak in 1976 in Philadelphia among delegates of the American Legion Congress (an organization uniting US citizens participating in international wars) of a severe respiratory disease caused by these bacteria — they were transmitted through an air conditioner. And Coxsackie viruses were first isolated from polio-infected children in 1948 in the village of Coxsackie (USA), hence the name.
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