Steps towards the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Robert Koch, 1882

Abstract

Palaeomicrobiology has detected the tuberculosis agent in animal and human skeletons that are thousands of years old. The German doctor Robert Koch was the first microbiologist to report in 1882 the successful isolation of the causative agent of tuberculosis, named 1 year later as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This immense discovery, however, was not made from scratch, but involved the combining of previous scientific knowledge, chiefly the previous demonstration by the French doctor Jean-Antoine Villemin that tuberculosis was a transmissible disease, and two innovations--a new staining procedure that allowed R. Koch to consistently observe the new organism in tuberculous lesions, and use of a solidified, serum-based medium instead of broths for the culture. These innovations allowed R. Koch not only to isolate M. tuberculosis from animal and patient specimens for the first time, but also to reproduce the disease in experimentally inoculated guinea pigs. It is thanks to R. Koch that one of the most lethal diseases in human history could be diagnosed, could be treated and cured after the discovery of streptomycin 65 years later, and could be efficiently prevented by isolation of cases. His microbiological innovations are now being renewed with molecular and improved culture-based detection being the twenty-first century weapons in the fight against this disease, which remains a major killer.

Plant growth promotion by streptomycetes: ecophysiology, mechanisms and applications

“…Harz observed structures similar to reproductive bodies and hyphae of fungi; therefore, he considered the microorganism to be a fungus and named it Actinomyces bovis [14]. In 1882, Robert Koch discovered another microorganism during his observations using light microscopy that is now recognized as an actinobacterium: the tuberculosis pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis [16]. Koch observed that the microbes presented morphological characteristics that were similar to those of microorganisms previously described by Hansen associated with leprosy disease [17].…”

Bedaquiline susceptibility test for totally drug-resistant tuberculosis Mycobacterium tuberculosis

“…One hundred thirty-five years after Robert Koch's discovery, Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains a major cause of mortality, with two million deaths attributed to tuberculosis (TB) annually (Cambau and Drancourt, 2014;Padhi et al, 2014). TB control has been hampered by the emergence of M. tuberculosis strains refractory to standard treatment regimens.…”

A Novel Solid Medium for Culturing Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates from Clinical Specimens

“…The fact that Robert Koch reported the isolation of M. tuberculosis in Ͻ10 days by inoculating a simple serum-based medium has been neglected (10). With the MOD9 culture medium, we resurrected the Koch's serum-based medium from the late 19th century, adding growth enhancers to propose a protocol that is now routinely used at La Timone Hospital for the rapid detection of tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria.…”