What is the study of microorganisms called?

Hint: Microorganisms have a significant effect on all life and the physical and chemical makeup of our planet. Microorganisms are responsible for carrying out more photosynthesis than plants. They are also responsible for cycling the minerals in the environment.

Complete answer:
- Microbiology is the study of microorganisms in which we thoroughly study the diverse group of microorganisms present around us, including viruses.
- These microscopic organisms might be invisible to the naked eye but they do play an important role in our lives and thus there is a need to study them.
- The study of microorganisms provides us with a deep understanding of phenomena like parasitism (an organism completely dependent on another organism for nutrition), mutualism (mutual give and take of nutrition and resources), and symbiosis.
- Study of microorganisms has led to the downstream processing of essential drugs, recombinant technologies, proteins, etc.
- Microorganisms are the most heterogeneous subset of living creatures and underwent a number of evolutionary processes. They are the products of evolution, the biological consequence of natural selection operating on a vast array of genetically diverse organisms.

Additional information:
- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to observe a bacteria under a single-lens microscope, which he designed himself. He is the father of microbiology.
- Microbiology comprises bacteriology (the study of bacterias), virology (the study of viruses), protozoology (the study of protozoa), mycology (the study of fungi), and phycology (the study of algae).

Note:
Microbiology can be divided by their presence (air, water, soil, food), usage (industrial, medical, agricultural, environment), and function of their study (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics).