Koch's postulates established:

• A. Evidence against the idea of spontaneous generation of life.
• B. That bacterial cells are the fundamental units of all life.
• C. That specific diseases are caused by specific pathogens.
• D. That virulence factors are the characteristics of pathogens which cause disease.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Begin by understanding the historical context of Koch's postulates. They were developed in the late 19th century by Robert Koch, a pioneering microbiologist.
2. Recognize the purpose of Koch's postulates: to establish a systematic method for identifying the causative agent of a specific infectious disease.
3. Koch's postulates consist of four criteria: 1) The microorganism must be found in abundance in all organisms suffering from the disease, but not in healthy organisms. 2) The microorganism must be isolated from a diseased organism and grown in pure culture. 3) The cultured microorganism should cause disease when introduced into a healthy organism. 4) The microorganism must be re-isolated from the inoculated, diseased experimental host and identified as being identical to the original specific causative agent.
4. Understand that Koch's postulates were groundbreaking because they provided scientific evidence that specific diseases are caused by specific pathogens, thereby refuting the idea of spontaneous generation and supporting germ theory.
5. Consider the implications of Koch's postulates in modern microbiology, such as their role in identifying pathogens and understanding disease mechanisms, although they have limitations and exceptions in certain cases, such as viruses and asymptomatic carriers.