Growth and microbial metabolism Growth and Cell Division Microbial Growth Defined: Mother or parent cell doubles

in size, Divides into two daughter cells, Microbial growth is defined as the increase in the number of cells, which occurs by cell division Cell Division Binary fission (equal cell division): A cell duplicates its components and divides into two cells Septum: A partition that grows between two daughter cells and they separate at this location Budding (unequal cell division): A small, new cell develops from surface of exisiting cell and subsequently separates from parent cell Phases of Growth Consider a population of organisms introduced into a fresh, nutrient medium Such organisms display four major phases of growth The lag phase The logarithmic phase The stationary phase The death phase The Lag Phase Organisms do not increase significantly in number They are metabolically active Grow in size, synthesize enzymes, and incorporate molecules from medium Produce large quantities of energy in the form of ATP The Log Phase Organisms have adapted to a growth medium Growth occurs at an exponential (log) rate The organisms divide at their most rapid rate a regular, genetically determined interval (generation time) Stationary Phase: Cell division decreases to a point that new cells are produced at same rate as old cell die. The number of live cells stays constant. Decline (Death) Phase: Condition in the medium become less and less supportive of cell division Cell lose their ability to divide and thus die Number of live cells decreases at a logarithmic rate Factors Affecting Bacterial Growth The kinds of organisms found in a given environment and the rates at which they grow can be influenced by a variety of factors, both physical and biochemical Physical factors include: pH, temperature, oxygen concentration, moisture, hydrostatic pressure, osmotic pressure, and radiation. Nutritional factors include: availability of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, trace elements and, in some cases, vitamins pH Optimum pH: the pH at which the microorganism grows best (e.g. pH 7)

According to their tolerance for acidity/alkalinity, bacteria are classified as: 1. Acidophiles (acid-loving): grow best at pH 0.1-5.4 2. Neutrophiles: grow best at pH 5.4 to 8.0 3. Alkaliphiles (base-loving): grow best at pH 7.0-11.5 Temperature Obligate: organism must have specified environmental condition Facultative: organism is able to adjust to and tolerate environmental condition, but can also live in other conditions According to their growth temperature range, bacteria can be classified as: 1. Psychrophiles: 15-20oC 2. Mesophiles: 25-40oC 3. Thermophiles: 50-60oC Oxygen Aerobes: require oxygen to grow Obligate aerobes: must have free oxygen for aerobic respiration (e.g. Pseudomonas) Anaerobes: do not require oxygen to grow Obligate anaerobes: killed by free oxygen (e.g. Bacteroides) Microaerophiles: grow best in presence of small amount of free oxygen Capnophiles: carbon-dioxide loving organisms that thrive under conditions of low oxygen Facultative anaerobes: carry on aerobic metabolism when oxygen is present, but shift to anaerobic metabolism when oxygen is absent Aerotolerant anaerobes: can survive in the presence of oxygen but do not use it in their metabolism Hydrostatic Pressure Water in oceans and lakes exerts pressure exerted by standing water, in proportion to its depth Pressure doubles with every 10 meter increase in depth Barophiles: bacteria that live at high pressures, but die if left in laboratory at standard atmospheric pressure Osmotic Pressure Environments that contain dissolved substances exert osmotic pressure, and pressure can exceed that exerted by dissolved substances in cells Hyperosmotic environments: cells lose water and undergo plasmolysis (shrinking of cell) Hypoosmotic environment: cells gain water and swell and burst Halophiles Salt-loving organisms which require moderate to large quantities of salt (sodium chloride) Membrane transport systems actively transport sodium ions out of cells and concentrate potassium ions inside Why do halophiles require sodium? Cells need sodium to maintain a high intracellular potassium concentration for enzymatic function Cells need sodium to maintain the integrity of their cell walls Nutritional Factors Carbon sources Nitrogen sources Sulfur and phosphorus Trace elements (e.g. copper, iron, zinc, and cobalt) Vitamins (e.g. folic acid, vitamin B-12, vitamin K)