4. BACTERIAL METABOLISM Flashcards
What term describes the biochemical reactions used by bacteria to break down and synthesize compounds?
Bacterial metabolism
What is analyzed to determine a microorganism’s carbon source utilization?
Substrate utilization
What diagnostic aspect looks at the production of specific substances from substrates?
End product production
Diagnostic schemes to analyse each unkwon microorganism
- Utilization of substrates
- Production of End products
- pH
What term describes the breakdown of chemical substrates coupled with oxidation-reduction reactions?
Energy production
What are the two mechanisms bacteria use to produce energy from carbohydrates?
Fermentation and Respiration
What type of process is fermentation?
Anaerobic
In fermentation, what type of compound is used as the electron acceptor?
Organic compound
What tests are used to identify anaerobic bacteria in fermentation?
Voges-Proskauer (VP) and Methyl Red Tests
What term describes the energy-generating process where molecular oxygen is the final electron acceptor?
Respiration
How efficient is fermentation in energy generation?
Less efficient
What accumulates in the medium as a result of fermentation?
Mixture of end products (lactate, butyrate, ethanol, acetoin)
What type of bacteria use respiration for energy production?
Obligate aerobes and facultative anaerobes
What can certain anaerobes use as final electron acceptors in anaerobic respiration?
Inorganic forms of oxygen (nitrate and sulfate)
What are the three major biochemical pathways bacteria use to break down glucose to pyruvic acid?
Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) Glycolytic Pathway,
Pentose Phosphate Pathway,
Entner-Doudoroff Pathway
What is the major pathway for converting glucose to pyruvate?
Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) Glycolytic Pathway
What reducing power is generated by the EMP Glycolytic Pathway?
NADH2
What energy molecule is produced by the EMP Glycolytic Pathway?
ATP
Is the EMP Glycolytic Pathway aerobic or anaerobic?
Anaerobic
Which pathway is an alternative to the EMP pathway and produces ribulose-5-phosphate?
Pentose Phosphate (Phosphogluconate) Pathway
What does the Pentose Phosphate Pathway provide for nucleotide synthesis?
Pentoses
What reducing power does the Pentose Phosphate Pathway generate?
NADPH