Bacterial Growth and Metabolism Flashcards
How do bacteria replicate?
Binary Fission
What are prototrophs?
Bacteria that can synthesize all essential metabolites.
What are auxotrophs?
They have acquired mutations that require them to obtain certain essential metabolites from the environment.
What does the growth rate of bacteria depend on?
Availability of nutrients
Environmental pH
Salinity
Temperature
How could a bacteria survive in an acidic pH?
What type of bacteria can pull this off?
H Pylori secretes a urease to convert urea to ammonia and bicarbonate.
What will high salt concentration do to bacterial growth?
Stop it.
How would you classify human pathogens?
Mesophiles because they grow optimally between 30c and 37c
What would you call bacteria that can grow in extreme heat?
Thermophiles
What would you call bacteria that can grow in extreme cold?
Psychrophiles
What is the most important nutrient that impacts the rate of bacterial cell division?
Iron because of its importance for growth and virulence. Hence, the sequestration of free iron in the blood and other fluids is a significant defense against infection.
How do bacteria counter the effects of Iron?
By secreting siderophores which chelate iron and are then actively secreted out of the cell.
How can you measure the bacterial growth in a liquid culture ?
Growing aliquots of the culture on an agar medium.
Measure the turbidity of the liquid culture over time. As the bacteria grow they will cloud the agar which can be quantified using a spectrometer.
In regard to growing aliquots describe the different phases of bacterial growth.
Aliquots are taken at various timesafter broth inoculation.
When is the lag phase of bacterial growth?
Immediately following the inoculation of the liquid culture. During the lag phase essentially no bacteria will grow because they are adapting to their new environment.
Describe the exponential growth phase.
The bacteria have adapted to their new environment and soon begin to establish constant, optimal doubling times during the exponential phase.
**This is a time of maximal DNA and protein synthesis.
When is bacteria most sensitive to antibiotic therapy?
During the exponential “logarithmic” phase.
What are the consequences of the exponential growth phase?
depletion of nutrients and the accumulation of wastes. Which causes the cell division to become equal to the rate of cell death.
What is the phase where cell division is equal to the rate of cell death?
The stationary phase.