Chapter 6 Flashcards
Facultative Anaerobes
growth with oxygen or with no oxygen
Plate counts
- Count colonies on plates that have 30-300 colonies (CFUs)
- To ensure the right number of colonies, the original inoculum must be diluted via serial dilution
- Counts are performed on baceria mixed into a dish with agar (pour plate method) or spread on the surface (spread plate method)
Physical Requirements for Growth
- Temperature
- pH
- Osomotic Pressure
Direct measurements count microbial _____.
cells
Bacterial Division
Increase the number of cells, not cell size. (Binary Fission)
Optimum growth temperature for Thermophiles
50-60 degrees C
Carbon
- structural backbone of organic molecules
- Chemoheterotrophs use organic molecules as energy
- Autotrophs use CO2 (think of photoautotrophs)
Microaerophiles
require oxygen concentration lower than air
A pure culture contains…
Only one species or strain
Dry weight
Bacteria are filtered, dried, and weighed; used for filamentous organisms
Streak plate method
used to isolate pure cultures
Colony
A population of cells arising from a single cell or spore or from a group of attached cells
CFU
A colony is often called a colony-forming unit (CFU)
Reducing media
- Used for the cultivation of anaerobic bacteria
- Contain chemicals (sodium thioglycate) that combine O2 to deplete it
- Heated to drive off O2
Aerotolerant anaerobes
tolerate but cannot use oxygen
Log phase
Logarithmic or exponential increase in population
Differential Media
- Allow distinguishing of colonies of different microbes on the same plate
- Some media have both selective and differential characteristics
Agar
- Complex polysaccharide
- Used as a solidifying agent for culture media in Petri plates, slants, and deeps
- Generally not metabolized by microbes
- Liquefies at 100 degrees Celsius
- Solidifies at ~40 degrees Celsius
Minimum growth temperature
BSL-3
Biosafety cabinets to prevent airborne transmission
BSL-2
Lab coat, gloves, eye protection
Optimum growth temperature for Hyperthermophiles
Optimum growth temperature >80 degrees C
Filtration
- Solution passed through a filter that collects bacteria
- Filter is transferred to a petri dish and grows as colonies on the surface
Biofilms
- Microbial communities
- Form slime or hydrogels that dhere to surfaces
- Bacteria communicate cell-to-cell via quorum sensing
- Share nutrients
- Shell bacteria from harmful environmental factors
- Found in digestive system and sewage treatment systems (can clog pipes)
- 10000x resistant to microbicides
- Involved in 70% of infections
- Catheters, heart valves, contact lenses, dentail caries
Biosafety levels
Requirements for handling certain cultures
Phosphorous
- Used in DNA, RNA, and ATP
- Found in membranes
- PO4^3- is a source of phosphorus
Lag phase
Intense activity preparing for population growth but no increase in population yet
Obligate anaerobes
unable to use oxygen and are harmed by it
Organic Growth Factors
- Organic compounds obtained from the environment
- Vitamins, amino acids, purines, and pyrimidines
Selective Media
- Suppress unwanted microbes and encourage desired microbes
- Contain inhibitors to suppress growth
Stationary phase
Period of equilibrium, microbial deaths balance production of new cells
BSL-4
- Sealed, negatibbe pressure; “hot zone”
- Exhaust air is filtered twice through HEPA filters
Maximum growth temperature
Mesophiles
Moderate-temperature-loving
What are the phases of growth?
- Lag phase
- Log phase
- Stationary phase
- Death phase
Thermophiles
Heat-loving organisms
Trace Elements
- Inorganic elements required in small amounts
- Usually as enzyme cofactors
- Include iron, copper, molybdenum, and zinc
Hypertonic environments (higher in solutes than inside the cell) cause ________ due to high osmotic pressure
plasmolysis
Methods of direct measurement
- Plate count
- Filtration
- Direct microscopic count
Optimum growth temperature
Culture medium
nutrients prepared for microbial growth
BSL-1
No special precautions; basic teaching labs
How much time is required for a cell to divide?
20 minutes to 24 hours
Direct Microscopic Count
- Volume of a bacterial suspension placed on a slide
- Average number of bacteria per viewing field is calculated
- Uses a special Petroff-Hausser cell counter
of bacteria/ml = (# cells counted)/(volume area counted)
Metabolic activity
Amount of metabolic product is proportional to the number of bacteria
Inoculum
introduction of microbes into a medium