microbial growth Flashcards
What is an exception to chromosome shaped bacteria
borrelia burgorferi (Lyme disease) is linear
What is the most common mechanism for replication for bacteria
Binary fission
What are the steps of binary fission
cell grows and increases size and cellular components
DNA replication
formation of division septum
cell separation
Where does DNA replication begin during binary fission
on the origin of replication where the chromosome is attached to the inner cell membrane moving in opposite directions
where does DNA replication end during binary fission
the terminus
how many daughter cells at the end of binary fission
2
what directs cytokinesis and cell division
protein FtsZ
what does FtsZ assemble into
a Z ring on the cytoplasmic membrane
What anchors the Z ring
FtsZ binding proteins
what does the Z ring define
the division plane between the two daughter cells
what happens when addition proteins are added to the Z ring
it forms the divisome
what does the divisome do
activates to produce a peptidoglycan cell wall and build a septum that divides the two daughter cells
what is the generation time in eukaryotes
time between the same points of life in two successive generations
what is another name for generation time in prokaryotes
doubling time
what is the generation time in prokaryotes
the time it takes for the population to double through one round of binary fission
what is the generation time of E. coli.
20 minutes
what is the generation time of tuberculosis
15-20 hours
what is the generation time of M. leprae
14 days
What is a closed culture
a culture where no nutrients are added and no waste is removed
what is an example of a closed culture in nature
a pond
what is culture density
the number of cells per unit volume
in a closed culture it is also the number of cells in a population
what are the phases of the growth curve
lag phase
log phase
stationary phase
death or decline phase
what is the lag phase
no increase in number of living bacterial cells
what is the lag phase
exponential increase in number of living bacterial cells
what is the stationary phase
plateau in number of living bacterial cell, rate of cell death and division are roughly equal
what is the death phase
exponential decrease in number of living bacterial cells
what happens to cells during the Lag phase
they grow larger, are metabolically active, synthesize proteins to grow. repair if damaged during transfer to medium
what do cells do during the log phase
they divide by binary fission
what is the intrinsic growth rate
generation time under specific growth conditions that are genetically determined
what are cells in the log phase used for
industrial purpose due to constant growth and uniform metabolic activity
when are bacteria most susceptible to disinfectants and antibiotics
the log phase
what factors contribute to a slowing growth rate
accumulation of waste products
used up nutrients
depletion of oxygen
what happens to cells in the stationary phase
synthesis of peptidoglycan, proteins, and nucleic acids slows, sporulation in bacteria that create endospores
what stage are antibiotics synthesized in
stationary phase
what cells are persisters in the death phase
those with a slow metabolic rate.
what makes persisters important
they are associated with certain chronic infections such as TB, that do not respond to abx treatment.
what is an industry that keeps bacteria in a log phase
microbial production
what is a chemostat used for
to maintain a continuous culture where nutrients are supplied at a steady rate, a controlled amount of air is added and bacterial suspension is removed at the same rate as nutrients flow in to maintain an optimal growth environment
what does bacterial count indicate
the extent of an infection
what is the direct cell count method
counting cells in a liquid culture or colonies on a plate
what is the direct microscopic cell count
transferring a known volume of a culture to a calibrated slide and counting cells under a microscope (simplest way)
what is a petrol-hausser chamber
the calibrated slide used in direct microscopic cell count
what is the advantage of a petrol-hausser chamber
its easy to use
relatively fast
inexpensive
does not work well with dilute cultures because their mayn’t be enough cells to count
what are the cons of a chamber
does not necessarily yield an accurate count of live cells
can’t tell difference between living and dead cells
what does a Coulter counter do
detects the changes in electrical resistance in a saline solution. as a cell passes by the change in resistance is measured and the cell ocunged
what if a sample in Coulter counter is too dense
more than one cell may pass by at one time and not be counted properly skewing results,
does Coulter counter distinguish between live and dead cells
no
what is a plate count
counting colony forming units after incubation
what are the cons of a plate count
more than one cell may give rise to a colony
those that grow in clusters or chains are hard to disperse, a single colony may be many cells
some cells are viable but nonculturable
how many colonies on a typical plate
30-300
what happens if there are less than 30 colonies
it is not statistically reliable
what happens with colonies over 300
overcrowding making it difficult to count
how is a serial dilution made
1ml of culture is added to 9ml of sterile broththe process is continued until until the desired concentration is reached
what happens after dilution is complete
from each tube a sample is plated using pour plate method spread plate method and incubated until colonies appear
how many plates made for each dilution
2-3
What are the steps of the pour plate method
bacterial sample is mixed with agar
sample is our onto sterile plate
sample is swirled Tomis and allowed to solidify
plate is incubated
what are the steps of the spread plate method
sample is poured onto a solid medium
spread sample evenly over the surface
plate incubated until colonies grow
what is the membrane filtration technique
a modified plate count technique that concentrates a sample rather than diluting.
how does membrane filtration technique work
known volumes are vacuum filtered aseptically through membrane with a pore small enough to trap organisms and then transferred to a petri plate
how is calculation of cell density made from membrane filtration technique
dividing the cell count by volume of filtered liquid
What is most probable number
a statistical procedure for estimating the number of viable microorganisms in a sample
what is the best method for counting bacteria in water
membrane filtration technique
what is the most probable number method used for
water and food sampels
what does the MPN method evaluate
detectable growth by observing changes in turbidity or color due to metabolic activity
what is a typical application of MPN method
estimating coliforms in pond water
what are coliforms
gram-negative rod bacteria that ferment lactose
what is the presence of coliforms a sign of
contamination by fecal matter
how does the MPN method work with pond water
three dilutions of water is tested by inoculating five lactose broth tubes with 10ml of sample, 5 lactose broth tubes of 1ml and 5 lactose broth tubes of 0.1ml of sample with a ph indicator in the tube
what color on the ph indicator indicates fermentation
yellow
what do indirect cell counting methods use to estimate number
cell density
what is the most common indirect cell count
measuring turbidity
what is turbidity
cloudiness
what is a spectrophotometer
an instrument used to measure turbidity
what happens to turbidity as bacterial cell count increases
turbidity increases and less light can reach the detector
what is measuring the dry weight of a sample
another indirect method of evaluating culture density
what must happen before a dry weight of a sample is taken
the sample must be concentrated, washed and dried
what is the dry weight method good for
filamentous microorganisms
what is fragmentation
when many nucleotides accumulate in an enlarge round cell or along a filament and many new cels split from the parent filament and float away
what is a bacteria that does fragmentation
cyanobacteria and actinomycetes
describe actinomycetes
gram-positive, anaerobic bacteria found in soil.
what is budding
, a form of reproduction of where an organism forms a long narrow extension whose tip swells and forms a smaller cell that detaches.
where does budding occur
most commonly in yeast but in some posthecate bacteria and cyanobacteria
what are biofilms
ecosystems that form on a variety of surfaces in a liquid environment
what are filamentous biofilms called
streamers
where do filamentous biofilms form
in rapidly flowing water such as streams eddies and specially designed laboratories
how are streamers anchored to the substrate
by a head while the tail floats down stream
what shape do biofilms take in slow moving water
a mushroom-like shape
what is the extracellular matrix in a biofilm made of
extracellular polymeric substances secreted by the organisms of the biofilm
what percent of the biofilm is extracellular matrix
50-90 percent of the total dry mass
what is EPS
a hydrated gel composed of polysaccharides and other macromolecules
what does EPS do
maintains integrity and function of the biofilm
what are planktonic cells
free-floating microbial cells in an aquatic environment
how is a biofilm formed
a plankton cell attaches to as substrate
first colonizers become irreversibly attached
growth and cell division
production of EPS and formation of water channels
attachment of secondary colonizers and dispersion of microbes to new sites
what is an example of a metabolic collaboration in a biofilm
aerobic microorganisms consume oxygen, creating anaerobic regions to promote growth of anaerobes
what is the mechanisms where cells in a biofilm coordinate their activities
quorum sensing