Microbial Growth Flashcards
physical requirements that affect growth
temperature and pH
chemical requirements that affect growth
C, N, S, P, O; trace elements, organic growth factors
psychrophiles
0-20C
mesophiles
15-45C
thermophiles
40-80C
hyperthermophiles
65-121
extreme/obligate halophiles
require high osmotic pressure
facultative halophiles
tolerate high osmotic pressure
obligate aerobe
requires oxygen for growth
facultative anaerobe
can grow in the presence of oxygen, can grow by fermentation or anaerobic respiration in the absence of oxygen
obligate anaerobe
cannot grow in the presence of O
aerobic respiration
the final electron acceptor in the ETC is oxygen
culture medium
nutrients prepared for microbial growth
sterile
no living microbes
inoculum
introduction of microbes into medium
culture
microbes growing in/on culture medium
chemically defined media
exact chemical composition is known
complex media
extracts and digests of meat, yeasts, or plants
capnophiles
organisms that require high CO2 conditions (similar to intestinal tract)
differential media
makes it easier to distinguish colonies of different microbes
selective media
suppress unwanted microbes and encourage desired microbes
generation time
the time it takes for a population to double in number
Mathematical formula to calculate number of microbes (binary fission):
Nt = No x 2^n
Where Nt is the final cell number, No is the original cell number, and n is the number of generations
generation time of E coli:
20-30 minutes
batch culture
a liquid media within a closed system
Exponential growth never lasts __________.
indefinitely
chemostat
ensures logarithmic growth by constantly adding and removing equal amounts of culture media
What is similar to a chemostat?
human gastrointestinal tract
3 Ways to measure microbial growth?
Direct count, Viable cell count/plate count, Mass measurements (turbidity)
direct count
microbes can be counted directly by placing dilutions on a special microscope slide, called a Petroff-Hausser counting chamber
Mass measurement (turbidity)
light scattering is proportional to cell mass
Turbidimetric measurements (4)
- optical density
- light scattering ability of microbial cultures
- depends on organism and culture conditions
- should be calibrated for the above criteria