Module 03 - Microbial Growth and Genetics Flashcards
microbial growth
refers to an increase in number of cells rather than an increase of cell size
binary fission
most common mechanism of cell replication in bacteria
- before dividing, the cell grows and increases its number of cellular components
- replication of DNA as the cell elongates
generation time
(doubling time) the time it takes for the population to double through one round of binary fission, can vary
example of generation time
E. coli can double in 20 mins in the lab, but in harsh environements it might take several days to double
growth curve
microorganisms grown in closed culture (batch culture) in which no nutriens are added and most waste isnt removed, follow a reproducible growth pattern
- infections in the body dont always follow the growth curve
lag phase (1)
no increase in number of living bacterial cells, small number of cells called inoculum, that are added ot a fresh culture medium, a nutritional broth that supports growth, cells are gearing up to go into next phase of growth, cell grow larger and are metabolically active, repairs happen in this phase, if cells where damages/shocked
log phase (2)
exponential increase in number of living bacterial cells (logarithmic phase) , cells are actively dividing by binary fission and numbers increase exponentially, cells have a constant growth rate and uniform metabolic activity , bacteria are most susceptible to action of disinfectants and common antibiotics that affect protein, DNA and cell wall synthesis
stationary phase (3)
plateau in number of living batcerial cells; rate of cell division and death roughly equal, waste products accumulate and nutrients are gradually used
decline (death) phase (4)
exponential decrease in number of living bacterial cells, number of dying cells exceeds the number of diving cells
- cells lyse and release nutrient to medium, allowing surviving cells to maintain viability and form endospores
direct methods of quantifying microbial growth
counting of number of bacteria, by counting colonies after growth in nutrient medium, or counting stained cells microscopically
indirect method of quantifying microbial growth
estimate culture density by measuring turbidity of culture/live cell density by measuring metabolic activity, another technique is electronic cell counting device to detect and count the changes in electrical resistance in a saline solution
biofilm
complex and dynamic ecosystems that form a variety of environmental surfaces, from industrial conduits and water treatment pipelines to rock in river beds
obligate anaerobe
microorganisms that are killed by normal concentrations of oxygen
aerotolerant anaerobe
are indifferent to the presence of oxygen, they dont use oxygen because they usually have a fermentative metabolism, arent harmed in the presence of oxygen
microaerophiles
bacteria that require a minimum level of oxygen for growth, about 1%-10%, well below 21% found in the atmosphere
obligate aerobe
bacteria that cant grow without an abundant supply of oxygen
facultative anaerobes
heavy growth at the top of a test tube and growth throughout the tube, organisms that thrive in the presence of oxygen but also grow in the absence of oxygen by relying on fermentation/anaerobic respiration, if there is a suitable electron acceptor other than oxygen and the organism is able to perform anaerobic respiration
optimum oxygen concentration
ideal concentration of oxygen for a particular microorganism
minimum permissive oxygen concentration
lowest concentration of oxygen that allows growth
maximum permissive oxygen concentration
highest tolerated concentration of oxygen
- organisms will not grow outside the range of oxygen levels found between the min and max permissive oxygen concentration
neutrophile
(most bacteria) they grow optimally at a pH within one or two pH units of the neutral pH of 7
examples of neutrophiles
E. coli, Staphylococci, and Salmonella
acidophile
microorganisms that grow optimally at pH less than 5.55
examples of acidophiles
sulfur oxidizing Sulfolobus spp.
alkaliphiles
microorganisms that grow best at pH between 8.0 - 10.5
- they adapt to harsh environments through evolutionary modifications of lipid and protein structure, and mechanisms to maintain the proton motive force in an alkaline environment
optimum growth pH
most favourable pH for growth of an organism
minimum growth pH
lowest pH value that an organism can tolerate
maximum growth pH
highest pH
optimum growth temp
growth rates at their highest for the organism
minimum growth temp
lowest temp at which an organism can survive and replicate
maximum growth temp
highest temp at which an organism can occur
psyotrophs
(psychrotolerant) prefer cooler environments from a high temp of 25 degrees to refrigeration temp of 4 degrees
mesophiles
(“middle loving”) are adapted to moderate temps, with optimal growth temps ranging from room temp (20 degrees) to about 45 degrees
- human body temp is 37, normal human microbiota and pathogens
thermophiles
organisms that grow at optimum temps of 50 degrees to a max of 60 degrees (“heat loving”)
- they are disrupted in hot springs, geothermal soils and man-made environements, such as garden compost piles
hyperthermophiles
(higher extreme temps) characterized by growth ranges from 80 degrees to a max of 110, with some extreme examples that survive temps about 121
examples of physiological adaptations to temperature extremes
- membranes lose their fluidity and are damaged by ice crystal formation
- heat denatures proteins and nucleic acids
- proteins in psychrophiles are rich in hydrophobic residues, displaying an increase in flexbility
- antifreeze proteins and solutes that decrease the freezing temps of the cytoplasm are common
halophiles
(“salt loving”) microorganisms that require high salt concentration for growth
- found in marine environments, salt concentration hover at 3.5%
halotolerant
dont need high concentration of salt for growth, they survive and divide in the presence of high salt
- cause of foodborne illnesses because they survive and multiply in salty foods
barophiles
microorganisms that require high atmospheric pressure for growth
- bacteria that live at the bottom of the ocean must be able to withstand great pressures
photoautotrophs/photoheterotrophs
(green sulfur bacteria/ purple sulfur bacteria) depend on sufficient light intensity at the wavelengths absorbed by their pigments to grow and multiply
enriched media
contains growth factors, vitamins, other essential nutrients to promote the growth of fastidious organisms, organisms that cannot make certain nutrients and require them to be added to the medium
chemically defined media
complete chemical composition of a medium is known
- ex. in EZ medium, all individual chemical components are identified and the exact amounts of each is known
selective media
media that inhibit growth of unwanted microorganisms and support the growth of the organism of interest by supplying nutrients and reducing competition
differential media
makes it each to distinguish colonies of different bacteria by a change in colour of the colonies/colour of medium
base sequence
each nucleic acid strand contains certain nucleotides that appear in certain order within a strand
DNA strand
responsible for carrying and retaining the hereditary information in a cell
deoxyribonucleotide
nucleotide that compose DNA, 3 components are a five-carbon sugar called deoxyribose, phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base