Part 4: Microbial Growth Flashcards
What is binary fission?
The splitting of a cell into two separate cells.
What is the most usual type of microbial growth?
Binary fission.
During binary fission, how many cells exist after ānā generations?
2^n
What are the 4 phases of microbial growth?
Lag phase
Exponential phase
Stationary phase
Death phase
Why do batch cultures not represent true natural conditions?
In nature there is no unlimited supply of nutrients and substrate.
What is a continuous culture?
A culture whereby the amount of culture added is the same as that removed, creating more natural conditions.
In which two fields is continuous culture highly important?
1) Biotechnology
2) Wastewater treatment
What two substances are added to a continuous culture and what sunstance is removed?
Added: fresh substrate and sterile gas
Removed - excess medium containing waste products.
What is the difference between growth yield and growth rate?
Rate is the amount of biomass produced per unit substrate. Yield is the total amount of biomass produced.
How does substrate concentration affect growth rate and growth yield?
As substrate concentration increases growth rate initially increases exponentially, but then becomes constant (maximum) when [S] is very high. However, yield continues to increase since more biomass is being produced.
