MICROBIAL GROWTH

REQUIREMENTS

Bio 127 Lecture 4

THE BACTERIAL CYTOPLASM
 Mostly water
 Large proportion of
protein
 97% of dry weight is
organic matter
 96% of bacterial cell
is composed of
 C, H, N, O, P and S
MICROBIAL NUTRITION

 Nutrition = Obtaining Required

Substances from the Environment
 Essential Nutrients Must be
Provided for an Organism to Survive
and Reproduce
 Nutrients
• Inorganic nutrients– atoms, ions or molecules
that contains a combination of atoms other
than carbon and hydrogen
– metals and their salts (magnesium sulfate, ferric
nitrate, sodium phosphate), gases (oxygen, carbon
dioxide) and water
• Organic nutrients- contain carbon bonded to
hydrogen and are usually the products of
living things
– methane (CH4), carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and
nucleic acids
MACRONUTRIENTS
Principal roles in cell structure and metabolism
MICRONUTRIENTS

Elements needed in trace quantities

Co, Cu, Mn, Zn, V
Enzymes
tap water
Growth factors
Organic compounds
Vitamins
SOURCES OF ESSENTIAL
NUTRIENTS

 Carbon – obtain in organic form, or reduce

CO2
 Nitrogen – Fix N2 or obtain as NO3-- NO2-, or
NH3
 Oxygen – Atmospheric or dissolved in water
 Hydrogen – Minerals, water, organic
compounds
 Phosphorous – Mineral deposits

 Sulfur – Minerals, H2S

 Metal Ions - Minerals

MINERAL NUTRIENTS IMPORTANT IN
MICROBIAL METABOLISM

 Potassium – essential to protein synthesis and

membrane function
 Sodium – used in some types of cell transport
 Calcium – cell wall and endospore stabilizer
 Magnesium – component of chlorophyll;
membrane and ribosome stabilizer
 Iron – component of proteins of cellular
respiration
 Zinc, copper, nickel, manganese, etc.
 TRANSPORT OF NUTRIENTS INTO THE
CELL
 Nutrients are obtained
from the environment
 Many of the nutrients
are polar
 Cannot diffuse across
the cell membrane
 Proteins embedded in
the membrane
 Transport against a
concentration gradient
- active transport
NUTRITIONAL TYPES
 Autotrophs - use CO2, an inorganic
gas as carbon source

 Heterotrophs- obtain carbon in an

organic form made by other living
organisms
AUTOTROPHS – “SELF-FEEDING”
 Phototrophs use light energy to
reduce carbon or make ATP
 Chemotrophs use energy stored in
inorganic chemical bonds to reduce
carbon or make ATP

HETEROTROPHS
 Obtainreduced carbon compounds
made by another organism
 Chemoheterotrophs – oxidize
reduced carbon to make ATP
NUTRIENTS IN CULTURE MEDIA
 MICROBIAL GROWTH
 Generation Time
 The time it takes one
cell to undergo binary
fission or to divide into
two cells.

 Exponential
Growth
 Occurs during a
rapidly multiplying
bacterial population.
 Occurs when each cell
gives rise to 2 cells,
each of which divides
into 2 more, yielding
a total of 4, and so on.
BACTERIAL GROWTH CURVE:

A= Lag phase C= Stationary phase

B= Log phase D= Death Phase
Assignment: explain what is occurring during each
phase.
INFLUENCES ON MICROBIAL GROWTH

Environmental: temperature, pH, Osmotic conditions

 Temperature

 Oxygen requirements

 pH

 Barometric pressure

Chemical: Proper concentrations of C, H, O, N, P, S,

some trace elements, and some organic cofactors
TEMPERATURE ADAPTATION GROUPS
1. Psychrophiles – optimum temperature
below 15oC, capable of growth at 0oC
2. Mesophiles – optimum temperature 20o-
40oC, most human pathogens
3. Thermophiles – optimum temperature
greater than 45oC
OXYGEN:
Obligate aerobes: require molecular oxygen (as fina electron
acceptor in catabolism); most produce toxic
by-products; these species have efficient de-
tox enzymes
Pseudomonas spp.
Obligate anaerobes: require atmosphere with no O2 an organic
molecule is the final electron acceptor in
catabolism (like a fermentation pathway)
Clostrida
Facultative anaerobes: grow with or without O2,
usually are also fermenters,
E. coli
Microaerophile: grow best in lower oxygen and higher
carbon dioxide

Assignment: Aerotolerant anaerobes and Capnophiles?

 pH EFFECTS ON GROWTH
Acidophiles require low pH
Alkalinophiles require high pH

 Most microbes exist under hypotonic or isotonic

conditions
 Halophiles – require a high concentration of salt

 Osmotolerant – do not require high

concentration of solute but can tolerate it when
it occurs
MISCELLANEOUS
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

 Barophiles require high environmental

pressure (deep sea Archaea)
 Dehydrated Cell Stages – Spores

 Extreme radiation conditions

MICROBIAL REPRODUCTION