B.Sc. (Hons.).

Microbiology IInd Year

Paper VIII- MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND METABOLISM
I Growth and Transport

1.Nutritional classification of microorganisms

2.Nutrient uptake : Passive and facilitated diffusion,active transport,secondary active transport,group

translocation.Specific transport systems-ATP linked ion motive pumps,electroneutral and electrogenic
transport.Iron transport.Transporting proteins:preiplasmic binding proteins and porins.

3.Growth. Overview of cell growth : Growth cycles:one step and diauxic growth curve. Primary and
secondary metabolite production during different growth phases.The mathematics of growth:
geometric and arithmetic growth ,calculation of growth rate and generation time. Growth yield.
Continuous culture kinetics, chemostat, turbidostat, synchronous growth.

4. Effect of environment on microbial growth : Osmolarity, water activity, oxygen,pH,

temperature,radiation pressure. Molecular adaptations to psychrophily and thermophily. Stress
responses of extremophiles.Quorum sensing:bioluminescence.Growth limitation by environmental
factors:Liebig’s law of the minimum,Shelford’s law of tolerance.

II C and N Metabolism

1. Central Metabolism : Glycolysis, ED pathway, phosphoketolase pathwayoxidative pentose

phosphate pathway TCA cycle, glyoxalate cycle, gluconeogenesis, regulatory aspects, Pasteur effect
& Harden Young effect.

2. Mitochondrial and bacterial electron transport chain : Aerobic respiration and anaerobic
respiration in sulphate,nitrate and CO2 reducers. Oxidative phosphorylation :mechanism and
hypotheses.

3.Chemolithotrophy-Nitrifying bacteria,iron bacteria,hydrogen bacteria ,sulphur bacteria, carbon

monoxide bacteria .Reverse electron transport.

4. Phototrophy:Photosynthesis, a historical account oxygenic vs. anoxygenic. Mechanism of

photosynthesis in bacteria,cyanobacteria,algae and halobacteria (in detail).

5.Carbon dioxide fixation-Calvin cycle, reductive TCA cycle.Heterotrophic CO2 fixation.

6. Bacterial fermentations: Alcoholic,lactic acid,butyric acid,mixed acid ,2,3-butanediol, propionic

acid and acetic acid fermentations.Fermentation balances,carbon balance,branched vs. linear
fermentation pathways.

7. Nitrogen metabolism:Physiology of nitrogen cycle. Nitrate reduction: assimilatory vs. dissimilatory,

nitrification, denitrification. Biological nitrogen fixation, a survey of nitrogen fixing microorganisms,
symbiotic and free living, detailed account of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in Rhizobium. Mechanism
of nitrogen fixation, properties of nitrogenase, ammonia assimilation. , regulation of nitrogenase
with Klebsiella pneumoniae as a model, alternate nitrogenases and actinorrhiza.
(III) Regulation of metabolism

Regulation of bacterial metabolism:Enzyme induction:coordinate and sequential induction.

Catabolite repression,end product attenuation.Regulation of enzyme activity feedback inhibition
and allosteric control of central pathways.

PRACTICALS

1. Physiology of microbial growth; a prokarytic and a eukaryotic system.

Growth kinetics using solid and liquid media, colony measurement, dry weight method and
turbidometric method
2 . Effect of physiological factors ( physical and chemical) on growth of micro-organisms
pH, temperature, nitrogen and carbon sources.
3. Aerobic and anaerobic respiration in microbes.

SUGGESTED READING

1. Bacterial Metabolism by Gottschalk Gerhard .2nd edition 1986. Springer Verlag. (Springer
series in microbiology)
2. Microbial Physiology by Moat.A.G. and Foster J.W. 4th edition 2002 John Wiley & Sons.
3. General Microbiology by Stanier R.Y., Ingrahm J.l. Wheelis M.L. and Painter P.R. McMillan Press
4. Photosynthesis by Rabinowitch &Gobindjee 1969.John Wiley &sons NY.
5. Photosynthesis by Hill R. &Wittingham C.P. 1955.Methuen &co. London.
6. An introduction to nitrogen fixation by Gallon J.R. and Chaplin A.E.1987.Cassell
Education Ltd.