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Bacterial Physiology

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What is physiology?
• Bacterial physiology is a scientific discipline
that concerns the life-supporting functions and
processes of bacteria, which allow bacterial
cells to grow and reproduce.
• It is the growth, nutrition and metabolism of
bacteria.

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Bacterial nutrition
• Minimal nutritional requirement for growth and multiplication includes
 Water
 Inorganic salts
 Sources of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen
• In addition bacteria require - Sulphur, phosphorus, sodium,
potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese in small amounts.
• Bacterial vitamins essential for fastidious organisms - B12 & B6
(Lactobacillus), Niacin (H. influenza & Brucella), Folic acid
(Enterococcus faecalis), Riboflavin (Bacillus anthracis).

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Classification
BACTERIA

BASED ON NUTRITION

AUTOTROPHS/ LITHOTROPHS HETEROTROPHS

No medical importance Pathogenic bacteria

PHOTOAUTOTROPHS

CHEMOAUTOTROPHS
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Bacterial growth
• Growth is an increase in all the cell
components, which ends in
multiplication of cells leading to an
increase in population.
• It involves an increase in the size of
the cell and an increase in the number
of individual cells.
• Bacteria divide by binary fission.

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Bacterial growth

SEQUENCE OF BACTERIAL CELL

DIVISION - BINARY FISSION

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Generation time
• It is the time required for bacterium to give rise to 2 daughter cells
under optimum condition.
• Time interval between two cell divisions.
• Also called as population doubling.
• Generation time for
 Coli form bacteria like E.coli & other medically important bacteria -
20 minutes
 Mycobacterium tuberculosis - 20 hours
 Mycobacterium leprae - 20 days

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Bacterial growth curve

• When a bacterium is inoculated into a suitable culture medium and
incubated, its growth follows a definite course.
• When bacterial count of such culture is determined at different
intervals and plotted in relation to time, a growth curve is obtained
• It has 4 phases
 Lag phase
 Exponential phase/log phase
 Stationary phase
 Phase of decline
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Bacterial growth curve

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1. LAG PHASE
• Period between inoculation and beginning of multiplication of
bacteria.
• Organism adapt to new environment-synthesize necessary
enzymes and intermediate metabolites for multiplication.
• Increase in the size of bacteria, max size at the end is observed.
2. LOG / LOGARITHMIC / EXPONENTIAL PHASE
• Cell division starts and bacterial number increase exponentially
and are biochemically active, cell size decreases.
• If logarithm of viable count is plotted against time, straight line is
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3. STATIONARY PHASE
• Bacterial growth ceases completely due to exhaustion of nutrients
and accumulation of toxic products.
• Equilibrium exists between dying cells and the newly formed
cells, so number of viable cells remain stationary.
• More storage granules seen
• Sporulation seen
• Gram variable
4. DECLINE PHASE
• There is decline in viable count not total count.
• Bacterial population decreases due to exhaustion of nutrients and
accumulation of toxic products and autolytic enzymes.

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Bacterial count
Growth in numbers can be studied by bacterial counts.
 Total cell count
 Viable cell count
TOTAL COUNT
• Indicates total number of bacteria in the specimen irrespective of
whether they are living or dead, obtained by direct counting or coulter
counter
VIABLE COUNT
• It measures the number of living cells obtained by surface colony count.

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Environmental factors affecting bacterial growth

1. MOISTURE AND DESICCATION
• Moisture is an essential requirement for bacterial growth as 80% of
bacterial cell consists of water hence drying is lethal to cells.
• Drying has varying effects on different organisms
• Some die quickly after drying (e.g. Neisseria gonorrhoea, Treponema
pallidum)
• Some survive drying for several weeks (e.g. Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, Staphylococcus species)
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2. OXYGEN
• On the basis of oxygen requirement bacteria classified into
• A) ANAEROBES – grow in the absence of oxygen or may even die on
exposure to oxygen, e.g. Clostridium, Bacteroides fragilis.
• B) AEROBES –require oxygen for growth, e.g. Pseudomonas
aeruginosa.

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AEROBES

OBLIGATE AEROBES FACULTATIVE AEROBES MICROAEROPHILIC

(grow only in presence of (can grow without oxygen (grow in the presence of
oxygen ) or with oxygen) trace amounts of oxygen)

ANAEROBES

OBLIGATE ANAEROBES FACULTATIVE ANAEROBES AEROTOLERANT ANAEROBE

(grow only in absence of (aerobic but can grow (anaerobic, but tolerates
oxygen ) without oxygen) exposure to oxygen)
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3. CARBONDIOXIDE
• Small amount of CO2 is required for all bacteria.
• Bacteria that requires higher level of carbon dioxide (5-10%) for
growth - Capnophilic bacteria, e.g. Brucella abortus, Streptococcus
pneumonia, Neisseria species etc.
4. pH
• pH range should be optimum
• Neutral / Slightly alkaline pH ( 7.2 – 7.6) – majority of pathogenic
bacteria grow best.
• Some bacteria can grow at acidic and alkaline pH
• e.g. Lactobacilli (acidic pH) and Vibrio (alkaline pH)

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5. TEMPERATURE
• Temperature at which growth occurs best is called optimum
temperature - 37°C for most of the pathogenic bacteria.
Mesophiles
• Between 25°C and 40°C
• e.g. most pathogenic bacteria
Psycrophiles (cold loving)
• Below 20°C
• e.g. soil and water saprophytes, Flavobacterium species.
Thermophiles
• Grow best at high temperature, between 55°C and 80°C
• e.g.. Bacillus stearothermophilus
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6. LIGHT
• Bacteria grow well in darkness.
• Sensitive to uv and other radiations - lethal.
• Photochromogenic Mycobacterium produce pigment only on exposure
to light.

7. MECHANIC AND SONIC STRESS

• Bacteria may be ruptured and disintegrated by vigorous shaking with
glass beads or by exposure to ultrasonic vibrations

8. OSMOTIC EFFECT
• Cell wall gives mechanical strength to withstand osmotic variation

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Expected questions
 5 marks
• Bacterial growth curve
• Bacterial nutrition

 3 marks
• Bacterial count
• Classify bacteria based on temperature requirement
• Classify bacteria based on oxygen requirement
• Generation time ila
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Thank You

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