Microbial Nutrition, Growth, and Control

To obtain energy and construct new cellular components,

organisms must have a supply of raw materials or nutrients.
Nutrients are substances used in biosynthesis and energy
production and therefore are required for microbial growth.
Environmental factors such as temperature, oxygen levels,
and the osmotic concentration of the medium are critical in the
successful cultivation of microorganisms.
Analysis of microbial cell composition shows that over 95% of
cell dry weight is made up of a few major elements: carbon,
oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, potassium,
calcium, magnesium,and iron.
These are called macroelements or macronutrients because they
are required by microorganisms in relatively large amounts.
The first six (C, O, H, N, S, and P) are components of
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
The remaining four macroelements exist in the cell as cations and
play a variety of roles.
 For example,
• potassium (K) is required for activity by a number of enzymes,
including some of those involved in protein synthesis.
• Calcium(Ca2), among other functions, contributes to the heat
resistance of bacterial endospores.
• Magnesium (Mg2) serves as a cofactor for many enzymes,
complexes with ATP, and stabilizes ribosomes and cell membranes.
• Iron (Fe2 and Fe3) is a part of cytochromes and a cofactor for
enzymes and electron-carrying proteins.
All organisms, including microorganisms, require several
micronutrients or trace elements besides macroelements.
The micronutrients—manganese, zinc, cobalt, molybdenum,
nickel, and copper—are needed by most cells .
Micronutrients are normally a part of enzymes and cofactors,
and they aid in the catalysis of reactions and maintenance of
protein structure.
For example,
 zinc (Zn2) is present at the active site of some enzymes but is
also involved in the association of regulatory and catalytic
subunits in E. coli aspartate carbamoyltransferase .
Manganese (Mn2) aids many enzymes catalyzing the transfer of

phosphate groups.
Molybdenum (Mo2) is required for nitrogen fixation,
and cobalt (Co2) is a component of vitamin B12.
The requirements for carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen often are
satisfied together. Carbon is needed for the skeleton or backbone
of all organic molecules, and molecules serving as carbon
sources.
Microorganisms can be grouped into nutritional classes based
on their ability to gain energy from certain sources and the
manner in which they satisfy their carbon and nitrogen
requirements for growth: (table .1)

Microorganisms can be classified as either (1) heterotrophs or

(2) autotrophs with respect to their preferred source of carbon.

There are only two sources of energy available to organisms: (1)

Phototrophs use light as their energy source, and (2)
chemotrophs
obtain energy from the oxidation of chemical compounds (either
organic or inorganic).

 Microorganisms also have only two sources for electrons. (1)

Lithotrophs (i.e., “rock-eaters”) use reduced inorganic
substances as their electron source, whereas (2) organotrophs
 Table 1. Sources of Carbon, Energy, and Electrons

Carbon Sources
CO2 sole or principal biosynthetic carbon source Autotrophs

Reduced, preformed, organic molecules from Heterotrophs

other organisms

Energy Sources
Light Phototrophs
Oxidation of organic or inorganic compounds Chemotrophs

Electron Sources
Reduced inorganic molecules Lithotrophs
Organic molecules Organotrophs
 Despite the great metabolic diversity seen in microorganisms,
most may be placed in one of four nutritional classes based on
their primary sources of carbon, energy, and electrons (table 2).
 Table 2. Major Nutritional Types of Microorganisms

Representative Sources of Energy, Major Nutritional Types

Microorganisms Hydrogen/Electrons, and
Carbon

Algae Light energy Photolithotrophic autotrophy

Purple and green sulfur Inorganic hydrogen/electron (Photolithoautotrophy)
bacteria (H/e–) donor
Cyanobacteria CO2 carbon source
Purple nonsulfur bacteria Light energy Photoorganotrophic
Green nonsulfur bacteria Organic H/e– donor heterotrophy
Organic carbon source (Photoorganoheterotrophy)
(CO2 may also be used)
Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria Chemical energy source Chemolithotrophic
Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (inorganic:iron, nitrogen,or sulfur) Autotrophy
Nitrifying bacteria Inorganic H/e– donor )Chemolithoautotrophy
Iron-oxidizing bacteria CO2 carbon source

Protozoa,Fungi Chemical energy source Chemoorganotrophic

Most nonphotosynthetic (organic) heterotrophy
bacteria (including most Organic H/e– donor )Chemoorganoheterotrophy(
pathogens) Organic carbon source
Although a particular species usually belongs in only one of
the four nutritional classes, some show great metabolic flexibility
and alter their metabolic patterns in response to environmental
changes.
 For example, many purple nonsulfur bacteria act as
photoorganotrophic heterotrophs in the absence of oxygen but
oxidize organic molecules and function chemotrophically at
normal oxygen levels. When oxygen is low, photosynthesis and
oxidative metabolism may function simultaneously.
Another example is provided by bacteria such as Beggiatoa
that depend on inorganic energy sources and organic
(or sometimes CO2) carbon sources. These microbes are
sometimes called mixotrophic because they combine
chemolithoautotrophic and heterotrophic metabolic processes.
 Requirements for Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur

 To grow, a microorganism must be able to incorporate large

quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.

 Nitrogen is needed for the synthesis of amino acids, purines,

pyrimidines, some carbohydrates and lipids, enzyme cofactors,
and other substances.

 Phosphorus is present in nucleic acids, phospholipids, nucleotides lik

ATP, several cofactors, some proteins, and other cell components.

 Sulfur is needed for the synthesis of substances like the amino acids
cysteine and methionine, some carbohydrates, biotin, and thiamine.
Most microorganisms use sulfate as a source of sulfur and reduce it
 Growth Factors
 Microorganisms often grow and reproduce when minerals and
sources of energy, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur are
supplied.
 Many microorganisms lack one or more essential enzymes.
Therefore they cannot manufacture some organic compounds
required because they are essential cell components or
precursors of such components are called growth factors.
 There are three major classes of growth factors: (1) amino

acids, (2) purines and pyrimidines, and (3) vitamins.

 Amino acids are needed for protein synthesis, purines and
pyrimidines for nucleic acid synthesis.
 Vitamins are small organic molecules that usually make up all
or part of enzyme cofactors . table 5.3.
 Table 5.3 Functions of Some Common Vitamins in Microorganisms
Examples of
Microorganisms
Requiring Vitamina
Leuconostoc
mesenteroides
.Lactobacillus spp
Enterococcus faecalis
Lactobacillus casei
Proteus morganii
.Lactobacillus spp
,Brucella abortus
Haemophilus influenzae
Caulobacter vibrioides
Bacillus anthracis
Functions Vitamin
Carboxylation (CO2 fixation) Biotin
Molecular rearrangements Cyanocobalamin (B12)
Carbon metabolism Folic acid
Transfer of acyl groups Lipoic acid
Precursor of coenzyme A—carries acyl Pantothenic acid
groups
Amino acid metabolism (e.g., Pyridoxine (B6)
transamination)
Precursor of NAD and NADP—carry Niacin (nicotinic acid)
electrons
Precursor of FAD and FMN—carry Riboflavin (B2)
electrons
Aldehyde group transfer Thiamine (B1)

NAD; nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide . flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) . flavin mononucleotide (FMN)
 The Growth Curve
Growth may be defined as an increase in cellular constituents. It
leads to a rise in cell number when microorganisms reproduce
by processes like budding or binary fission.
When microorganisms are introduced into fresh culture
medium, usually no immediate increase in cell number occurs.
This is the period of adaptation, called the lag phase.
Following the lag phase, microorganisms are growing and
dividing at the maximal rate possible given their genetic potential,
the nature of the medium, and the conditions under which they
are growing. the rate of growth of the organism steadily increases,
for a certain period--this period is the log or exponential phase.
After a certain time of exponential phase, the rate of growth
slows down, due to the continuously falling concentrations of
nutrients and/or a continuously increasing (accumulating)
concentrations of toxic substances. This phase, where the increase
of the rate of growth is checked, is the deceleration phase.
After the deceleration phase, growth ceases and the culture
enters a stationary phase or a steady state. Entry into this phase
can result from several events:-
 Consumed of essential nutrients, accumulation of toxic waste
products, depletion of oxygen, or development of an
unfavorable pH

Eventually, detrimental environmental changes like nutrient

deprivation and the produce of toxic wastes lead to the decline
in the number of viable cells the death of organisms in the
population results in a decline in the viable population and the
death phase .
 The Mathematics of Growth
constant intervals. Thus the population will double in number
during a specific length of time called the generation time or
doubling time.
This situation can be illustrated with a simple example.
Suppose that a culture tube is inoculated with one cell that divides
every 20 minutes (table 4 ). The population will be 2 cells after 20
minutes, 4 cells after 40 minutes, and so forth. Because the population
is doubling every generation, the increase in population is always 2n
where n is the number of generations. The resulting population
increase is exponential or logarithmic