Microbial Nutrition and Growth

Microbial Nutrition and Growth
Microbial Population Growth

The Study of Microbial Growth
 Growth takes place on two levels

 Cell synthesizes new cell components and increases in size
 The number of cells in the population increases
 The Basis of Population Growth: Binary Fission
Figure 7.13
The Rate of Population Growth
– Generation or doubling time: The time required for a complete fission

cycle
– Each new fission cycle or generation increases the population by a factor
of 2
– As long as the environment is favorable, the doubling effect continues at
a constant rate
– The length of the generation time- a measure of the growth rate of an
organism
• Average generation time- 30 to 60 minutes under optimum
conditions
• Can be as short as 10 to 12 minutes
– This growth pattern is termed exponential
Basic Nutrients for Growth
ATP for cellular processes
Carbon is necessary for the

production of many
macromolecules (proteins, lipids,
and carbohydrates)
Oxygen for metabolism
Nitrogen for amino acid synthesis
Sulfur for vitamins, amino acids,

structural stability of proteins
Phosphorous makes ATP and membranes
Trace elements are used for metabolic reaction in the

cell and cell component stabilization
cobalt Co
potassium K
molybdenumMo
magnesium Mg
manganese Mn
calcium Ca
iron Fe
zinc Zn
Organic growth factors such

as vitamins, amino acids, and
nucleic acids some growth
factors cannot be synthesized
by own cellular processes
Water
water activity
How Microbes Obtain Nutrients
Heterotroph: uses organic

carbon source
Autotroph: uses inorganic

carbon dioxide
Phototroph: uses light as energy

source
Chemotroph: uses chemical

compounds (ie. glucose)
Saprobe
Parasite
Microbial Nutrition Growth Requirements
[INSERT FIGURE 6.1]

Culturing Microorganisms
 Inoculum introduced into medium

(broth or solid)
 Environmental specimens
 Clinical specimens
 Stored specimens
 Culture – refers to act of

cultivating microorganisms or the
microorganisms that are cultivated
[INSERT TABLE 6.3]

 Special Culture Techniques

 Techniques developed for
culturing microorganisms
 Animal and cell culture
 Low-oxygen culture
 Enrichment culture
Media
Chemically defined
Natural
Living
Media
Enriched Media
added nutrient encourages

the growth of microorganisms
Media
Selective Media
Selects form a microorganism

while inhibiting most others
Phenol Ethanol Agar
Deoxycholate Agar
Media
Differential Media
Allow for the differentiation of

microorganisms based on
action that occurs on the media
or a color change within the
media that is based on a pH
change
Mannitol Salt Agar
MacConkey Agar
Media Question
What type of media is

Blood Agar considered?
A. Enriched
B. Selective
C. Differential
The Population Growth Curve
• A population of bacteria does not maintain its potential growth

rate and double endlessly
• A population displays a predictable pattern called a growth curve
• The method to observe the population growth pattern:
– Place a tiny number of cells in a sterile liquid medium
– Incubate this culture over a period of several hours
– Sampling the broth at regular intervals during incubation
– Plating each sample onto solid media
– Counting the number of colonies present after incubation
The Rate of Population Growth
– Generation or doubling time: The time required for a complete fission

cycle
– Each new fission cycle or generation increases the population by a factor
of 2
– As long as the environment is favorable, the doubling effect continues at
a constant rate
– The length of the generation time- a measure of the growth rate of an
organism
• Average generation time- 30 to 60 minutes under optimum
conditions
• Can be as short as 10 to 12 minutes
– This growth pattern is termed exponential
Stages in the Normal Growth Curve
Data from an entire growth period typically

produce a curve with a series of phases
 Lag Phase
 Exponential Growth Phase
 Stationary Growth Phase
 Rapidly Declining Phase
 Death Phase
Lag Phase
• Relatively “flat” period
• Newly inoculated cells require a period of
adjustment, enlargement, and synthesis
• The cells are not yet multiplying at their
maximum rate
• The population of cells is so sparse that the
sampling misses them
• Length of lag period varies from one
population to another
Exponential Growth (Logarithmic or log)
Phase
 When the growth curve increases

geometrically
 Cells reach the maximum rate of cell
division
 Will continue as long as cells have
adequate nutrients and the
environment is favorable
 The number of cells growing greatly
out number the number of cells dying.
Stationary Growth Phase
 The population enters a survival mode in
which cells stop growing or grow slowly
 The rate of cell inhibition or death
balances out the rate of multiplication
 Depleted nutrients and oxygen
 Excretion of organic acids and other
biochemical pollutants into the
growth medium
 The number of cells growing will
equal the amount of cells dying.
 Endospores begin to form in this
phase.
Rapidly Declining Phase
 The curve dips downward

 Cells begin to die at an exponential
rate
 The amount of cells dying out
numbers the amount of cells growing.
 The dead cells become nutrients for
the growing cells.
Death Phase
 The curve continues to dips

downward
 Most cellular activity stops
 Endospores are formed and released
from the parent cells.
Phases of Growth
Basic phases of growth:
1. Lag phase: new growth medium,

period of delay while cells prepare to
divide
2. Log phase (exponential growth phase):

cellular reproduction most active
during this period, generation time
reaches a constant minimum
3. Stationary phase: state of equilibrium

where number of cell deaths equals
number of cell divisions
Phases of Growth
Basic phases of growth:
4. Rapidly Declining Phase: cells

die logarithmically, endospores
formed
5. Death phase: number of deaths

exceeds number of new cells
Potential Importance of the Growth Curve
• Implications in microbial control, infection, food microbiology,

and culture technology
• Growth patterns in microorganisms can account for the stages of

infection
• Understanding the stages of cell growth is crucial for working with

cultures
• In some applications, closed batch culturing is inefficient, and

instead, must use a chemostat or continuous culture system
Graphing Bacterial Growth
• The data from growing bacterial populations are graphed by

plotting the number of cells as a function of time
– If plotted logarithmically- a straight line
– If plotted arithmetically- a constantly curved slope
• To calculate thesize of a population over time: Nf = (Ni)2g

– Nf is the total number of cells in the population at some point
in the growth phase
– Ni is the starting number
– g denotes the generation number
Population Equation
Nf = Ni (2)g

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Microbial Nutrition and Growth

Microbial Population Growth

 Growth takes place on two levels

– Generation or doubling time: The time required for a complete fission

ATP for cellular processes

Carbon is necessary for the

Oxygen for metabolism

Nitrogen for amino acid synthesis

Sulfur for vitamins, amino acids,

Trace elements are used for metabolic reaction in the

Organic growth factors such

Heterotroph: uses organic

Autotroph: uses inorganic

Phototroph: uses light as energy

Chemotroph: uses chemical

[INSERT FIGURE 6.1]

 Inoculum introduced into medium

 Culture – refers to act of

[INSERT TABLE 6.3]

 Special Culture Techniques

added nutrient encourages

Selects form a microorganism

Phenol Ethanol Agar

Allow for the differentiation of

Mannitol Salt Agar

What type of media is

• A population of bacteria does not maintain its potential growth

– Generation or doubling time: The time required for a complete fission

Data from an entire growth period typically

 When the growth curve increases

 The curve dips downward

 The curve continues to dips

1. Lag phase: new growth medium,

2. Log phase (exponential growth phase):

3. Stationary phase: state of equilibrium

Basic phases of growth:

4. Rapidly Declining Phase: cells

5. Death phase: number of deaths

• Implications in microbial control, infection, food microbiology,

• Growth patterns in microorganisms can account for the stages of

• Understanding the stages of cell growth is crucial for working with

• In some applications, closed batch culturing is inefficient, and

• The data from growing bacterial populations are graphed by

• To calculate thesize of a population over time: Nf = (Ni)2g

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