Transcript Microbiology

Microbial Growth
 Increase in number of cells, not cell size
 Populations
 Colonies
The Requirements for Growth
 Physical requirements
 Temperature
 pH
 Osmotic pressure
 Chemical requirements
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Carbon
Nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorous
Trace elements
Oxygen
Organic growth factor
Psychrotrophs
 Grow between 0°C and 20–30°C
 Cause food spoilage
Figure 6.2 Food preservation temperatures.
Temperatures in this range destroy most microbes,
although lower temperatures take more time.
Very slow bacterial growth.
Danger zone
Rapid growth of bacteria; some may produce toxins.
Many bacteria survive; some may grow.
Refrigerator temperatures; may allow slow growth
of spoilage bacteria, very few pathogens.
No significant growth below freezing.
pH
 Most bacteria grow between pH 6.5 and 7.5
 Molds and yeasts grow between pH 5 and 6
 Acidophiles grow in acidic environments
Osmotic Pressure
 Hypertonic environments, or an increase in salt or
sugar, cause plasmolysis
 Extreme or obligate halophiles require high
osmotic pressure
 Facultative halophiles tolerate high osmotic
pressure
Figure 6.4 Plasmolysis.
Plasma
membrane
Cell wall
Plasma
membrane
H2O
Cytoplasm
NaCl 0.85%
Cell in isotonic solution.
Cytoplasm
NaCl 10%
Plasmolyzed cell in hypertonic
solution.
Chemical Requirements
 Carbon
 Structural organic molecules, energy source
 Chemoheterotrophs use organic carbon sources
 Autotrophs use CO2
Chemical Requirements
 Nitrogen
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In amino acids and proteins
Most bacteria decompose proteins
Some bacteria use NH4+ or NO3–
A few bacteria use N2 in nitrogen fixation
Chemical Requirements
 Sulfur
 In amino acids, thiamine, and biotin
 Most bacteria decompose proteins
 Some bacteria use SO42– or H2S
 Phosphorus
 In DNA, RNA, ATP, and membranes
 PO43– is a source of phosphorus
Chemical Requirements
 Trace elements
 Inorganic elements required in small amounts
 Usually as enzyme cofactors
Table 6.1 The Effect of Oxygen on the Growth of Various Types of Bacteria
Organic Growth Factors
 Organic compounds obtained from the environment
 Vitamins, amino acids, purines, and pyrimidines
Biofilms
 Microbial communities
 Form slime or hydrogels
 Bacteria attracted by chemicals via quorum sensing
Figure 6.5 Biofilms.
Clumps of bacteria
adhering to surface
Surface
Water currents
Migrating
clump of
bacteria
Biofilms
 Share nutrients
 Sheltered from harmful factors
Applications of Microbiology 3.2 Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm.
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Biofilms
 Patients with indwelling catheters received
contaminated heparin
 Bacterial numbers in contaminated heparin were too
low to cause infection
 84–421 days after exposure, patients developed
infections
Culture Media
 Culture medium: nutrients prepared for microbial
growth
 Sterile: no living microbes
 Inoculum: introduction of microbes into medium
 Culture: microbes growing in/on culture medium
Agar
 Complex polysaccharide
 Used as solidifying agent for culture media in Petri
plates, slants, and deeps
 Generally not metabolized by microbes
 Liquefies at 100°C
 Solidifies at ~40°C
Culture Media
 Chemically defined media: exact chemical
composition is known
 Complex media: extracts and digests of yeasts,
meat, or plants
 Nutrient broth
 Nutrient agar
Table 6.2 A Chemically Defined Medium for Growing a Typical Chemoheterotroph, Such as Escherichia
coli
Table 6.3 Defined Culture Medium for Leuconostoc mesenteroides
Table 6.4 Composition of Nutrient Agar, a Complex Medium for the Growth of Heterotrophic Bacteria
Anaerobic Culture Methods
 Reducing media
 Contain chemicals (thioglycolate or oxyrase) that
combine O2
 Heated to drive off O2
Figure 6.6 A jar for cultivating anaerobic bacteria on Petri plates.
Lid with
O-ring gasket
Clamp with
clamp screw
Envelope containing
sodium bicarbonate
and sodium
borohydride
Anaerobic indicator
(methylene blue)
Petri plates
Palladium
catalyst pellets
Figure 6.7 An anaerobic chamber.
Air
lock
Arm
ports
Capnophiles
 Microbes that require high CO2 conditions
 CO2 packet
 Candle jar
Biosafety Levels
 BSL-1: no special precautions
 BSL-2: lab coat, gloves, eye protection
 BSL-3: biosafety cabinets to prevent airborne
transmission
 BSL-4: sealed, negative pressure
 Exhaust air is filtered twice
Figure 6.8 Technicians in a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory.
Differential Media
 Make it easy to distinguish colonies of different
microbes
Figure 6.9 Blood agar, a differential medium containing red blood cells.
Bacterial
colonies
Hemolysis
Selective Media
 Suppress unwanted microbes and encourage
desired microbes
Figure 6.10 Differential medium.
Uninoculated
Staphylococcus
epidermis
Staphylococcus
aureus
Enrichment Culture
 Encourages growth of desired microbe
 Assume a soil sample contains a few
phenol-degrading bacteria and thousands of
other bacteria
 Inoculate phenol-containing culture medium with the soil,
and incubate
 Transfer 1 ml to another flask of the phenol medium, and
incubate
 Transfer 1 ml to another flask of the phenol medium, and
incubate
 Only phenol-metabolizing bacteria will be growing
Obtaining Pure Cultures
 A pure culture contains only one species or strain
 A colony is a population of cells arising from a
single cell or spore or from a group of attached cells
 A colony is often called a colony-forming unit
(CFU)
 The streak plate method is used to isolate pure
cultures
Figure 6.11 The streak plate method for isolating pure bacterial cultures.
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2
3
Colonies
Preserving Bacterial Cultures
 Deep-freezing: –50° to –95°C
 Lyophilization (freeze-drying): frozen
(–54° to –72°C) and dehydrated in a vacuum
Reproduction in Prokaryotes
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Binary fission
Budding
Conidiospores (actinomycetes)
Fragmentation of filaments
Figure 6.12a Binary fission in bacteria.
Cell elongates and
DNA is replicated.
Cell wall and plasma
membrane begin to constrict.
Cell wall
Plasma
membrane
DNA
(nucleoid)
Cross-wall forms,
completely separating
the two DNA copies.
Cells separate.
(a) A diagram of the sequence of cell division
Figure 6.12b Binary fission in bacteria.
Partially formed cross-wall
DNA (nucleoid)
(b) A thin section of a cell of Bacillus licheniformis
starting to divide
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Cell wall
Figure 6.13a Cell division.
Figure 6.15 Understanding the Bacterial Growth Curve.
Lag Phase
Log Phase
Stationary Phase
Death Phase
Intense activity
preparing for
population growth,
but no increase in
population.
Logarithmic, or
exponential,
increase in
population.
Period of equilibrium;
microbial deaths
balance production of
new cells.
Population Is
decreasing at a
logarithmic rate.
The logarithmic growth
in the log phase is due to
reproduction by binary
fission (bacteria) or
mitosis (yeast).
Staphylococcus spp.
Measuring Microbial Growth
Direct Methods
 Plate counts
 Filtration
 MPN
 Direct microscopic count
Indirect Methods
 Turbidity
 Metabolic activity
 Dry weight