GROWTH AND PHYSIOLOGY OF BACTERIA

BACTERIAL DIVISION:

Growth can be defined as the process of increase in living substances -usually the increase in number of cells and total
biomass of the cells. Bacterial growth refers to an increase in bacterial numbers, not an increase in the size of the individual cells.
Microbes said to be "growing" increase in number and accumulate into colonies (groups of cells large enough to be seen without a
microscope) of hundreds of thousands of cells or populations of billions of cells. Number of bacterial cell increases by the cell
division . The most common mode of cell division in the usual growth cycle of the bacterial population is transverse binary
fission, in which single cell divides after developing a transverse septum/cross wall from the centre of the cell. Transverse binary
fission is the asexual reproduction process. The newly formed cells are equal in size. Some bacteria such as Rhodopseudomonas
acidophila reproduce by budding. Bacteria that produce extensive filamentous growth such as Nocardia spp reproduce by
fragmentation. Streptomyces and related bacteria reproduce by producing spores.

BACTERIAL GROWTH

The bacterial cells multiply by binary fission during which two daughter cells of approximately same size are produced.The new
cells again divide by binary fission to form two new cells from each. Therefore, the number of cells doubles during each division
in each interval of time assuming that no deaths have occurred in each succeeding generation. The increase in population follows
following pattern:
20→21→22→23→24………….2n ,where n = the number of generations (divisions) in time t.
Bacterial population increases exponentially or by geometric progression. When the cell number doubles during each
interval of time during growth, such growth is known as exponential growth. Since, the number increases during each interval of
time by a constant factor; growth is also known to be in geometric progression.

At the endof given time period t,the total number of bacterial cells/ the total population ‘Nt’ would be:

Nt = 1×2n

However, the number of bacterial cells inoculated initially under laboratory conditions is never 1.

Let,N0= the initial number of bacterial cells

Nt = the population at time t

The total number of cells after time t is then given by,

Nt =N0× 2n.

Solving for n, the number of generations, where all logarithms

are to the base 10,

log10Nt= log10N0+n log10 2, and

n=log10Nt- log10N0= log10Nt-log10N0

log 2 0.301

n = 3.3(log10Nt - log10N0)
The rate of growth during the exponential phase in a batch culture can be expressed in terms of the growth rate (R/V/k).

Growth rate is the number of generations per unit time, often expressed as the generations per hour.

R= n = log Nt -log N0k

t 0.301t
The time it takes a population to double in size (time required for the doubling of cell number) -that is, the generation time or
doubling time (g), can now be calculated.
If the population doubles (t =g), then

Nt =2 N0.

Substituting 2N0 into the mean growth rate equation and solving for k.
R= log (2N0) I-logN0 = log 2 + log N0(I- log N0 ) NOTE: The time required for a cell to divide (and its
0.301 g 0.301g population to double) is called the generation time.

R= 1
g
The generation time is the reciprocal of the growth rate .

g=1= t
R n
The mean generation time (g) can be determined directly from a logarithmic plot of the growth and the growth rate constant
calculated from the g value. The generation time also may be calculated directly from the previous equations. Generation times
vary markedly with the species of microorganism and environmental conditions. They range from less than 10 minutes (0.17
hours) for a few bacteria to several days for the others.

NORMAL GROWTH CYCLE (OR GROWTH CURVE) OF BACTERIA

Normal growth cycle of bacteria is studied in batch culture (generally a liquid medium). In batch culture the bacterial cells
are inoculated into the culture medium and then incubated. The nutrient media is never added again. This is also referred to as
closed system. When the log number of bacteria (or arithmetic number of bacteria) at different interval of the time is plotted in the
graph a curve is obtained which is known as growth curve that shows the growth of cells over time. Although the cells divide
exponentially it represents only a specific portion of the growth cycle of the population. A plot of logarithms of the number of
cells versus time produces a curve of following type which consists of four distinct phages. Between each of these phases there is
a transitional period (curved portion) which represents the time required before all the cells enter a new phase:

Lag phase:
When microorganisms are introduced into fresh culture medium, usually no immediate increase in cell number occurs, and the
population remains temporarily unchanged. Therefore this period is called the lag phase. Although cell division does not take
place the cells are not dormant. There is increase in cell size, and the cells synthesize new components- eg.enzymes and co-
enzymes required in the new environment. At the end of the lag phase the cells start dividing and the there is a gradual increase in
the number of cells until they are capable of dividing exponentially. A lag phase prior to the start of cell division can be necessary
for a variety of reasons:
-The injured microorganisms get the time to recover
-Essential cofactors,and ribosomes are synthesized before growth begins
-New enzymes needed to use different nutrients would be synthesised.

The lag phase varies considerably in length with the condition of the microorganisms and the nature of the medium. This phase
may be quite long if the inoculum is from an old culture or one that has been refrigerated. Inoculation of a culture into a
chemically different medium also results in a longer lag phase.
Exponetial Phase/ Log Phase/ Trophophase:
During this phase the cells divide steadily at a constant rate;that is, the microorganisms are dividing and doubling in
number at regular intervals and the log number of the cells plotted against the time results in a straight line. The cells are almost
uniform in terms of the chemical composition of the cells, metabolic activity and other physiological characteristics. In this phase
the generation time ‘g’ can be determined from the number of generations ‘n’ that have occurred in a particular time ‘t’. Similarly,
R can be determined. Log phase cultures are used for various studies.
At sufficiently high nutrient levels the transport systems are saturated, and the growth rate does not rise further with
increasing nutrient concentration.

Stationary Phase/ Idiophase:

After the several hours of exponential growth, the cell density becomes maximal, nutrients exhaust and the toxic or
inhibitory metabolites accumulate. Then the exponential growth ceases and straight line in the growth curve is obtained. The
straight line is due to the complete inhibition of growth or because the growth rate is just balanced by the equivalent death rate.
This phase is important biotechnologically because in this phase biotechnologically important substances called idiolytes are
produced. eg. Antibiotics.

Death Phase/ Decline Phase:

Following the stationary phase the bacterial cell die faster than the new cells are formed if any of the cells are still
reproducing. Depletion of the nutrients and accumulation of the inhibitory product such as acids, bacteriocins contribute to the
death of the bacterial cells . During this phase the number of viable cells decreases exponentially but at a different rate than the
growth rate. Some of the cells die very rapidly (gram-negative cocci) while other species may persist for months or even years.

The concept of the bacterial growth curve is fundamental to understanding population dynamics and control in, for example. food
preservation and spoilage; industrial microbiology, such as ethanol production and the course and treatment of infectious disease.