MICROBIOLOGY AND MICROBIAL GROWTH

MICROBIOLOGY
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the branch of science that deals with microorganisms.

the branch of biology dealing with the structure, function, uses, and modes of existence

of microscopic organisms.
a science that studies extremely small forms of life (such as bacteria and viruses)

MICROBIAL GROWTH
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is the asexual reproduction, or cell division, of a bacterium into two daughter cells, in a
process called binary fission. Providing no mutational event occurs the resulting daughter
cells are genetically identical to the original cell.

MICROORGANISMS
a microscopic organism, especially a bacterium, virus, or fungus.
is a microscopic living organism, which may be single celled or multicellular.
Microorganisms live in every part of the biosphere, including soil, hot springs, "seven
miles deep" in the ocean, "40 miles high" in the atmosphere and inside rocks far down
within the Earth's crust.

The first microbiologist and his microscope

- Anton van Leeuwenhoek - A classical example of serendipity. By wanting better
magnifying lens with which to judge the quality of the cloth he was buying Leeuwenhoek
discovered bacteria
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Work in almost every industry - from food, agriculture and pollution control to
biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and health, government agencies and labs, in education
as teachers and researchers.

Microorganisms in food

Nature uses microorganisms to carry out fermentation processes, and for thousands of
years mankind has used yeasts, moulds and bacteria to make food products such as bread,
beer, wine, vinegar, yoghurt and cheese, as well as fermented fish, meat and vegetables.

Microorganisms in water
- Scientific research has shown that the normal concentration of coliform bacteria (e.g. E.
coli) in surface water varies between 105 per 100 ml (also expressed as log 5) and 109
per 100 ml for sewer water. Considering that a dose of only 103 is enough to cause an
intestinal infection in people with a weak immune system, no more than 1 per 100 ml
may remain in treated water, or a reduction of at least 6 log (99.9999%).
Microorganisms in soil
- There are more microbes in a teaspoon of soil than there are people on the earth. Soils
contain about 8 to 15 tons of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, earthworms, and
arthropods. See fact sheets on Roles of Soil Bacteria, Fungus, Protozoa and Nematodes.

Facts about Microorganism

Salmonella or E. Coli, these can make you very sick
They are found on raw chicken and other meat, raw eggs, and other foods.
You might be surprised to learn that we can not live without microorganisms.
Without algae and other tiny plants floating in the ocean, we would not even have enough

oxygen to stay alive.

Did you know that on gram of yogurt contains 1 billion bacteria.
Without microorganisms you would have trouble eating any food.
Certain bacteria in our bodies help digest our food.
Also there many medicines that are produced with microorganisms. Example, penicillin.
Some help remove harmful wastes from sewage at water treatment plants.
Others can help clean up oil spills.
Microorganisms make dead things decay.
Microorganisms, just like God cannot be seen through naked eye but we can feel their

impact on us in various ways.

Though only 3% of the total microbial population are harmful to the humans.
Without knowing, we are getting their help from the historic days eg. souring of milk

(dahi), pickels, jams, dosa and idly making, wine production etc.
Microbes thrive in an amazing diversity of habitats in extremes of heat, cold, radiation,

pressure, salinity, acidity, and darkness, and often where no other life forms could exist.
Fast Movers: Some bacteria can move by flagella that enable them to obtain speeds as
high as 0.00017 km/ hr. This may not seem very fast, but remember that we are talking
about very small organisms. They are travelling at about 50-60 body lengths/ sec which is

equivalent to a 6 ft tall man running at 100 m/ sec, 9 times faster than the world record.
Cheetahs, are the fastest animals on land but even they only move at about 25 body
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lengths/ sec.
Thus through time, heat and pressure were able to turn the carbon along with the bacterial

colonies into diamonds

all teenagers have had at least one zit in their lifetime, are called: pimples, blackheads,

whiteheads, blemishes, acne, etc.

The sweat that comes out of your underarms actually does not smell bad. The reason that
people give off odors when they sweat in their underarms is that bacteria living there like
to eat sweat, and as a result produce waste products that cause it to smell.

THREE DOMAINS OF LIFE

According to the Woese system, introduced in 1990, the tree of life consists of three
domains: Archaea (a term which Woese created), Bacteria, and Eukaryota. The first two
are all prokaryotic microorganisms, or single-celled organisms whose cells have no
nucleus.

Archaea Domain
- Archaea are prokaryotic cells which are typically characterized by membranes that are
branched hydrocarbon chains attached to glycerol by ether linkages.
Bacteria Domain
- Even though bacteria are prokaryotic cells just like Archaea, their membranes are made
of unbranched fatty acid chains attached to glycerol by ester linkages.
Eukarya Domain
- As the name suggests, the Eukaryote are eukaryotic cells which have membranes that are
pretty similar to that of bacteria.

PROKARYOTES

a microscopic single-celled organism that has neither a distinct nucleus with a membrane

nor other specialized organelles. Prokaryotes include the bacteria and cyanobacteria.
For example, the famous (or infamous) Escherichia coli bacterium is a prokaryote, as is

the streptococcus bacterium responsible for strep throat.

In the prokaryotes all the intracellular water-soluble components (proteins, DNA and
metabolites) are located together in the cytoplasm enclosed by the cell membrane, rather
than in separate cellular compartments.

BACTERIA
are microscopic living organisms, usually one-celled, that can be found everywhere. They
can be dangerous, such as when they cause infection, or beneficial, as in the process of

fermentation (such as in wine) and that of decomposition.

single-celled or noncellular spherical or spiral or rod-shaped organisms lacking
chlorophyll that reproduce by fission

Bacterial Structure
- Bacteria also often have these features:
cell wall
resists osmotic pressure
flagella
movement
pili
attachment
capsule
protection and biofilms
Classification of Bacteria
- According to shape
- According to means of locomotion
About half of all prokaryotes are capable of directional movement. The action of flagella
is the most common method of movement
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According to Staining Capacity

Gram-positive (Gram+) bacteria have simpler cell walls, with large amounts of

peptidoglycan in a thick outside wall

The Gram stain is a valuable tool for identifying specific bacteria, based on
differences in their cell walls.

Gram-negative (Gram-)bacteria have a more complex structure and less

peptidoglycan There is an outer membrane outside the cell wall. The outer
membrane contains lipopolysaccharides (carbohydrates bonded to lipids). The
peptidodglycan cell wall is thinner than in Gram+

According to Nutrient Requirements

Autotrophs are organisms that are able to use inorganic carbon dioxide as their sole
carbon source for the biosynthesis of macromolecules. Autotrophs can be further broken
down into two categories:
1. chemoautotrophs derive energy from the oxidation of inorganic
compounds such as iron, hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen gas.
2. Photoautotrophs, such as the cyanobacteria, convert light energy into
chemical energy.

Heterotrophs, require organic carbon for biosynthesis. Heterotrophic organisms can also
be divided into two major subgroups.
1. Photoheterotrophs, use organic carbon sources for biosynthesis but use
light energy to produce ATP (photosynthesis).
2. Chemoheterotrophs, use organic compounds such as sugars, proteins
and lipids as their source of energy.

Bacterial Reproduction
Fission is the division of a cell (or body, population, or species) into two or more
parts and the regeneration of those parts into separate cells (bodies, populations,

or species).
Bacterial conjugation is the transfer of genetic material between bacterial cells
by direct cell-to-cell contact or by a bridge-like connection between two cells.
Bacterial conjugation is often regarded as the bacterial equivalent of sexual

reproduction or mating since it involves the exchange of genetic material.

Transformation Process by which bacterial cells pick up and incorporate DNA
from dead bacterial cells.

Transduction it uses a virus to transfer DNA from one bacterial cell to another, It
is the one way of getting bacteria to make large amounts of proteins for research
and medicine.

Importance of Bacteria
- Biotechnology or Industrial microbiology is defined as the use of micro organism such as
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bacteria, fungi and algae for the manufacturing and services industries.
Bacteria can also be used in the place of pesticides in the biological pest control
Escherichia coli that lives in the human large intestine synthesize vitamin B and releases
it for human use.

EUKARYOTES
an organism consisting of a cell or cells in which the genetic material is DNA in the form
of chromosomes contained within a distinct nucleus. Eukaryotes include all living
organisms other than the eubacteria and archaebacteria.

PROTOZOANS
a single-celled microscopic animal of a group of phyla of the kingdom Protista, such as

an amoeba, flagellate, ciliate, or sporozoan.

Sarcodinians
They move by extending their cytoplasm, Amoebas belong to this group of protozoan.
Pseudo pods - are lobes of cytoplasm that extend in motion - it means false foot
Zooflagellate
any flagellated protozoan that lacks photosynthetic pigment and feeds on organic matter:

often parasitic.
Lives in fresh or marine water.
Releases nutrients from the wood that termites can absorb.
Ciliophorans
Particularly known as ciliates
Cilia- covered with short hair like projections. The largest and most diverse protozoan
that mostly live in freshwater habitats.
Paramecium -most common ciliate, it is Slippershaped has no shell covered with

a tough Flexible pellicle

Trichocysts - tiny toxic darts that are used to capture prey, anchorage surface
Sporozoans

Any of numerous parasitic protozoans that produce infective spores and often have

complex life cycles involving both sexual and asexual reproduction.

Sporozoans cause diseases such as malaria and cryptosporidiosis.

ALGAE
Algae is the name given to a large and diverse group of oxygenic, phototrophic,

eukaryotic microorganisms.
is an informal term for a large, diverse group of eukaryotes that are not necessarily

closely related and are thus polyphyletic.

are plantlike protist that are mostly unicellular and live where there is sufficient water.
Unicellular Algae
Different from other in their outer covering which is their means of movement
Single-celled algae
Dinoflagellates - covered with cellulose plates, most of it grows in saltwater habitats

and are free living

Diatoms - Are covered with glass shells and lack structures for movement. They are
among the most abundant organisms in the oceans. They float in the water because

they contain oil.

Euglenoids - They also use flagella for movement, they have no rigid cell walls but

have flexible protein covering called PELLICLE

Multicellular
- THALLUS (thalli) The body of multicellular algae which have many specialized
structures including stringlike filaments,leaflike and rootlike.
Green Algae (Chlorophyta) - some are unicellular and some are colonial
Red algae (Rhodophyta) - grow mainly in warm saltwater habitats
Brown Algae(Phaeophyta) - Grow in cool saltwater habitats, they absorb sunlight
needed for photosynthesis.
Importance of algae
- Algae are also very important ecologically because they are the beginning of the food
chain for other animals.

FUNGUS
any of a group of unicellular, multicellular, or syncytial spore-producing organisms
feeding on organic matter, including molds, yeast, mushrooms, and toadstools.

Plasmodial slime molds

- have shiny, wet appearance and texture like a gelatin. Plasmodium is the feeding stage in
the life cycle of a plasmodial slime mold they have masses that can weigh up 50 g with a
size like the palm of a human hand.
Cellular slime molds
- have an alternating amoeboid form and a defined spore-producing fruiting body like the
plasmodial slime molds. They live in fresh water, damp soil and decomposing plant
matter.
Water molds
- white rusts and downy mildews. Their cell walls are produces spores with flagella. They
are decomposers or parasites growing in fresh water on decaying plants and animals
Amoeboid cells
- A cell, such as a leukocyte, that is able to change its form and move about like an ameba.
Also called wandering cell .

VIRUS
is a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of other organisms.
can infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including

bacteria and archaea.

- They cannot be called cells and thus they cannot be called living things.
Virus structure
- A virus structure can be one of the following: icosahedral, enveloped, complex or helical.
- A virus particle is so small (0.05-0.2 micrometers in diameter).
- An envelope formed from the membrane of the host cell may surround the protein coat.

Reproduction of Virus
- Viruses rely on the organisms they invade to replicate their genes and allow them to
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reproduce.
Once viruses enter a host organism, they attach themselves to the cells in the body,
injecting the host cell with the viruses' own genetic information.

Viral infection

Viruses cause diseases by destroying cells of their host organisms.

Disease in humans caused by viruses
Smallpox
Polio
Measles
AIDS
Mumps
Influenza
Yellow fever
Rabies
common colds
Plants diseases caused by viruses
Discolor leaves
Deform growth
Kill tissues

Retroviruses
- any of a group of RNA viruses that insert a DNA copy of their genome into the host cell
in order to replicate, e.g., HIV.

METABOLISM
the chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.

the chemical processes by which a plant or an animal uses food, water, etc., to grow
and heal and to make energy

Types of metabolism
Anabolism production of new cellular materials. It is also known as biosynthesis
Catabolism (literally, tearing apart) degradation of substrate to produce energy to
maintain the cell.
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EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
Occurs when both substrate and nutrients are in abundance and when metabolites or

waste products have not built up enough to dampen growth.

Formula

So the growth rate is proportional to the number of microorganisms,

dX/dt = X
Where:
X
=concentration of microorganisms at time t
t
= time

= specific growth rate, [time-1]

dX/dt = microbial growth rate, [mass/volme time]
or Exponential form,
X =X 0 e t
Problem: A microbial system with an ample substrate and nutrient supply has an initial
cell concentration of 100 mg/L. the specific substrate utilization is 0.5/hr
a. Estimate the cell concentration after 3 hours, assuming that log growth is maintained
during the period.
b. Determine the time required for the microbial population to double during this phase.

References;
Keyse, S.L.(1997, June). Microorganisms, Bacteria and Viruses. Retrieved September
13, 2015, from extoxnet.orst.edu/faqs/safedrink/microorg.htm
Hoyle, B. Water Microbiology. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from
http://science.jrank.org/pages/7311/Water-Microbiology.html
Wikipedia (2015, September 11) Soil microbiology. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_microbiology
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prokaryote#Sociality
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from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_cell_structure
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere
Wikipedia (2015, September 12) Microorganism. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microorganism
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae
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2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_importance_of_bacteria
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_conjugation