Chapter 4

Bacterial Nutrition and The

Influence of Environmental
Factors

1
The Requirements for Growth
At the end of this lecture, students are able to:
 Classify microbes into five groups on the
basis of preferred temperature range.
 Identify how and why the pH of culture media
is controlled.
 Explain how microbes are classified on the
basis of oxygen requirements.
 Explain the importance of osmotic pressure
and water availability to microbial growth.
Microbial Growth
 Increase in number of cells, not cell size
 Populations
 Colonies
The Requirements for Growth
 Physical requirements
 Temperature
 pH
 Osmotic pressure (Water availability)
 Oxygen requirement
 Chemical requirements
 Carbon
 Nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorous
 Trace elements
 Organic growth factor
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT
TEMPERATURE

5
• As the temperature rises, chemical and enzymatic reactions in
the cell proceed at more rapid rates, and growth becomes faster.

• However, above a certain temperature, particular proteins may be

irreversibly damaged.

6
Physical Requirements
TEMPERATURE:

Minimum growth temperature:

 Lowest temperature that permits a microbe’s growth and metabolism

 Growth no longer occurs

Maximum growth temperature

 Highest temperature that permits a microbe’s growth and metabolism

 Growth not possible

Optimum growth temperature

 Promotes the fastest rate of growth and metabolism

 Growth is most rapid

 Bacteria are grouped into three categories for optimum
temperature-based growth: psychrophiles, mesophiles
and thermophiles.

(i) Psychrophiles – optimum temperature below 20oC; capable of

growth at 0oC (i.e: Bacillus globisporus, micrococcus cryophilus)
- Psychrotrophs - It can survive from 0 - 35oC but optimally at
20 - 30 oC These organisms can be found in refrigerated spoiled
food (i.e:Pseudomonas fluorescens)

(ii) Mesophiles – optimum temperature 20o-40oC; most human

pathogens (i.e: Escherichia coli ,Staphyloccus aureus)

(iii) Thermophiles – optimum temperature greater than 45oC (i.e:

Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus stearothermophilus)
- Hyperthermophiles- optimum temperature above
80oC (i.e: Methanopyrus kandleri)
9
Typical Growth Rates and Temperature
Food Preservation Temperatures

Figure 6.2
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT
pH

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13
 pH
 Majority of microorganisms grow at a pH
between 6 and 8
 Most bacteria grow between pH 6.5 and 7.5
 Molds and yeasts grow between pH 5 and 6
 The presence of H+ ions from acids affects the
structure of proteins and other molecules.
 Acidophiles grow in acidic environments,under a
pH of 6.
 Obligate acidophiles – grow at extreme acidic
environment, pH below 4 or 5.
 Alkaliphiles – grow at extreme alkaline pH (roughly
8.5-11)
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT
OXYGEN/ CO2

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• The effect of variation in oxygen concentration
depends on an organism’s metabolism.

• If the oxygen concentration falls, their activity

declines accordingly.

• However, some species need only 2-10% oxygen

for respiration. Their growth is not inhibited until
oxygen declines to very low levels.

• Microorganisms can be divided into several groups

depending on the effect of oxygen .

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Oxygen Tolerance

 Aerotolerant – do not use O2 but can grow

when it is present
 Often ferment glucose to lactic acid
 Microaerophiles – require O2 but grow only in
concentrations lower than air

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Categories of Oxygen
Requirement
 Aerobe – utilizes oxygen in order to grow
 Obligate aerobe - cannot grow without oxygen
 Facultative aerobe- can live in the presence or
absence of oxygen
 Microaerophilic – requires only a small amount
of oxygen

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 Categories of Oxygen
Requirement cont..
 Anaerobe – does not utilize oxygen for growth
 Obligate anaerobe - which are harmed by the
presence of oxygen
 Facultative anaerobe – does not utilizes
oxygen but can also grow in its presence
 Aerotolerant anaerobes – which cannot use
oxygen for growth, but tolerate its presence

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Group Relationship to O2 Type Of Example
Metabolism

Aerobes
Obligate Required Aerobic respiration Micrococcus luteus

Facultative Not required, but Aerobic, anaerobic Esherichia Coli

growth better with O2 respiration,
fermentation

Microaerophilic Required but at level Aerobic respiration Spirillum volutants

lower than
atmospheric
Anaerobes

Aerotolerant Not required, and Fermentation Streptococcus

growth no better when pyogenes
O2 present
Obligate Harmful or lethal Fermentation or Methanobacterium
anaerobic formicicum
respiration
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Table 6.1
Classify the Growth in
each tube:

 Facultative anaerobe
 Microaerophile
 Obligate aerobe
 Obligate anaerobe

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Classify the Growth in each
tube:

 Facultative anaerobe(s)
 Microaerophile
 Obligate aerobe
 Obligate anaerobe

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Carbon Dioxide Requirement
All microbes require some carbon dioxide in
their metabolism.
 Capnophile – grows best at higher CO2
tensions than normally present in the
atmosphere

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PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT
OSMOTIC PRESSURE DUE TO
WATER AVAILABILITY

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Osmotic Pressure
 Bacteria 80-90% water

 High salt or high sugar in surrounding tend to draw water

out of organisms by osmosis.

 Cell’s plasma membrane shrinks, cell growth inhibited

 Hypertonic environments, or an increase in salt or sugar,

cause plasmolysis.
Plasmolysis - the process in which cells lose water in
a hypertonic solution

 When a cell is immersed into a hypertonic solution, the

tendency is for water to flow out of the cell in order to
balance the concentration of the solutes.
27
Plasmolysis

Figure 6.4
 hypertonic solution-one with a higher
concentration of solutes outside the cell than
inside the cell.

 hypotonic solution-has a lower concentration

of solutes outside the cell than inside the cell.

 isotonic solution- has a same concentration

of solutes outside the cell and inside the cell.

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Water availability
 Most microbes exist under hypotonic or isotonic
conditions
 Halophiles – organisms adapted to the very
high concentration of salt.
 Extreme or obligate halophiles require high
osmotic pressure
 Facultative halophiles tolerate high osmotic
pressure
 Osmotolerant – do not require high
concentration of solute but can tolerate it when it
occurs 30
Effect of sodium ion concentration on growth of microorganisms of different
salt tolerences or requirement.
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Drying and High Osmolarity

 Salted fish, honey, sweetened condensed

milk are preserved by pulling water out of
bacteria
 Hypotonic medium (low osmolarity) may lyse
bacteria without cell walls

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 CHEMICAL
REQUIREMENT

33
 Nutrients for
microorganisms

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Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lecture, students are able to:
 Name a use for each of the four elements
(carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus)
needed in large amounts for microbial
growth.
 Microbial Nutrition

 Cells mainly made up of macromolecules and water

 Cells need nutrients- organisms differ in the types of
nutrients they need; not all nutrients required in
same amounts
 Nutrients are important to obtain energy and to
construct new cellular components.
 Nutrients are substances used in biosynthesis and
energy production and requires for growth
 Environmental factors such as temperature, oxygen
levels, and water are important in cultivation of
microorganisms.
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 Nutritional Types of
Microorganisms
Carbon Source:
 Autotrophs use carbon dioxide as their sole or
principal carbon source
 Heterotrophs use reduced, preformed organic
molecules (usually from other organisms) as carbon
sources.

Energy Source:
 Phototrophs use light as their energy source

 Chemotrophs obtain energy from the oxidation of

organic or inorganic compounds.
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 Macronutrient

 Required by microorganisms in large

amounts; constitute 95% of cell dry weight
 Prime role in metabolism and growth
 - C, O, H, N, S, P are components of
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins & nucleic
acids.
 K, Ca, Mg, Fe exist in the cell as cations and
play a variety of roles; e.g. K+ is required for
activity of many enzymes including some
involved in protein synthesis. 38
Chemical Requirements
 Carbon
 Structural organic molecules, energy source
 Nitrogen
 In amino acids and proteins
 Most bacteria decompose proteins
 Some bacteria use NH4+ or NO3–
 A few bacteria use N2 in nitrogen fixation
Carbon sources
 Most bacteria use organic compunds as a carbon source
 Many use carbon-containing compounds (amino acids, fatty
acids, organic acids, sugars, nitrogen bases, aromatic
compounds) as building blocks to synthesise cell
components
 Different bacteria utilise different compounds
 Chemoheterotrophic organisms obtain energy from glucose
by glycolysis, fermentation and the Krebs cycle
 Chemoheterotrophic bacteria synthesise some cell
components from intermediates in the above pathways
 On a dry weight basis a typical cell is about 50% carbon

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Requirements for Nitrogen,
Phosphorus, and Sulfur:
 To grow, a microorganism must be able to incorporate
large quantities of N, P & S.
 can be met by either organic or inorganic sources
 some organisms have specific requirements for sources
of these elements while others are more general
 N is needed for the synthesis of amino acids, purines,
pyrimidines, some carbohydrates, lipids, etc.
 Most bacteria obtain either amino groups (-NH2) or
ammonia (NH3), or nitrate (NO3--).
 Some bacteria can fix atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to form
ammonia (NH3).
 P is present in nucleic acids, phospholipids, nucleotides
like ATP, some proteins, etc
 generally available as phosphate ion (PO4---) or organic
molecules (e.g. RNA). 41
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
Other macronutrients
Potassium - required for enzymes especially those
involved in protein synthesis
Magnesium - stabilises ribosomes, cell membranes &
nucleic acids; also required for the activity of many
enzymes
Calcium - not essential for the growth of many
organisms but helps stabilise the bacterial cell wall &
plays a key role in the heat stability of endospores
Sodium - not required by all organisms; need often
reflects the natural habitat of the organism
 Example: marine organisms require sodium, fresh
water organisms do not
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 Micronutrients (trace elements)

 Trace elements
 Inorganic elements required in small amounts
 Usually as enzyme cofactors
 Examples:
 Cobalt
 Manganese
 Molybdenum
 Nickel
 Selenium
 Zinc
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Organic Growth Factors
 Organic compounds obtained from the
environment
 Vitamins, amino acids, purines, and
pyrimidines
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