MICROBIAL NUTRITION AND
GROWTH
BY
DR JAWAD NAZIR
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES, LAHORE
Microbial nutrition and growth
Requirement of Nutrition?
To obtain energy
To carry out normal cellular activities
Construct new cellular components
Microbial nutrition and growth
Common Nutrients
Macronutrients :
95 % of cell dry mass is made up of
Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulpher, phosphorus
Components of organic molecules
Potassium: required by enzymes (protein synthesis)
Calcium: component of spore
Magnesium: cofactor for enzymes
Iron: cytochrom and electron transport chain
Microbial nutrition and growth
Common Nutrients
Trace elements (Micronutrients):
Normally serve as co factor in enzymes
Manganese, Zinc, Cobalt, Molybdenum, nickel, and copper
Required in such small amount that contaminants in
water, glassware or media ingredients are adequate to
fulfill their requirements
Nutrients required per litre of medium:
Major ingredients required in grams
Minor ingredients required in mili grams
Trace elements required in micrograms
Microbial nutrition and growth
Categorization of bacteria
Carbon:
Autotroph
Heterotroph
Energy source:
Phototroph
Chemotroph
Hydrogen or electron source:
Lithotroph
Organotrophs
Microbial nutrition and growth
Nutritional types of microorganisms
Photoautotrophs:
Who use light as energy source and CO
2 as carbon source
Oxygenic in nature
Algae, blue green bacteria, purple and green sulfur
bacteria
Photoheterotrophs:
Who use light as energy source and an organic carbon
source
Common inhabitant of polluted lakes and streams
Purple non sulfur bacteria and green non sulfur bacteria
Microbial nutrition and growth
Nutritional types of microorganisms
Chemoautotroph:
Who use inorganic chemicals as energy source and
CO
2 as carbon source
Nitrosomonas, Nitrobacter, Hydrogenomonas,
Thiobacillus ferrooxidans
Chemohetrotroph:
Who use organic molecules as a source of carbon and
energy
Same organic molecule satisfy all the requirements
All pathogenic bacteria fall in this category
There is no naturally occuring organic
molecule that cannot be utilized by
some microorganisms
Nutritional classification of Microorganisms
Microbial nutrition and growth
Growth factors
Organic molecules required for cell structure and
function and can not be synthesized by a specific
microbe is called as growth factor
Amino acids
Nucleotides (purine pyrimidine)
Vitamins
Microbial nutrition and growth
Microbial growth?
Microbial growth = increase in number of cells
Not cell size
Microbial nutrition and growth
Requirements of growth
Physical requirements:
Temperature
pH
Osmotic pressure
Chemical requirements:
Carbon, nitrogen, sulfr, phosphorus
Trace elements
Oxygen
Organic growth factors
Microbial nutrition and growth
Physical Requirements
Temperature:
Minimum growth temperature
Optimum growth temperature
Maximum growth temperature
Temperature
Food spoilage temperatures
Effect of temperatureon food spoilage
Microbial nutrition and growth
pH:
Most bacteria grow between pH 6.5 and 7.5
Molds and yeasts grow between pH 5 and 6
Acidophilesgrow in acidic environments
Physical Requirements
Microbial nutrition and growth
Classes of microbes based upon pH
Microbial nutrition and growth
pH and microbial growth
pH range of various products
Microbial nutrition and growth
Physical Requirements
Osmotic pressure:
Hypertonic environments, increase salt or sugar,
cause plasmolysis
Extreme or obligate halophilesrequire high
osmotic pressure
Facultative halophilestolerate high osmotic
pressure
Plasmolysis(shrinkage)
Microbial nutrition and growth
Chemical requirements
Carbon:
Structural organic molecules, energy source
Chemoheterotrophsuse organic carbon sources
Autotrophsuse CO
2
Microbial nutrition and growth
Chemical requirements
Nitrogen:
In amino acids, proteins
Most bacteria decompose proteins
Some bacteria use ammonium (NH
4
+)
or Nitrate (NO
3
)
A few bacteria use N
2in nitrogen fixation
Sulfur:
In amino acids, thiamine, biotin
Most bacteria decompose proteins
Some bacteria use sulfate (SO
4
2
)or H
2S
Phosphorus:
In DNA, RNA, ATP, and membranes
Phosphate (PO
4
3
)is a source of phosphorus
Microbial nutrition and growth
Chemical requirements
Trace elements:
Inorganic elements required in small amounts
Usually as enzyme cofactors
Microbial nutrition and growth
Oxygen (O
2)
The Requirements for Growth: Chemical Requirements
obligate
aerobes
Faultative
anaerobes
Obligate
anaerobes
Aerotolerant
anaerobes
Microaerophiles
Microbial nutrition and growth
Singlet oxygen: O
2boosted to a higher-energy state
Superoxide free radicals: O
2
2
Peroxide anion: O
2
2
Hydroxyl radical (OH)
Toxic Forms of Oxygen
Microbial nutrition and growth
Organic Growth Factors
Organic compounds obtained from the environment
Vitamins, amino acids, purines, pyrimidines
The Requirements for Growth: Chemical Requirements
Microbial nutrition and growth
Culture Medium:Nutrients prepared for microbial
growth
Sterile:No living microbes
Inoculum:Introduction of microbes into medium
Culture:Microbes growing in/on culture medium
Culture Media
Microbial nutrition and growth
Types of media
Broth
Liquid medium
Agar
Solid medium
Microbial nutrition and growth
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 ~40°C
Agar
Microbial nutrition and growth
Chemically Defined Media:Exact chemical
composition is known
Complex Media:Extracts and digests of yeasts,
meat, or plants
Nutrient broth
Nutrient agar
Culture Media
Microbial nutrition and growth
Culture Media
Table 6.2 & 6.4
Microbial nutrition and growth
Selective media
Suppress unwanted microbes and encourage
desired microbes.
MacConkeyagar:
Bile salts allow intestinal bcteria
Staph-110 media:
High salts concentration make selective for staph.
Campylobacter selective media:
PolymyxinB, Trimethoprim, Rifamycin
Microbial nutrition and growth
Make it easy to distinguish colonies of different microbes.
Differential Media
Lactose fermenter and non-fermenter on MacConkeyagar
Microbial nutrition and growth
Differential Media
Salmonella Shigellaagar
Microbial nutrition and growth
Enriched medium
Used to grow fastidious bacteria
Substances like blood, serum, egg are added to the
basal medium.
Blood agar, Chocolate agar, PPLO agar
Microbial nutrition and growth
Encourages growth of desired microbe
Selenite broth used to enhance the growth of
Salmonellaspecies as sodium selenite is toxic for
E.coliand Proteus
Inoculate fecal material in selenite broth
Incubate for 18-24 hours
Culture on selective or enriched media
Enrichment Media
Microbial nutrition and growth
Reducing media
Contain chemicals (thioglycollateor oxyrase) that
combine O
2
Heated to drive off O
2
Anaerobic Culture Methods
Anaerobic
jar
Anaerobic Culture Methods
Anaerobic
chamber
Anaerobic Culture Methods
Candle jar
CO
2-packet
Capnophilesrequire high CO
2
Microbial nutrition and growth
Purifying a culture
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)
Microbial nutrition and growth
Streak Plate
Microbial nutrition and growth
Streak Plate
46
Growth of Staphylococcus aureuson Manitol Salt Agar
results in a color change in the media from pink to yellow.
Microbial nutrition and growth 47
Laboratory Culture of Microorganisms
Microorganisms can be grown in the
laboratory in culture media containing the
nutrients they require.
Successful cultivation and maintenance of
pure culturesof microorganisms can be
done only if aseptic techniqueis practiced to
prevent contamination by other
microorganisms.
Microbial nutrition and growth
48
Microbial growth
Microbes grow via binary fission, resulting in exponential
increases in numbers
The number of cell arising from a single cell is 2
n
after n
generations
Generation time is the time it takes for a single cell to grow
and divide
49
Binary Fission
50
Rapid Growth of Bacterial Population
Microbial nutrition and growth
51
Growth curve
During lag phase, cells are recovering from a period of no
growth and are making macromolecules in preparation for
growth
During log phase cultures are growing maximally
Stationary phase occurs when nutrients are depleted and
wastes accumulate (Growth rate = death rate)
During death phase death rate is greater than growth rate
Microbial nutrition and growth 52
Methods used to measure microbial growth
Count colonies on plate or filter (counts live
cells)
Microscopic counts
Flow cytometry (FACS)
Turbitity
Microbial nutrition and growth
53
Viable counts
Each colony on plate or filter arises from single live cell
Only counting live cells
54
Direct Count
Pour Plate
55
56
Direct Count
Spread or
Streak Plate
Microbial nutrition and growth 57
Microbial nutrition and growth
58
Microscopic counts
Need a microscope, special slides, high power
objective lens
Typically only counting total microbe numbers, but
differential counts can also be done
Microbial nutrition and growth
59
Turbitity
Cells act like large particles
that scatter visible light
A spectrophotometer sends a
beam of visible light through
a culture and measures how
much light is scattered
Scales read in either
absorbance or %
transmission
Measures both live and dead
cells
Microbial nutrition and growth 60
Inoculation
Sample is placed on sterile medium providing
microbes with the appropriate nutrients to sustain
growth.
Selection of the proper medium and sterility of all
tools and media is important.
Some microbes may require a live organism or living
tissue as the inoculation medium.
Microbial nutrition and growth 61
Incubation
An incubator can be used to adjust the proper growth
conditions of a sample.
Need to adjust for optimum temperature and gas
content.
Incubation produces a culture –the visible growth of
the microbe on or in the media
Microbial nutrition and growth 62
Isolation
The end result of inoculation and incubation is isolation.
On solid media we may see separate colonies, and in
broth growth may be indicated by turbidity.
Sub-culturing for further isolation may be required.
Microbial nutrition and growth 63
Inspection
Macroscopically observe cultures to note color,
texture, size of colonies, etc.
Microscopically observe stained slides of the culture
to assess cell shape, size, and motility.
Microbial nutrition and growth 64
Identification
Utilize biochemical tests to differentiate the microbe
from similar species and to determine metabolic
activities specific to the microbe.