Nama : Moch.Ichwan.

T
NIM : 140210103092
Kelas : A
Growth and culturing of bacteria
Bacterial growth 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. Hence, "local doubling" of the bacterial population occurs.
Growth and Cell Division
Microbial Growth Defined:
Mother or parent cell doubles in size
Divides into two daughter cells
Microbial growth is defined as the increase in the number of cells, which occurs by cell division
Phases of Growth
Consider a population of organisms introduced into a fresh, nutrient medium
Such organisms display four major phases of growth
The lag phase
The logarithmic phase
The stationary phase
The death phase
The Lag Phase
Organisms do not increase significantly in number They are metabolically active Grow in size,
synthesize enzymes, and incorporate molecules from medium Produce large quantities of energy in
the form of ATP
The Log Phase
Organisms have adapted to a growth medium Growth occurs at an exponential (log) rate The
organisms divide at their most rapid rate a regular, genetically determined interval (generation time)
Stationary Phase:
Cell division decreases to a point that new cells are produced at same rate as old cell die. The
number of live cells stays constant.
Decline (Death) Phase:
Condition in the medium become less and less supportive of cell division Cell lose their ability to
divide and thus die Number of live cells decreases at a logarithmic rate
Factors Affecting Bacterial Growth
The kinds of organisms found in a given environment and the rates at which they grow can be
influenced by a variety of factors, both physical and biochemical
Physical factors include:
pH,
temperature,
oxygen concentration,
moisture,
hydrostatic pressure,
osmotic pressure,
and radiation.

Culturing Bacteria
Culturing of bacteria in the laboratory presents two problems:
A pure culture of a single species is needed to study an organisms characteristics
A medium must be found that will support growth of the desired organism
Pure culture: a culture that contains only a single species of organism
Types of Culture Media
Natural Media: In nature, many species of microorganisms grow together in oceans, lakes, and soil
and on living or dead organic matter
Synthetic medium: A medium prepared in the laboratory from material of precise or reasonably welldefined composition
Complex medium: contains reasonably familiar material but varies slightly in chemical composition
from batch to batch (e.g. peptone, a product of enzyme digestion of proteins)
Commonly Used Media
Yeast Extract, Casein Hydrolysate, Nutrient
Serum, Blood agar, Chocolate agar
Selective, Differential, and Enrichment Media
Selective medium: encourages growth of some organisms but suppresses growth of others (e.g.
antibiotics)
Differential medium: contains a constituent that causes an observable change (e.g. MacConkey agar)
Enrichment medium: contains special nutrients that allow growth of a particular organism that might
not otherwise be present in sufficient numbers to allow it to be isolated and identified
Preserved Cultures
To avoid risk of contamination and to reduce mutation rate, stock culture organisms should be kept
in a preserved culture, a culture in which organisms are maintained in a dormant state
Lyophilization
Frozen at -70oC
Refrigeration
Reference culture (type culture): a preserved culture that maintains the organisms with
characteristics as originally defined