Bacterial Growth Curve - Short Notes

BACTERIAL GROWTH CURVE

• Bacterial growth refers to the increase in cell number of bacteria
• Methods of bacterial growth

1. Binary fission
2. Filamentation
3. Budding
4. Sporulation

• Growth curve is a graph obtained by plotting the number of cells against time factor

1.Lag Phase

• Depends on the type of bacteria
• Quality of culture medium
• Several factors such as CO2, Temperature, pH, etc.

2. Log Phase or Exponential Phase

• Period of rapid growth
• Bacterial growth increases exponentially and is also called growth phase

3. Stationary Phase

• Cell Birth = Cell Death
• Exhaustion of nutrients
• Biological space
• Secondary metabolites like antibiotics, toxins etc. are produced in this phase.

4. Decline Phase:

• Number of viable cells gradually decreases
• This phase is called decline phase or death phase.