Clinical Microbiology: Open Access

Bacterial Growth Requirements in Different Environments

Mark Schleiss^* Department of Epidemiology, University of Maryland, Maryland, USA
^*Correspondence: Mark Schleiss, Department of Epidemiology, University of Maryland, Maryland, USA, Email:

Received: 29-Sep-2022, Manuscript No. CMO-22-18907; Editor assigned: 03-Oct-0022, Pre QC No. CMO-22-18907 (PQ); Reviewed: 19-Oct-2022, QC No. CMO-22-18907; Revised: 24-Oct-2022, Manuscript No. CMO-22-18907 (R); Published: 31-Oct-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2327-5073.22.11.310

Description

Although bacteria can survive at higher and lower temperatures than humans, they thrive in an environment that is warm, wet, protein-rich, and pH neutral or slightly acidic. However, there are several exceptions. While certain bacteria can survive in extremely hot or cold environments, others can endure excessively acidic or salty environments.

Psychrophiles are bacteria that prefer the cold. Their ideal growing temperature ranges from -5C to 15 C. They are typically found in streams fed by glaciers especially in the Arctic and Antarctic areas. Bacteria known as mesophiles thrive in conditions of moderate temperature. Their ideal growth temperature ranges from 25 to 45 degrees Celsius. The majority of bacteria, including those that inhabit and grow on human bodies and common soil bacteria are mesophilic. Thermophiles are bacteria that enjoy the heat. They thrive best at temperatures between 45 and 70 degrees Celsius and are frequently found in compost piles and hot springs. Bacteria known as hyperthermophiles thrive in extremely hot environments. Their ideal growing temperature ranges from 70C to 110C. They often belong to the Archaea and can be found at hydrothermal vents at extremely deep ocean depths.

The amount of heterogeneity that bacteria exhibit in their needs for gaseous oxygen is astounding. The majority belong to one of the following categories. Organisms known as obligatory aerobes only develop in the presence of oxygen. They breathe aerobically to get their energy. Microaerophils are organisms that need little oxygen to grow (2% to 10%), but more oxygen inhibits their growth. They breathe aerobically to get their energy. Obligate anaerobes are organisms that can only thrive in an oxygen-free environment and are frequently inhibited or destroyed by the presence of oxygen. They use fermentation or anaerobic respiration to produce their energy. Like obligatory anaerobes, aerotolerant anaerobes can grow in the presence of oxygen but cannot use it to convert energy. They are obligate fermenters because they only use fermentation to produce energy. Organisms known as facultative anaerobes can develop with or without oxygen, but they often do so more successfully. If oxygen is present, they get their energy from aerobic respiration; if not, they get it via fermentation or anaerobic respiration. All facultative anaerobes are bacteria.

According to their preferred pH range, microorganisms can be classified into one of the following groups: neutrophiles, which thrive in the pH range of 5 to 8, are one example. Alkaliphiles thrive at pH levels above 8.5, while acidophiles thrive at pH levels below 5.5.

Water diffuses across a membrane during osmosis from an area with a higher water concentration (and a lower solute concentration) to one with a lower water concentration (higher solute concentration). Osmosis does not involve the use of metabolic energy because it is powered by the potential energy of a concentration gradient. Despite the fact that water molecules are tiny enough to pass through the phospholipids of the cytoplasmic membrane, the transport of water molecules, known as aquaporins, can be improved. Water is transported into and out of the cytoplasm by the aquaporins, which organize into channels that span the cytoplasmic membrane.

Understanding what is meant by a solution is necessary in order to comprehend osmosis. A solute that has been dissolved in a solvent is a solution. All the molecules or ions dissolved in the water are referred to as solutes in the context of osmosis (the solvent). Weak hydrogen bonds are created between a solute, such as sugar, and the water molecules during the process of dissolving. Water molecules bound to solute cannot pass through membrane pores, even though free, unbound water molecules can. Therefore, the concentration of free water molecules capable of flowing across the membrane decreases as the solute concentration increases.

Even though different kinds of bacteria have diverse diets, they all need nutrients to provide them energy. Energy is required to power the cell's internal work. Numerous bacteria make energy by using the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, or sulphur in their food source. Adenosine triphosphate, a coenzyme that is created when these components are broken down during cellular respiration, delivers the chemical energy to the areas of the cell that need it. Some bacteria use particular metabolic processes to obtain energy from sunlight. When growing bacteria in a lab, researchers utilise concentrated growth media that is rich in easily available nutrients including phosphorus, sulphur, nitrogen, and carbon. Depending on the preferences of the bacterium they want to cultivate, they pick various mediums.

A bacterial cell is made up of water to a degree of about 70%. Humans are an example of a complex multicellular organism that can consume its own water. Because they lack the capability, single-celled bacteria must rely on their environment to provide them with enough water to pass through their cell membranes. While many bacteria can persist without moisture for long periods of time, they are unable to develop and replicate.

Each type of bacterial has a preferred habitat aside from nutrients and water. The ideal pH, temperature range, amount of light, gas concentrations like oxygen and carbon dioxide, and pressure are all preferences. The pH ranges from 6 to 1 for acidic situations, 8 to 14 for alkaline conditions, and approximately 7 for slightly neutral settings. At or close to a neutral pH of 6.0 to 8.0, many microorganisms thrive.

Temperatures also fluctuate, with the majority of life flourishing between 5 and 60 degrees Celsius, or 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The 10 to 12 percent of oxygen present in the atmosphere that some bacteria need for metabolism can use can be fatal to other microorganisms. Other species need an atmosphere devoid of oxygen or with a lot of carbon dioxide. Additionally significant pressures in the environment include osmotic pressure and atmospheric pressure. Microorganisms require a source of water in addition to a variety of other materials, such as mineral elements, growth stimulants, and gases like oxygen, in order to flourish. Whether they are proteins, fats, carbs, or lipids, almost all chemical compounds in microbes contain carbon in some manner. A bacterium's dry weight contains about 50% carbon. Carbon can be produced from carbon dioxide or it can be taken from organic compounds found in the environment. Both chemoautotrophic and photoautotrophic microbes use straightforward inorganic substances like carbon dioxide to generate energy and manufacture nutrition. Photoautotrophs utilise photosynthesis, whereas chemoautotrophs rely on chemical processes.