The Growth Curve

2.2.5

The standard growth curve

A small number of organisms placed in a fresh 'closed culture' environment will undergo population growth in a very predictable, standard way. Plotting the growth in population over time gives a standard growth curve. A closed culture refers to the growth of microorganisms in an environment where all conditions are fixed and contained. No new materials are added and no waste products or organisms removed.

Fermentation and Fermenters

The term fermentation was originally applied only to the use of anaerobic respiration to produce substances, in particular, the production of ethanol. These naturally produced fermentation products are byproducts of anaerobic pathways. It now also refers to the culturing of microorganisms both anaerobically and aerobically in fermentation tanks. These substances generated by growth of the microogranism culture are seperated and treated to produce the final useful product.

Metabolism
Metabolism is a process and metabolites are the products. Metabolism is the totale of all of the chemical reactions that go on in an organism. These processes include: New cells and cellular components. Chemicals such as hormones and enzymes. Waste products. The waste products produced vary depending on the type of organism and metabolic process involved. The wate products of some organisms' metabollic processes are the vital nutrients required by other organisms.

Primary and Secondary Metabolites

Primary Metabolites - are substances produced by an organism as part of its norma growth; they include amino acids, proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids, ethanol and lactate. The production of primary metabolites matches the growth in population of the organism. Secondary metabolites - are substance produced by an organism that are not part of its normal growth. The antibiotic chemicals produced by a number of microorganisms are almost secondary metabolites. The production of secondary metabolites usually begins after the main growth period of the organisms and so does not match the growth in population of the organism. All organisms produce primary metabolites but only some produce secondary metabolites.

Questions
Explain why the production of primary metabolites in a microorganism matches the overall growth of the microorganism population? Primary metabolites are all of the proteins and other products associated with growth of the organism itself, therefore any growth in overall numbers of primary metabolites is because of an increase in the overall level of microorganisms.