Growth and Decay of a Planktonic Microbial Culture
The paper shows that the phenomenological trends of both growth and decay of a microbial population in a given medium are easily reproducible with simple equations that allow gathering the experimental data (plate counts) related to different microbial species, in different mediums and even at diffe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2020-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Microbiology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4186468 |
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| author | Alberto Schiraldi |
| author_facet | Alberto Schiraldi |
| author_sort | Alberto Schiraldi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The paper shows that the phenomenological trends of both growth and decay of a microbial population in a given medium are easily reproducible with simple equations that allow gathering the experimental data (plate counts) related to different microbial species, in different mediums and even at different temperatures, in a single master plot. The guideline of the proposed approach is that microbes and surrounding medium form a system where they affect each other and that the so-called “growth curve” is just the phenomenological appearance of such interaction. The whole system (cells and medium) changes following a definite pathway described as the evolution of a “virtual” microbial population in planktonic conditions. The proposed equations come from the assumption of a duplication mechanism with a variable generation time for the growth and of an exponential-like decline with a linear increase of the rate for the decay. The intermediate phase between growth and decay is a time span during which growth and death counterbalance each other and age differences within the virtual cell population tend to level off. The proposed approach does not provide an a priori description of this phase but allows the fit of the whole evolution trend of a microbial culture whenever the experimental data are available. Deviations of such a trend concern microbes able to form spores, modify their metabolism, or express phenotypic heterogeneity, to counterbalance adverse medium conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-aae46ab77fd6452895a44a116bdfa497 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-918X 1687-9198 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-aae46ab77fd6452895a44a116bdfa4972025-02-03T00:58:48ZengWileyInternational Journal of Microbiology1687-918X1687-91982020-01-01202010.1155/2020/41864684186468Growth and Decay of a Planktonic Microbial CultureAlberto Schiraldi0Department of Chemistry, Division of Physical Chemistry, University of Milan, Via Golgi 19, 20133 Milano, ItalyThe paper shows that the phenomenological trends of both growth and decay of a microbial population in a given medium are easily reproducible with simple equations that allow gathering the experimental data (plate counts) related to different microbial species, in different mediums and even at different temperatures, in a single master plot. The guideline of the proposed approach is that microbes and surrounding medium form a system where they affect each other and that the so-called “growth curve” is just the phenomenological appearance of such interaction. The whole system (cells and medium) changes following a definite pathway described as the evolution of a “virtual” microbial population in planktonic conditions. The proposed equations come from the assumption of a duplication mechanism with a variable generation time for the growth and of an exponential-like decline with a linear increase of the rate for the decay. The intermediate phase between growth and decay is a time span during which growth and death counterbalance each other and age differences within the virtual cell population tend to level off. The proposed approach does not provide an a priori description of this phase but allows the fit of the whole evolution trend of a microbial culture whenever the experimental data are available. Deviations of such a trend concern microbes able to form spores, modify their metabolism, or express phenotypic heterogeneity, to counterbalance adverse medium conditions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4186468 |
| spellingShingle | Alberto Schiraldi Growth and Decay of a Planktonic Microbial Culture International Journal of Microbiology |
| title | Growth and Decay of a Planktonic Microbial Culture |
| title_full | Growth and Decay of a Planktonic Microbial Culture |
| title_fullStr | Growth and Decay of a Planktonic Microbial Culture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Growth and Decay of a Planktonic Microbial Culture |
| title_short | Growth and Decay of a Planktonic Microbial Culture |
| title_sort | growth and decay of a planktonic microbial culture |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4186468 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT albertoschiraldi growthanddecayofaplanktonicmicrobialculture |