Does the term growth convey the same meaning when applied to bacteria and to mul

Question

Does the term growth convey the same meaning when applied to bacteria and to multicellular organisms? Explain. Why do variations in generation time exist: a. Among different species of microorganisms? b. Within a single microbial species? The generation time and growth rate of an organism grown in the laboratory can be easily determined by constructing a typical growth curve. a. Would you expect the growth rate of the infectious organisms found in an abscess that developed from a wound to mimic the growth curve obtained in the laboratory? Explain. b. Would you expect antibiotic therapy to be effective without any other concurrent treatment of the abscess? Is generation time a useful parameter to indicate the types of media best suited to support the growth of a specific organism? Explain.

Explanation / Answer

1. No, the term growth convey different meaning for bacteria and multicellular organism. In bacteria, growth means increase in number due to cell division and increase in population size whereas growth in multicellular organism refers to increase in a cell number in single individual organism.

2.(a) Variation in generation time exist because for particular environmental conditions, a optimal condition varies between species. For example fast growing bacteria take 15-20 min whereas slow growing bacteria takes 24 hr under optimum condition.

(b) Generation time depends on several environmental factors such as temperature, pH etc. In single microbial species variation in generation time is due to the growth medium. Growth medium influences the growth of single microbial species.

3.(a) In lab, we are providing ideal conditions like nutrients and environmental condition for the growth of bacteria whereas in wound bacteria has to search for nutrient because our immune system fighting against them. Thus, the infectious organism has slower growth rate than bacteria growing in lab. So, the answer is no.

(b) No, antibiotic treatment not alone effective for treatment of abscess. Abscess must open and drain for the improvement that is occured via incision and drainage. The main reason is that abscess wall is formed by uninfected cells around abscess to prevent spread of infection thats why incision and drainage required.

4. Yes , generation time is a useful parameter to identify best suited growth medium for bacteria. Fast growing microorganism has shorter generation time due to their nonspecific nutrient requirement for growth and able to grow on different media whereas slow growing microbes has specific nutritional requirement and require complex media for growth. So, on the basis of generation time , you can easily decide media requirement of bacteria.

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