Microbial growth

Microbial growth is an increase in the number of microbial cells or infectious particles through cell division or replication. Its rate depends on resources, environmental conditions, and the organism’s biology.

Binary fission: A form of cell division in which one cell divides into two daughter cells. Many bacteria increase population size by repeatedly dividing through this process.
Microorganism: An organism or infectious agent too small to be seen clearly without magnification. Microbial growth concerns increases in the abundance of these microscopic life forms and agents.
Batch culture: A closed cultivation system in which microbes grow in a fixed volume of medium without continuous nutrient replacement. Its changing conditions make it a standard way to observe population growth phases.
Viral replication: The production of new virus particles inside host cells using viral and host machinery. Viruses increase in number by replication, not by cellular division.
Exponential growth: Growth in which a quantity increases at a rate proportional to its current size. A population with abundant resources can multiply at an approximately constant rate per cell.
Cell cycle: The ordered sequence of events through which a cell grows, replicates its DNA, and divides. Cell-cycle timing constrains how quickly cellular microbes can reproduce.
Chemostat: A continuous culture device that adds fresh medium and removes culture at controlled rates. It maintains microbes in sustained growth at a rate set by nutrient supply and dilution.
Microbial death: The loss of viability in microbial cells or infectious particles. Death reduces viable abundance and can offset population growth.
Bacterial growth curve: A graph of microbial population size over time, commonly showing lag, exponential, stationary, and death phases. It tracks how a cultured population shifts from adaptation to rapid division and then growth limitation.
Nutrient: A substance an organism takes in and uses for energy, growth, or maintenance. Microbes require usable nutrients to build biomass and support replication.

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