Bacterial culture growth curve

Changes in the population of viable bacteria in an environment are determined by means of a viable count, and aplot of this count against time gives a dynamic picture of any pattern of change (see Fig. 11.1, curve A). The typical growth curve of a bacterial culture is constructed from data obtained in this w. The pattern of bacterial death in a lethal environment m be obtained by the same technique, when a death or mortality curve is obtained (Fig. 11.1, curve C). 

Exponential growth, where log Y =A(BX), such as the growth curve for the log phase of a bacterial culture. 

Fig. 3.8 Typical bacterial growth curve in closed batch liquid culture. (A) Lag or adaptive phase (B) logarithmic or exponential phase (C) stationary phase (D) decline phase.

The population size of bacteria and unicellular algae as a function of time in a growth culture is illustrated by Figure 11.12, which shows a population curve for a bacterial culture. Such a culture is started by inoculating a rich nutrient medium with a small number of bacterial cells. Bacteria multiply exponentially in the log phase. 

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