All bacteria are lacking of a membrane-bound nucleus and other membrane bound organelles, classifying them as prokaryotes. In the six-kingdom system used by the United States, all bacteria fall into the taxonomic kingdom of either archaebacteria or eubacteria. Bacteria are all unicellular and microscopic regardless of which kingdom they are grouped in. In general, archaebacteria are thought to resemble the first living bacteria on earth and are normally grouped by the climate in which they reside. These bacteria are normally found in extreme conditions compared to other organisms, such as high salinity, acidity, and/or temperature. Additionally, bacteria are the prime dominant species on Earth and have been for most of its history. Over the
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Instead, bacteria grow in phases. These phases, in order from first to last, are the lag, exponential, stationary and death phases. As a brief explanation of each, the lag phase is a brief phase where the bacteria begin adjusting to the enclosed environment, increasing their metabolic activity and synthesizing proteins and nucleic acids in preparation for cell division. Afterwards, the exponential phase begins and the numbers start to increase at a constant rate known as the stationary phase. Bacterial growth in a batch culture cannot continue indefinitely due to either lack of biological space, and limited availability of usable resources. The bacteria simply remain there until their metabolic abilities have been exhausted. It is during this phase that the bacteria may attempt to begin sporulation in attempt to wait for available resources. This can only happen for a certain amount of time simply due to overpopulation of bacteria and there will not be enough resources to support proper bacterial growth, let alone a whole colony. This begins the death phase, in which the population of viable cells begins to decline. This phase is in essence, a reverse of the aforementioned exponential phase. The figure shown below demonstrates the graph in a fairly simple manner. (Kenneth Todar,
Instead, bacteria grow in phases. These phases, in order from first to last, are the lag, exponential, stationary and death phases. As a brief explanation of each, the lag phase is a brief phase where the bacteria begin adjusting to the enclosed environment, increasing their metabolic activity and synthesizing proteins and nucleic acids in preparation for cell division. Afterwards, the exponential phase begins and the numbers start to increase at a constant rate known as the stationary phase. Bacterial growth in a batch culture cannot continue indefinitely due to either lack of biological space, and limited availability of usable resources. The bacteria simply remain there until their metabolic abilities have been exhausted. It is during this phase that the bacteria may attempt to begin sporulation in attempt to wait for available resources. This can only happen for a certain amount of time simply due to overpopulation of bacteria and there will not be enough resources to support proper bacterial growth, let alone a whole colony. This begins the death phase, in which the population of viable cells begins to decline. This phase is in essence, a reverse of the aforementioned exponential phase. The figure shown below demonstrates the graph in a fairly simple manner. (Kenneth Todar,