Question

Describe the atmospheric gases that most influence bacterial growth. Characterize the following with respect to oxygen: aerobe, anaerobe, facultative anaerobe, aerotolerant, microaerophile, barophile, capnophile.

Answer 1

Atmospheric gases that most influence bacterial growth are oxygen, and carbon dioxide

Aerobe: These organisms require oxygen to survive

Anaerobe: These organisms can only survive in the absence of oxygen.

Faculative anaerobe: Such as organism uses aerobic respiration for making ATP but in the absence of oxygen hey can switch to fermentation or anaerobic respiration if oxygen is not present.

Aerotolerant: These use fermentation to produce energy. They thus do not utilize oxygen but can tolerate the presence of oxygen.

Microaerophile: These require oxygen to respire but excess of oxygen can poision them

Barophile:They can survive at high pressures.They require little or no oxygen for survival

Capnophile: These survive in high concentrations of CO2. Ability to tolerate oxygen varies widely