Question

Identify the phases of growth of microbial colonies and describe what happens in each phase

Answer 1

There are four phases of microbial growth

1 Lag phase: It is the longest phase with little or no cell growth, but are metabolically active. During this phase, the bacteria replicates its DNA and other proteins required for the growth.

2 Log phase: Also known as the exponential phase as there is an exponential increase in the cell number.

3 Stationary phase: There is no net increase in the cell number as the number of new cells formed is equal to the number of cells dying. The cell death is due to either the build of toxic products or the depletion of nutrients from the medium.

4 Death phase: There is an exponential decrease in the number of living bacterial cells.