Question

can you use the result of a propagation method to detect the original number of pathogenic bacterium in a sample? Explain the answer

Answer 1

Propagation of bacteria can be used to determine the original number or count of pathogenic bacetrium in a sample.

Most bacteria divide and propage by binary fission (asexual reproduction). Binary fission results in splitting of a parent bacterial cell into two daughter cells with approximately equal size.

Bacterial cells exhibit exponential growth pattern and the number of cells increases in a geometric progression of no of 2. The number of bacteria after n generations can be determined by the expression 2ⁿ.

If the generation time (or doubling time) of the pathogenic bacterium is known, then the original number of pathogenic bacteria in the sample can be determined from this expression.