Match the term to the proper description(s). A term can have more than one description.

Question

Table matching microbial growth phases to their descriptions, with some mismatched definitions included.

Accepted Answer

Hi, everybody. And welcome back. Our next problem says during the lag phase, bacterial cells, primarily a undergo rapid cell division. B adjust to their new environment. C produce metabolic wastes or D enter a dormant state. Well, since we're talking about lag phase, just by the nature of the word lag, meaning slow down, we can probably pretty easily eliminate choice a undergo rapid cell division. And indeed, this is a phase where there's an exponential growth of cells, they've adjusted to their environment, they have optimal conditions and they're multiplying very rapidly with the population increasing exponentially. So it's usually called the exponential or log phase. So what characterizes the lag phase? Well, that would be choice B adjust to their new environment. There's a lag in cell growth and division. When bacteria are placed in a new environment, they alter their gene expression to adjust to the new environment, they produce enzymes, proteins or other molecules that may be needed to deal with the conditions they found themselves in. So this is going to be our correct answer to describe the lag phase to be thorough. Let's take a look at our remaining answer. Choices C produce metabolic wastes. Well, this is going to be sort of different depending on what you're talking about. So, if we're talking about just overall bacteria, whether in the wild or in the laboratory, you would say that they produce metabolic waste throughout their larry cycle or reproductive cycle, no matter what phase they're in. If they're multiplying and growing they're producing metabolic waste. So, producing metabolic waste would not be particularly characteristic of the lag phase. In fact, they could be producing less waste during this phase than in the exponential phase because there's less division and fewer bacteria. However, if we're talking about the four phases of bacterial growth that we see in a lab in a closed system, you might consider this characteristic of the death phase. We'll put death phase enclosed system. So that's when you see that the bacteria have pretty much used up all of the nutrients available in this closed system. And they're now just they're dying off and producing this metabolic waste rather than multiplying. So depends on the kind of the conditions you're talking about. But in neither case is a characteristic of the la lag phase. So it wouldn't be our answer. And then finally, choice d enter a dormant state. Well, this might make you stop for a little bit bit because we have this word lag meaning slow down or stop. But dormant state specifically refers to when there are unfavorable conditions. The bacteria just cannot survive. There's not enough nutrients. The conditions are too harsh and bacterial cells can go into this dormant state and form spores that can last for thousands and thousands of years if need be in some species. So they have this protective system that lets them kind of shut down and survive until conditions become more favorable. But that's not the same as a lag phase where they're just a adjusting to a new environment and what they'll need to thrive in that environment. So again, during the lag phase, bacterial cells, primarily choice B adjust to their new environment. See you in the next video.

Match the term to the proper description(s). A term can have more than one description.

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

Key Concepts

Terminology in Microbiology

Microbial Structures and Functions

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