MICROBIOLOGY AND PARASITOLOGY
UNIT 2: CHAPTER 6&7 – MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND
GENETICS
CHAPTER 6 OUTLINE
 Microbial Physiology
- Introduction
- Microbial Nutritional Requirements
- Categorizing Microorganisms According to
Their Energy and Carbon Sources
 Metabolic Enzymes
- Biologic Catalysts
- Factors That Affect the Efficiency of Enzymes
 Metabolism
- Catabolism
- Anabolism
 Bacterial Genetics
- Mutations
- Ways in Which Bacteria Acquire New Genetic
Information
 Genetic Engineering
 Gene Therapy
MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY INTRODUCTION
 Physiology is the study of the vital life processes of
organisms.
- Microbial physiology concerns the vital life
processes of microorganisms.
 Scientists can learn about human cells by studying
the nutritional needs of bacteria, their metabolic
pathways, and why they live, grow, multiply, or die
under certain conditions.
 Bacteria, fungi, and viruses are used extensively in
genetic studies because they produce generation
after generation so rapidly
MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY MICROBIAL NUTRITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS
 All living protoplasm contains six major chemical
elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
phosphorus, and sulfur.
- Combinations of these and other elements
make up vital macromolecules of life, including
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic
acids.
 Materials that organisms are unable to synthesize,
but are required for building macromolecules and
sustaining life, are termed essential nutrients (e.g.,
certain essential amino acids and essential fatty
acids).
MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY CATEGORIZING
MICROOGRANISMS ACCORDING TO THEIR ENERGY AND
CARBON SOURCES
 Terms relating to an organism’s energy source:
- Phototrophs use light as an energy source.
- Chemotrophs use either inorganic or organic
chemicals as an energy source.
 Chemolithotrophs use inorganic chemicals
as an energy source.
 Chemoorganotrophs use organic
chemicals as an energy source.
 Terms relating to an organism’s carbon source:
- Autotrophs use carbon dioxide (CO2 ) as their
sole source of carbon.
- Heterotrophs use organic compounds other
than CO2 as carbon sources.
 Terms that combine both energy and carbon
source:
- Photoautotrophs use light as an energy source
and CO2 as a carbon source.
- Photoheterotrophs use light as an energy
source and organic compounds other than
CO2 as a carbon source.
- Chemoautotrophs use chemicals as an energy
source and CO2 as a carbon source.
- Chemoheterotrophs use chemicals as an
energy source and organic compounds other
than CO2 as a carbon source
 Ecology is the study of the interactions between
living organisms and the world around them.
 Ecosystem refers to the interactions between living
organisms and their nonliving environment.
 Interrelationships among the different nutritional
types are of prime importance in the functioning of
the ecosystem.
- Example: Phototrophs, such as algae and
plants, are the producers of food and oxygen
for chemoheterotrophs, such as animals.
METABOLIC ENZYMES
 Metabolism refers to all of the chemical reactions
that occur in a cell. The chemical reactions are
referred to as metabolic reactions.
- Metabolic reactions are enhanced and
regulated by enzymes known as metabolic
enzymes.
 Biologic Catalysts
- Enzymes are biologic catalysts; they are
proteins that either cause a particular
chemical reaction to occur or accelerate it.
 Enzymes are specific, in that they catalyze only one
particular chemical reaction.
 A particular enzyme can exert its effect on only one
particular substance, known as the substrate for
that enzyme.
 The unique three-dimensional shape of an enzyme
enables it to fit the combining site of the substrate
like a key fits into a lock.
 An enzyme does not become altered during the
chemical reaction it catalyzes. (They don’t last
forever, however!)
 Endoenzymes are enzymes produced within a cell
that remain within the cell to catalyze reactions.
- Example: digestive enzymes within phagocytes
 Exoenzymes are produced within a cell and then
released outside of the cell to catalyze extracellular
reactions.
- Examples: cellulase and pectinase, which are
secreted by saprophytic fungi to break down
cellulose and pectin, respectively
 Hydrolases and polymerases are examples of
metabolic enzymes.
METABOLIC ENZYMES FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE
EFFICIENCY OF ENZYMES
 Many factors can affect the efficiency or
effectiveness of enzymes; for example, each
enzyme has an optimum pH and optimum
temperature range at which it functions at peak
efficiency.
- Optimum pH range⎯efficiency can be
adversely affected if too acidic or too alkaline.
- Optimum temperature range⎯efficiency can
be affected if too hot or too cool.
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- Optimum concentration of enzyme and/or  Glucose, for example, can be catabolized by one
substrate - concentration might be too high or of two common biochemical pathways: aerobic
too low. respiration and fermentation.
- Presence of inhibitors (e.g., heavy metals such  Catabolism of glucose by aerobic respiration
as lead, zinc, mercury, and arsenic) can affect occurs in three phases (each is a biochemical
efficiency. pathway):
- Glycolysis
METABOLISM - The Krebs cycle
 As previously stated, metabolism refers to all of the - The electron transport chain
chemical reactions within a cell. These reactions  The first phase (glycolysis) is actually anaerobic, but
known as metabolic reactions. the other two phases are aerobic.
- A metabolite is any molecule that is a nutrient,  Glycolysis (also called the glycolytic pathway, the
an intermediary product, or an end product in Embden–Meyerhof pathway and the Meyerhof–
a metabolic reaction. Parnas pathway) is a nine-step biochemical
 Metabolic reactions fall into two categories: pathway. Each step requires a specific enzyme.
catabolism and anabolism.
- Catabolism refers to all catabolic reactions in a DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CATABOLISM AND ANABOLISM
cell.
- Anabolism refers to all anabolic reactions in a
cell.
 Catabolic reactions involve the breaking down of
larger molecules into smaller ones.
- Whenever chemical bonds are broken, energy
is released. Catabolic reactions are a cell’s
major source of energy.
 Anabolic reactions involve the assembly of smaller
molecules into larger molecules, requiring the
formation of bonds. Once formed, the bonds
represent stored energy.
 Much of the energy released during catabolic
reactions is used to drive anabolic reactions.
 Energy can be temporarily stored in high-energy
bonds in special molecules, usually adenosine
triphosphate (ATP).
- ATP molecules are the major energy-storing or
energy-carrying molecules in a cell.
 ATP molecules are found in all cells because they
are used to transfer energy from energy-yielding A BIOCHEMICAL PATHWAY WITH FOUR STEPS
molecules, such as glucose, to energy-requiring
reactions.
 When ATP is used as an energy source, it is
hydrolyzed to adenosine diphosphate (ADP).
 If necessary, ADP can be used as an energy source
by hydrolysis to adenosine monophosphate (AMP).
 Energy is required not only for metabolic pathways
but also for growth, reproduction, sporulation, and
movement of the organism, as well as active
transport of substances across membranes.
 Some organisms (e.g., marine dinoflagellates) use
energy for bioluminescence.
 Cellular mechanisms that release small amounts of
energy as the cell needs it usually involve a
sequence of catabolic and anabolic reactions.

METABOLISM CATABOLISM ANABOLISM

 Catabolic reactions release energy (by breaking
bonds) and are a cell’s major source of energy.
- Some energy is lost as heat in catabolic
reactions.
 Biochemical pathways are a series of linked
biochemical reactions occurring in a stepwise
manner, from a starting material to an end
product.
 Think of nutrients as energy sources for organisms
and think of chemical bonds as stored energy.
 Anabolic reactions require energy because
chemical bonds are being formed. The energy that
is required comes from catabolic reactions, which
are occurring simultaneously.
 Anabolic reactions are also called biosynthetic
reactions.
 Biosynthesis of organic compounds requires energy.
The energy may be obtained through
photosynthesis (from light) or chemosynthesis (from
chemicals).
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- Photosynthetic reactions trap the radiant
energy of light and convert it into chemical
bond energy in ATP and carbohydrates (e.g.,
glucose).
BACTERIAL GENETICS
 Genetics is the study of heredity.
 An organism’s genotype (or genome) is its
complete collection of genes.
 An organism’s phenotype refers to its physical traits
(e.g., hair and eye color in humans).
 An organism’s phenotype is the manifestation of
that organism’s genotype.
 Genes direct all functions of the cell.
 A particular segment of the chromosome
constitutes a gene.
BACTERIAL GENETICS MUTATIONS
 A change in a DNA molecule (genetic alteration)
that is transmissible to offspring is called a mutation.
– There are three categories of mutations:
- Beneficial mutations
- Harmful mutations (some are lethal mutations)
- Silent mutations
 Mutation rate (the rate at which mutations occur)
can be increased by exposing cells to physical or
chemical agents called mutagens.
 The organism containing the mutation is called a
mutant.
BACTERIAL GENETICS WAYS IN WHICH BACTERIA
ACQUIRE NEW GENETIC INFORMATION
 Ways in which bacteria acquire new genetic
information (i.e., acquire new genes):
- Lysogenic conversion
- Transduction
- Transformation
- Conjugation
 An extrachromosomal DNA molecule is called a
plasmid. An organism that acquires a plasmid
acquires new genes.
 A plasmid that can either exist by itself or integrate
into the chromosome is called an episome
Lysogenic  Temperate phages (or lysogenic
Conversion phages) inject their DNA into a
bacterial cell.
 The phage DNA integrates into
the bacterial chromosome but
does not cause the lytic cycle to
occur. This is known as lysogeny.
 A phage is called a prophage
when all that remains of it is its
DNA.
 The bacterial cell containing the
prophage is referred to as a
lysogenic cell.
 The bacterial cell exhibits new
properties, directed by the viral
genes. This is referred to as
lysogenic conversion.
Transduction  This involves bacteriophages.
(to carry  In transduction, bacterial genetic
across) material is “carried across” from
one bacterial cell to another by a
bacterial virus; thus, in
transduction, bacteria acquire
new bacterial genes.
 Note how this differs from
lysogenic conversion, wherein
bacteria acquire new genetic
information in the form of viral
genes.
 Only small amounts of genetic
material are transferred by
transduction.
Transformation  A bacterial cell becomes
genetically transformed following
the uptake of DNA fragments
(“naked DNA”) from its
environment.
 The ability to absorb naked DNA
into the cell is called competence
and bacteria capable of
absorbing naked DNA are said to
be competent bacteria.
 Transformation is probably not
widespread in nature.
Conjugation  This involves a specialized type of
pilus called a sex pilus.
 A bacterial cell with a sex pilus
(called the donor cell) attaches
by means of the sex pilus to
another bacterial cell (called the
recipient cell).
 Some genetic material (usually a
plasmid) is transferred from the
donor cell to the recipient cell
through a conjugative pore.
 A plasmid that contains multiple
genes for antibiotic resistance is
known as a resistance factor or R-
factor. A bacterial cell that
receives an R-factor becomes a
“superbug.”
GENETIC ENGINEERING
 Genetic engineering or recombinant DNA
technology involves techniques to transfer
eukaryotic genes (particularly human genes) into
easily cultured cells to manufacture important
gene products (mostly proteins).
 Plasmids are frequently used as vehicles for
inserting genes into cells.
 There are many industrial and medical benefits
from genetic engineering.
- Examples: synthesis of antibodies, antibiotics,
drugs, and vaccines, as well as synthesis of
important enzymes and hormones for
treatment of diseases.
GENE THERAPY
 Gene therapy of human diseases involves the
insertion of a normal gene into cells to correct a
specific genetic disorder caused by a defective
gene.
 Viral delivery is the most common method for
inserting genes into cells; specific viruses are
selected to target the DNA of specific cells.
 Genes may someday be regularly prescribed as
“drugs” in the treatment of diseases (e.g.,
autoimmune diseases, sickle cell anemia, cancer,
cystic fibrosis, heart disease, etc.)
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