Bacteria are prokaryotic organisms that divide and multiply through the process called binary fission. In other words, each bacterium divides into two identical copies of itself by splitting its contents within a short period of time of around 20 minutes (Daniel Izzo, 2007). Microbiology is a study of microorganisms, which is why bacteria and their reproduction mechanisms are of the greatest interest to microbiologists. The number of bacteria counted from one bacterium should be counted by using 2^n, where n represents a number of divisions. This variable can be calculated by dividing the total time t divided by 20 minutes, which leads to 2^t/20 minutes. For example, in an hour, there are three divisions due to 60 minutes / 20 minutes = 3, and 2^3 = 8. However, in a day, there are 24 hours or 1440 minutes, and when the latter is divided by 20 minutes, the result is n = 72 divisions. Therefore, one bacteria dividing every 20 minutes could produce 4.7223665e+21 bacteria.
The peptidoglycan layer is the main difference between gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A purple Gram stain can be used to identify the type, where gram-positive bacteria will be colored purple due to a thick peptidoglycan layer, and gram-negative bacteria will be colored pink. A bacterium’s shape can be spherical, rod-like, and spiral, which is called cocci, bacilli, and spirillum, respectively. Bacteria can also arrange together in a grape-like form, such as staphylococci, a chain, such as streptococci, and other forms. A photosynthetic autotrophic bacterium can grow in an oxygen-rich environment in a temperature range of 25-40 degrees Celsius by using inorganic chemical compounds as the source of energy since they can synthesize their own food using light.
Reference
Daniel Izzo. (2007). Bacteria growth[Video]. YouTube.