Metabolism of Bacteria

Why do we must know the metabolism of

bacteria ?
Because we want to know how to inhibit or stop bacteria
growth and want to control their metabolism to prolong
shelf-life of food products.

What is Metabolism?

The Greek metabole, meaning change

It is the totality of an organism's chemical processes to
maintain life.
- Catabolism
- Anabolism

What are nutrients that bacteria want?

C
N
O

Sugar, Lipid
Protein
Air

Energy, Biosynthesis
Biosynthesis
Energy

Biochemical Components of Cells

Water: 80 % of wet weight

Dry weight

Protein 40-70 %
Nucleic acid 13-34%
Lipid 10-15 %
Also monomers, intermediates and
inorganic ions

Nutrient
requirements
Concepts:
Microorganisms require about ten elements in large
quantities, because they are used to construct
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
Several other elements are needed in very small
amounts and are parts of enzymes and cofactors.

Macronutrients

Cells make proteins, nucleic acids and

lipids
Macronutrients

macromolecules, metabolism
C, H, O, N, S, P, K, Mg, Fe
Sources
Organic compounds
Inorganic salts

Micronutrients and growth

factors

Micronutrients: Metals and metalloids

Elements needed in trace quantities

Generally not necessary to add to medium
Deficiencies can arise when medium constituents
are very pure

Growth factors: organic requirements

Vitamins, amino acids, purines, pyrimidines,

acetate

micronutrients:
required in lesser,
sometimes trace
amounts
not every element is
required by all cells

growth factors: organic compounds required in small amounts

not every growth factor is required by all cells

A. Basic Concepts

Definitions

Metabolism: The processes of catabolism and

anabolism
Catabolism: The processes by which a living
organism obtains its energy and raw materials
from nutrients
Anabolism: The processes by which energy
and raw materials are used to build
macromolecules and cellular structures
(biosynthesis)

Overview of cell metabolism

Breakdown
Proteins to Amino Acids, Starch to Glucose

Synthesis
Amino Acids to Proteins, Glucose to Starch

Bacterial Metabolism

Exoenzymes: Bacteria cannot transport

large polymers into the cell. They must
break them down into basic subunits for
transport into the cell. Bacteria therefore
elaborate extracellular enzymes for the
degradation of carbohydrates to sugars
(carbohydrases), proteins to amino acids
(proteases), and lipids to fatty acids
(Lipases).

Energy Generating Patterns

After Sugars are made or obtained, they are

the energy source of life.
Breakdown of sugar(catabolism) different
ways:
Aerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration
Fermentation

Aerobic respiration
Glucose is a hexose, monosaccharide, C6H12O6
It is systematically broken down through
three related pathways to Carbon dioxide
(CO2) and Water (H2O)
Process:
1.
Glycolysis (in cytoplasm)
2.
Kreb Cycle (in mitochondria)
3.
Electron transport chain

Glycolysis: Several glycolytic pathways

The most common one:
glucose-----> pyruvic acid + 2 NADH + 2ATP

Figure 8.3 Glycolytic Pathway

Section 8.1: Glycolysis

From McKee and McKee, Biochemistry, 5th Edition, 2011 Oxford University Press

Glycolysis

Glycolytic Pathways

4 major glycolytic pathways found in different

bacteria:

Embden-Meyerhoff-Parnas pathway

Hexose monophosphate pathway

Also found in most organisms

Responsible for synthesis of pentose sugars used in
nucleotide synthesis

Entner-Doudoroff pathway

Classic glycolysis
Found in almost all organisms

Found in Pseudomonas and related genera

Phosphoketolase pathway

Found in Bifidobacterium and Leuconostoc

cyclic pathway
Pyruvic acid is first acted on by an NZ and a coenzyme (COA).
The end product is Acetyl-Coa and a CO2 molecule.

Remember this occurs twice for each glucose molecule. (One

glucose is split into two pyruvic acid molecules.)

TCA
Cycle
(Krebs)

Return to Krebs and show how it works with electron

transport chain. Note how glycolysis and Krebs are
working together. Note that each produces reduced
carriers that need to be processed.

Carbohydrates,
fats, and
proteins can all
be catabolized
through the
same pathways.

Fig. 9.19
Copyright 2002 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Lipid Metabolism

Lipids are essential to the structure and function of membranes

Lipids also function as energy reserves, which can be mobilized as
sources of carbon
90% of this lipid is triacyglycerol
lipase
triacyglycerol
glycerol + 3 fatty acids
The major fatty acid metabolism is -oxidation
Lipids are catabolized to Glyerol and Fatty acids
Glycerol easily enters glycolysis and Krebs just like pyruvate
Fatty acids are chopped into 2 or 3 acid fragments that are
broken downt to carbondioxide
Even nucleic acids OH SO MUCH MORE!!! Take
biochem.

Lipid Metabolism

-oxidation of fatty acid

Lipid Metabolism

Glycerol Metabolism

Other fuels
Proteins: digested to amino acids
Amino acids are :
deaminated : amino group removed, the
reulting acid can be further metabolized,
more ATP
decarboxylated: carboxyl group removed,
the end products then enter glycolysis or
Krebs to make ATP

Nitrogen Metabolism

Nitrogen is an essential element of

biological molecules, such as amino acids,
nucleotides, proteins, and DNA
Bacteria vary widely in their ability to
utilize various sources of nitrogen for
synthesis of proteins

General view of nitrogen metabolism

Amino acid degradation

Pathways Involved in Nitrogen Utilization

1. Protein Digestion by proteinase and peptidase
2. Oxidative Deamination

3. Reductive Deamination

4. Decarboxylation

5. Transamination Reactions

Anaerobic respiration

Final electron acceptor : never be O2

Sulfate reducer: final electron acceptor is sodium

sulfate (Na2 SO4)
Methane reducer: final electron acceptor is CO2
Nitrate reducer : final electroon acceptor is
sodium nitrate (NaNO3)

O2/H2O coupling is the most oxidizing, more energy

in aerobic respiration.
Therefore, anaerobic is less energy efficient.

Chemoautotroph:
Bacteria

Electron
donor

Electron
acceptor

Products

Alcaligens and
Pseudomonas sp.

H2

O2

H2O

Nitrobacter

NO2NH4+
H2
S0. H2S

O2
O2
SO4 2NO3-

NO3- , H2O
NO2- , H2O
H2O. H2S
SO4 2- , N2

Fe2+

O2

Fe3+ , H2O

Nitrosomonas
Desulfovibrio
Thiobacillus denitrificans
Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

Nitrifying bacteria

2 NH4+ + 3 O2
Kcal

2 NO2- + 2 H2O + 4 H+ + 132

C. Fermentation

Features of fermentation pathways

Pyruvic acid is reduced to form reduced

organic acids or alcohols.
The final electron acceptor is a reduced
derivative of pyruvic acid
NADH is oxidized to form NAD: Essential
for continued operation of the glycolytic
pathways.
O2 is not required.
No additional ATP are made.
Gasses (CO2 and/or H2) may be released

Fermentation
Glycosis:
Glucose ----->2 Pyruvate + 2ATP + 2NADH

Fermentation pathways
a. Homolactic acid F.
P.A -----> Lactic Acid
eg. Streptococci, Lactobacilli
b.Alcoholic F.
P.A -----> Ethyl alcohol
eg. yeast

Some organisms (facultative anaerobes),

including yeast and many bacteria, can survive
using either fermentation or respiration.

For facultative anaerobes,

pyruvate is a fork in the
metabolic road that leads
to two alternative routes.

Fig. 9.18
Copyright 2002 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Re-Dox Reactions

Central
Metabolism

Fermentation Products

Nutrition

Table 27.1

Alternative energy generating

patterns(3)

Alternative energy generating

patterns(4)

Energy/carbon classes of organisms

Overview of Metabolism

Electron Transport Chain

Electron Flow
and Energy
Trapping

Microbiology chapters 7 - 8 part 2

Glycolysis: Anaerobic, no oxygen required,

linear NZ pathway

Begins with ______

End products _________
How much ATP? _______
How many carrier molecules? ____
Name the carrier molecule. ____
Where in the cell? _______
What happens after if the organism
Is an aerobe? _____
Facultative? ______
Strict anaerobe? ______
Aerobe deprived of oxygen? ____

ATP Adenosine triphosphate, universal cellular energy

Cyclically made and energy is stored and then broken down and the
energy is released

Microbiology chapters 7 - 8 part 2

Note: ATP is a ribonucleotide, it has ribose, a nitogenous base
(adenine), and phosphate. The high energy bond of the terminal
of the three phosphates is the one cyclically broken and
regenerated.
Sugars like glucose can be broken down in a catabolic pathway
controlled by many cellular enzymes. Some of the energy
released by the breaking of covalent bonds is harvested and
stored in the energy bonds of ATP.
Most any biomolecule can be used for energy; we will focus on
the catabolism of glucose (a monosaccharide) and later show
how the others are involved (lipids, AA, etc)

Microbiology chapters 7 - 8 part 2

This is a cyclic pathway
Pyruvic acid is first acted on by an NZ and a coenzyme (COA).
The end product is Acetyl-Coa and a CO2 molecule.
Remember this occurs twice for each glucose molecule. (One
glucose is split into two pyruvic acid molecules.)

Krebs cycle (TCA, Citric acid cycle) Aerobic stage, Occurs in the
fluid of the Matrix

This is a cyclic pathway Pyruvic acid is

first acted on by an NZ and a coenzyme
(COA). The end product is Acetyl-Coa
and a CO2 molecule.

Remember this occurs twice for each

glucose molecule. (One glucose is split
into two pyruvic acid molecules.)

Return to Krebs and show how it works with electron transport

chain. Note how glycolysis and Krebs are working together. Note
that each produces reduced carriers that need to be processed.

The electrons are passed down the chain and end up being added to
oxygen. The Hydrogen ion (H+) is pumped out (proton pump) and
flows back in at special sites to be added to the Oxygen and electron
to form Water. Energy is conserved (harvested; stored) in the bonds
of ATP

Theory of Chemiosmosis: Proton pump, increased H+ ion

concentration, flow through ATP synthase related channel, energy
is harvested in high energy bonds of ATP. Enough to generate 34
more ATP.

Carbohydrate Metabolism

2. EntnerDoudoroff (ED) pathway

Carbohydrate Metabolism

3. Pentose phosphate (PP) pathway

Formation of intermediates of the Embden MeyerhofParnas

(EMP) and EntnerDoudoroff (ED) pathway from carbohydrates
other than glucose

Table 1: Distribution of EmbdenMeyerhofParnas

(EMP), EntnerDoudoroff (ED), and pentose phosphate
(PP) pathway in bacteria
Organism
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Enterococcus faecalis
(Streptococcus)
Salmonella typhimurium
Bacillus subtilis
Escherichia coli
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Remark:

+ = Present;
= not present.
i = inducible

EMP
+
+
+
+
+

ED
+i
+i

PP
+

+i
+i
+i

+
+
-