Microaerophile
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1: Obligate aerobic (oxygen-needing) bacteria gather at the top of the test tube in order to absorb maximal amount of oxygen.
2: Obligate anaerobic bacteria gather at the bottom to avoid oxygen.
3: Facultative bacteria gather mostly at the top, since aerobic respiration is the most beneficial one; but as lack of oxygen does not hurt them, they can be found all along the test tube.
4: Microaerophiles gather at the upper part of the test tube but not at the top. They require oxygen but at a low concentration.
5: Aerotolerant bacteria are not affected at all by oxygen, and they are evenly spread along the test tube.
Microaerophilic organisms are a specific type of microorganism (especially bacteria) that requires oxygen to survive, but requires environments containing lower levels of oxygen than are present in the atmosphere (~20% concentration). Many microphiles are also capnophiles, as they require an elevated concentration of carbon dioxide. (In the laboratory they can be easily cultivated in a candle jar, a container into which a lit candle is introduced before sealing the airtight lid. The flame burns until extinguished by oxygen deprivation, creating a carbon dioxide-rich, oxygen-poor atmosphere.)
Examples include Borrelia burgdorferi, a species of spirochaete bacteria that causes Lyme disease in humans, and Helicobacter pylori, a species of proteobacteria that has been linked to peptic ulcers and some types of gastritis.
[edit] See also
- Aerotolerant organism
- Aerobic organism
- Anaerobic organism
- Facultative anaerobic organism
- Fermentation (biochemistry)
[edit] External links
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