In bacteriology, bacterial growth has four different phases: lag phase (A), exponential or log phase (B), stationary phase (C), and death phase (D).
Growth is shown as L(log numbers) = colony forming units per ml, over T(time)
- During lag phase, bacteria adapt themselves to growth conditions. It is the period where the individual bacteria are maturing and not yet able to divide.
- At exponential phase, bacteria are reproducing at their maximum rate; therefore, their number increases during this phase. It is a period of exponential growth.
- During stationary phase, the growth rate slows due to depletion of nutrients. This phase is reached as the bacteria begin to exhaust the resources that are available to them.
- At death phase, bacteria run out of nutrients and die.
''This article includes material from an article posted on 26 April 2003 on Nupedia; written by Nagina Parmar; reviewed and approved by the Biology group; editor, Gaytha Langlois; lead reviewer, Gaytha Langlois ; lead copyeditors, Ruth Ifcher. and Jan Hogle.