infectious diseases
Overview of Bacteria
Oxygen requirements
Aerobic bacteria(obligate aerobes) require oxygen to produce energy and to grow in culture. They produce energy using aerobic cellular respiration. ( Overview of Anaerobic Bacteria ) do not require oxygen and do not grow in culture if air is present. They produce energy using fermentation or anaerobic respiration. Anaerobic bacteria are common in the gastrointestinal tract, vagina, dental crevices, and chronic wounds when blood supply is impaired. Facultative bacteriacan grow with or without oxygen. They produce energy by fermentation or anaerobic respiration when oxygen is absent and by aerobic cellular respiration when oxygen is present. Microaerophilic bacteria prefer a reduced oxygen tension (eg, 2 to 10%). Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular parasites that acquire energy from the host cell and do not produce it themselves. 