The bacteria that grow between 20 to 50 degrees Celsius temperature are called?

Appeared in: UPRVUNL - 2021

Explanation

Mesophiles are defined as microorganisms that grow best in moderate temperatures, typically between 20°C and 45°C.
This temperature range includes human body temperature (37°C), which is why most human pathogenic bacteria fall into this category.
Examples of mesophiles include common bacteria like Escherichia coli and Salmonella.

Option A: Hyperthermophilic bacteria are 'extreme heat-loving' organisms that thrive in extremely high temperatures, typically between 80°C and 113°C.
Option B: Thermophilic bacteria are 'heat-loving' and grow at high temperatures, generally in the range of 45°C to 80°C.
Option D: Psychrophilic bacteria are 'cold-loving' organisms that grow at low temperatures, typically below 20°C.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Classification of bacteria based on temperature requirements for growth as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Understanding bacterial temperature requirements is fundamental to infection control. Sterilization methods like autoclaving use high temperatures to kill mesophilic pathogens.
In the laboratory, incubators are set to 37°C to cultivate most clinically relevant bacteria from patient samples.
Food safety protocols, such as refrigeration and proper cooking temperatures, are based on inhibiting the growth of mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria that cause foodborne illness and spoilage.

How to Approach the Question

This is a factual recall question from microbiology.
Identify the key information in the stem: the specific temperature range is '20 to 50 degrees Celsius'.
Recall the definitions for the different classifications of bacteria based on temperature.
Match the given temperature range to the correct term.
Psychro- means cold, Meso- means middle, Thermo- means heat, and Hyper- means extreme. '20 to 50°C' is a moderate or 'middle' range, pointing towards 'Mesophilic'.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Classification of bacteria based on temperature requirements for growth.
Stem keywords: bacteria, grow, temperature, 20 to 50 degrees Celsius
Lead-in keywords: are called
Negative lead-in flag: false

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E6 Microbiology Applied AnjuDhir 3e Part 1 pp. 56-58, 77-79

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