When a Bacterium Is Introduced to a New Environment That

Multiple Choice

When a bacterium is introduced to a new environment that is an appropriate medium for that species to grow, fission allows a rapid expansion of the population (2-4-8-16-32-64 . . . etc.) . But there is usually a slight lag before the bacteria actually begin building up such a logarithmic growth curve. What is the best explanation?

A) It takes time for sub-cellular units to evolve the ability to digest new media.
B) A bacterium is not actively producing all the enzymes it can code for, and it takes time to induce and amplify the production of the currently needed enzymes.
C) Binary fission becomes more and more efficient.
D) A new media dissolves away repressor proteins.
E) Structural genes act more slowly than metabolic genes.