how certain bacterial colonies produce distinct scents?

Question

for example pseudomonas smells like fruits, proteus smells like sewers, C. Difficile smells like manure.

how do these single cell organisms produce scents (and specific ones)?

In: 5

Answer 1

It’s a product of cell respiration/metabolism. It’s the molecules that are excreted by the cells as waste products that we smell.

Kind of like how humans eliminate carbon dioxide but trees off-gas oxygen.

The different molecules are what we smell.