The Effect of Discontinuous Methanol Addition on the Growth of a Carbon-limited Culture of Pseudomonas

SUMMARY: As the interval between methanol additions to methanol-limited cultures of Pseudomonas methylotropha was increased beyond 20 s the yield of bacterial dry wt/g of methanol fell significantly. Discontinuous methanol additions also caused cycling in the values of a number of parameters, including pH, dissolved oxygen tension, CO2 production and amino acid pool concentration. It is suggested that after each addition of methanol a burst of growth occurred, followed by a period of starvation. These observations are discussed in the light of continuous culture practice and theory.