Steady State Operation of a Continuous Culture at Maximum Growth Rate by Control of Carbon Dioxide Production

SUMMARY: Micro-organisms can be grown in continuous culture at maximum specific growth rate (μ max) by a new method based on control through carbon dioxide production. A carbon dioxide analyser regulates, through a controller unit, the supply of medium to the culture. Unlike the turbidostat, the new method allows almost indefinite, uninterrupted operation. The apparatus was tested in the determination of Arrhenius plots of log μ max against the reciprocal of absolute temperature for a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a respiratory-deficient mutant prepared from it.