[Quantitative description of microbial growth in a batch culture depending on the physiologic state of inocula]

The dynamics of biomass production and the respiration rate of five microorganisms grown as batch cultures were studied in detail. Cell suspensions with a known physiological state, i.e. chemostat cultures grown at a particular D value, as well as quasi steady-state populations cultivated with slow feeding and long energy-source starvation were used as inocula. The microorganisms were arbitrary subdivided into two groups. The biomass of Pseudomonas fluorescens, Bacillus subtilis and Debaryomyces formicarius accumulated smoothly with a monotonic rise of the specific growth rate to the upper level of microns. A distinct inverse correlation was established between the duration of the lag phase and the specific growth rate of the inoculum. Arthrobacter globiformis and Lipomyces tetrasporus were characterised by biphase growth referred to as false diauxia: glucose was accumulated without its oxidation during the first phase, and actual growth (just as in the first group of microorganism) occurred during the second phase. Most of the results are satisfactorily described by a simplified modification of the synthetic chemostat model.