[Autotrophic cultivation of carboxide bacteria in continuous cultures]

The carboxydobacterium Seliberia carboxydohydrogena Z-1062 was grown under the conditions of continuous cultivation in the atmosphere of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. The concentration of the bacterial cells in the chemostat depended on the specific growth rate at the inhibition with CO. The biochemical composition of the carboxydobacterial biomass, the rate of utilization of the gaseous mixture by the culture, and the economic coefficients were studied when the flow rate of the medium changed from 0.2 to 0.05 hr-1. A stable turbidostatic culture of this carboxydobacterial strain has been obtained, and the effect of CO concentration on the specific growth rate of the bacterium has been assayed.