Microbial Growth and Its Control - Continuous Culture

4 important questions on Microbial Growth and Its Control - Continuous Culture

What is a continuous culture?

A continuous culture is an open-system with microbial culture of fixed volume.

Give an example of a continuous culture.

The chemostat.

What is the difference between a batch culture and a continuous culture?


In a batch culture, the growth conditions are constantly changing, it is impossible to independently control both specific growth rate (µ in h-1) and population density (OD540). In a continuous culture however, both specific growth rate and population density can be controlled independently and simultaneously.
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What happens in a continuous culture at steady state?

In a continuous culture at steady state, the dilution rate equals the specific growth rate and the limiting nutrient determines the population density.

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