Summary
Fermentations were carried out in an 801 tower-loop reactor with pellets of Penicillium chrysogenum. The development of the inner structure of the pellets with regard to various fermentation conditions was observed by means of histological preparations of the pellets. Under conditions of energy-source-limitation mycelial tip growth and lysis of other mycelial parts exist simultaneously. Thus the net growth rate (formation rate of cell mass) is higher than the gross growth rate (multiplication rate of cell mass). Under conditions of nitrogen limitation, gross growth rate and net growth rate are identical. A very strict correlation between gross growth rate and penicillin production rate was found as long as sufficient oxygen supply could be maintained and carbon catabolite repression was avoided. The energy source requirement of the biomass can be described with the sum of three terms that correspond to gross growth, lysis compensation growth and maintenance.
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Abbreviations
- a :
-
Constant 1/l h
- b :
-
Constant
- K :
-
Decay rate constant for product 1/h
- K 1 :
-
Substrate inhibition constant g/l
- K op :
-
Controls saturation constant for oxygen g/l
- K p :
-
Saturation constant for substrate g/l
- m :
-
Maintenance coefficient 1/h
- ms :
-
Apparent maintenance coefficient 1/h
- O :
-
Dissolved oxygen concentration g/l
- P :
-
Product concentration g/l
- p :
-
Exponent of O
- q :
-
Specific productivity 1/h
- S :
-
Substrate concentration g/l
- t :
-
Time h
- t 1 :
-
Beginning of production phase h
- t 2 :
-
Time of pellet dissolution h
- V :
-
Liquid volume of fermentation broth l
- X :
-
Dry cell mass concentration g/l
- Y :
-
Yield of dry cell mass from energy substrate
- μg:
-
Specific gross growth rate of biomass 1/h
- μl:
-
Specific lysis rate of cell mass 1/h
- μn :
-
Specific net growth rate of cell mass 1/h
- μp :
-
Maximum specific rate of product formation 1/h
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Wittler, R., Schügerl, K. Interrelation between penicillin productivity and growth rate. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 21, 348–355 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00249978
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00249978