Extended culture: The growth of Candida utilis at controlled acetate concentrations

Extended culture, a special type of semicontinuous culture, permits prolonged maintenance of a constant or programmed environment in a growing culture by a controlled addition of one or more substrates. Differences between extended culture and continuous culture data are a measure of differences in the properties of cell populations with different cell age distributions but identical steady‐state environments. Both extended culture and continuous culture were used to study the growth kinetics of Candida utilis (ATCC 9226) under conditions of substrate inhibition at controlled concentrations of sodium acetate in a carbon‐limited mineral salts medium supplemented with 0.01 g/1 yeast extract. Acetate concentrations ranged from 1.2 g/l to 10.8 g/l (expressed as acetic acid), while yeast concentrations varied from 0.3 to 7.8 (g dry cells)/1. Rate parameters such as growth yields (Y), specific growth rates (μ), and linear growth rates (K), were calculated by computer from the data and theory presented herein. Specific growth rates as high as 0.54/hr were observed, although extended culture growth was more nearly linear than exponential in these experiments. Growth yields usually varied between 0.2 and 0.4 (g dry cells)/(g acetate), although values were as high as 0.8 for a brief period during one experiment. Growth yields at a given acetate concentration were correlated by an equation of the form 1/Y = 1/YG + m/μ. A maintenance coefficient (m) of 0.17 (g acetate)/(g dry cell‐hr) was observed at acetate concentrations of 4.5 and 10. g/1. A typical maximum growth yield (YG) of 0.51 (g dry cell)/(g acetate) was obtained at 4.5 g/1 acetate, but an unusually high YG of 1.33 was found at 10. g/1 acetate. Oxygen uptake measurements are compared with these cell yield measurements. Linear growth rates in expended culture were correlated by the equation K = 0.89–0.70 (S/S0) where K has units of (g dry cell)/(l‐hr), S is the instantaneous acetate concentration, and S0 is the initial acetate concentration. The extended culture kinetic data are shown to be substantially different from continuous culture kinetic data. Reason for these differences are discussed in light of diffrences in the cell age distributions, as well as possible differences in experimental conditions.