Growth yields and “Maintenance energy requirement” inThiobacillusspecies under energy limitation

✍ Scribed by J. G. Kuenen

• Book ID: 104762991
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1979
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 635 KB
• Volume: 122
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0302-8933
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00411358

✦ Synopsis

Molar growth yield studies on chemostat cultures of Thiobacillus neapolitanus grown in thiosulfate-minerals medium have confirmed earlier observations that the dry weight increased linearly with the dilution rate. The observed increase can be explained neither by a change in cell composition nor by the observed excretion of organic compounds. The increase of the molar growth yield over the full range of growth rates, that is also observed in other obligate chemolithotrophs, was not found in the facultatively chemolithotrophic Thiobacillus A2, grown on thiosulfate or formate. The interpretation of the results in terms of "maintenance energy requirement" is discussed. It is concluded that these results do not allow a mathematical treatment according to the empirical formula of Pirt.