The control of glucose concentration during yeast fed-batch cultivation using a fast measurement complemented by an extended Kalman filter

In this contribution results are presented from the control of glucose during a yeast fed-batch cultivation. For glucose measurements a special flow injection analysis (FIA) system was employed, which uses a glucose oxidase solution instead of immobilized enzymes. To avoid the large delay time caused by probing systems samples containing cells, i.e., samples containing the ordinary culture broth, are injected into the FIA system. Based on a special evaluation method the glucose concentration can be measured with a delay time of about 60 s. Employing an extended Kalman filter, the biomass, the glucose concentration as well as the w_max (Monod model) are estimated. Based on the estimation a feed forward and a PI-control with a set point of 0.5 g/l was carried out. The mean deviation of the set point and the estimated value as well as the set point and the measured value were 0.05 and 0.11 g/l respectively for a control period of 8 h producing a cell dry mass of more than 6 g/l.     

Enzymatic hydrolysis of lime-pretreated corn stover and investigation of the HCH-1 Model: inhibition pattern, degree of inhibition, validity of simplified HCH-1 Model

The inhibition pattern was identified for a reaction system composed of Trichoderma reesei cellulase enzyme complex and lime-pretreated corn stover. Also, the glucose inhibition effect was quantified for the aforementioned reaction system over a range of enzyme loadings and substrate concentrations. Lastly, the range of substrate concentrations and enzyme loadings were identified in which the linear form of the simplified HCH-1 Model is valid. The HCH-1 Model is a modified Michaelis-Menton Model with non-competitive inhibition and the fraction of insoluble substrate available to bind with enzyme. With a high enzyme loading, the HCH-1 Model can be integrated and simplified in such a way that sugar conversion is linearly proportional to the logarithm of enzyme loading. A wide range of enzyme loadings (0.25-50 FPU/g dry biomass) and substrate concentrations (10-100g/L) were investigated. All experiments were conducted with an excess cellobiase loading to ensure the experimental results were not influenced by cellobiose inhibition. A non-competitive inhibition pattern was identified for the corn stover-cellulase reaction system, thereby validating the assumptions of the HCH-1 Model. At a substrate concentration of 10 g/L, glucose inhibition parameters of 0.986 and 0.979 were measured for enzyme loadings of 2 FPU/g dry biomass and 50 FPU/g dry biomass, respectively. At 5 FPU/g dry biomass, glucose inhibition parameters of 0.985 and 0.853 were measured for substrate concentrations of 10 and 100g/L, respectively. The linear form of the HCH-1 Model predicted biomass digestibility for lime-pretreated corn stover over an enzyme loading range of 0.25-50 FPU/g dry biomass and substrate concentration range of 10-100g/L.     

Butanediol production by Aerobacter aerogenes NRRL B199: effects of initial substrate concentration and aeration agitation

Butanediol production by Aerobacter aerogenes NRRL B199 grown on glucose requires an optimal rate of aeration for the obtention of butanediol 2, 3. In the absence of air, Aerobacter aerogenes NRRL B199 growth and production are weak. Agitation-aeration is necessary for producing the biomass, but an excess of oxygen proves to be toxic with regard to metabolite production. Oxygen is a limiting substrate with regard to growth and an inhibitor with regard to the specific metabolite productivity. This observation is discussed from a kinetic stand point and in relation to the search for the optimum oxygen transfer coefficient (K(L)a), which is found to be in the range of 50-100h(-1). It has also been observed that K(L)a increases during the fermentation cycle. The initial substrate concentration effects the yield production of biomass and butanediol production. Low yields of butanediol are obtained at low initial sugar concentrations, but good yields of butanediol are obtained (0.45 g/g) at high concentrations of glucose (195 g/L). Carbon substrates and butanediol are inhibitors of cell growth while butanediol is not quite an inhibitor of the specific rate of butanediol production for the range of butanediol of 0-100 g/L.     

优化益生菌Lactobacillus casei Zhang高密度培养条件

为实现L. casei Zhang的高密度培养,在之前优化增殖培养基的基础上进一步寻求适宜该菌的培养条件。研究了不同中和剂、缓冲盐浓度、葡萄糖浓度、pH值控制、通气条件和补料分批培养对菌体在恒pH条件下发酵的影响,根据不同条件下菌体的比生长速率、菌体密度和活菌数情况,确定L. casei Zhang较适宜的高密度培养条件为：培养基葡萄糖浓度为80 g/L~100 g/L,以氨水为中和剂使pH保持5.9,采用间歇通氮气的方法保持环境厌氧,分批培养方式下37°C保温发酵10 h~12 h后,L. casei Zhang细胞干重达到7 g/L,活菌数3.5×1010 CFU/mL,比优化前提高7倍以上,能够满足益生菌制品生产要求的高菌体密度。     

A simple model-based control for Pichia pastoris allows a more efficient heterologous protein production bioprocess

A predictive control algorithm coupled with a PI feedback controller has been satisfactorily implemented in the heterologous Rhizopus oryzae lipase production by Pichia pastoris methanol utilization slow (Mut(s)) phenotype. This control algorithm has allowed the study of the effect of methanol concentration, ranging from 0.5 to 1.75 g/L, on heterologous protein production. The maximal lipolytic activity (490 UA/mL), specific yield (11,236 UA/g(biomass)), productivity (4,901 UA/L . h), and specific productivity (112 UA/g(biomass)h were reached for a methanol concentration of 1 g/L. These parameters are almost double than those obtained with a manual control at a similar methanol set-point. The study of the specific growth, consumption, and production rates showed different patterns for these rates depending on the methanol concentration set-point. Results obtained have shown the need of implementing a robust control scheme when reproducible quality and productivity are sought. It has been demonstrated that the model-based control proposed here is a very efficient, robust, and easy-to-implement strategy from an industrial application point of view.     

Enhanced beta-galactosidase production by high cell-density culture of recombinant Bacillus subtilis with glucose concentration control

Cell concentration, recombinant protein (beta-galactosidase) level, and the specific enzyme expression level were increased from 19 to 184 g/L, 18.3 to 129 U/mL, and 3.2 to 5.7 U/mg protein, respectively, in fed-batch culture of recombinant Bacillus subtilis when glucose concentration was controlled at 1 g/L as compared with those of conventional fed-batch culture. Glucose concentration of the culture broth was monitored by an automatic on-line glucose analyzer and controlled with a moving identification combined with optimal control (MICOC) strategy. When glucose concentrations were controlled at 10, 1, and 0.2 g/L, accumulated propionic acid concentrations and specific enzyme activities were 18.5, 4.4, and 0.6 g/L and 2.9, 5.7, and 7.1 U/mg protein, respectively. The addition of various concentrations of sodium propionate to the growth medium in batch cultures resulted in a drastic decrease in the growth rate with respect to propionate concentration. The propionic acid was shown to be responsible for cell growth inhibition and enzyme activity reduction in fed-batch culture. (c) 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A robust fed-batch feeding strategy independent of the carbon source for optimal polyhydroxybutyrate production

A three-stage control strategy independent of the organic substrate was developed for automated substrate feeding in a two-phase fed-batch culture of Cupriavidus necator DSM 545 for the production of the biopolymer polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). The optimal feeding strategy was determined using glucose as the substrate. A combined substrate feeding strategy consisting of exponential feeding and a novel method based on alkali-addition monitoring resulted in a maximal cell concentration in the biomass growth phase. In the PHB accumulation phase, a constant substrate feeding strategy based on the estimated amount of biomass produced in the first phase and a specific PHB accumulation rate was implemented to induce PHB under limiting nitrogen at different biomass concentrations. Maximal cell and PHB concentrations of 164 and 125 g/L were obtained when nitrogen feeding was stopped at 56 g/L of residual biomass; the glucose concentration was maintained within its optimal range. The developed feeding strategy was validated using waste glycerol as the sole carbon source for PHB production, and the three-stage control strategy resulted in a PHB concentration of 65.6 g/L and PHB content of 62.7% while keeping the glycerol concentration constant. It can thus be concluded that the developed feeding strategy is sensitive, robust, inexpensive, and applicable to fed-batch culture for PHB production independent of the carbon source.     

Utility of an Escherichia coli strain engineered in the substrate uptake system for improved culture performance at high glucose and cell concentrations: an alternative to fed-batch cultures

Overflow metabolism is an undesirable characteristic of aerobic cultures of Escherichia coli. It results from elevated glucose consumption rates that cause a high substrate conversion to acetate, severely affecting cell physiology and bioprocess performance. Such phenomenon typically occurs in batch cultures under high glucose concentration. Fed-batch culture, where glucose uptake rate is controlled by external addition of glucose, is the classical bioprocessing alternative to prevent overflow metabolism. Despite its wide-spread use, fed-batch mode presents drawbacks that could be overcome by simpler batch cultures at high initial glucose concentration, only if overflow metabolism is effectively prevented. In this study, an E. coli strain (VH32) lacking the phosphoenolpyruvate: carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS) with a modified glucose transport system was cultured at glucose concentrations of up to 100 g/L in batch mode, while expressing the recombinant green fluorescence protein (GFP). At the highest glucose concentration tested, acetate accumulated to a maximum of 13.6 g/L for the parental strain (W3110), whereas a maximum concentration of only 2 g/L was observed for VH32. Consequently, high cell and GFP concentrations of 52 and 8.2 g/L, respectively, were achieved in VH32 cultures at 100 g/L of glucose. In contrast, maximum biomass and GFP in W3110 cultures only reached 65 and 48%, respectively, of the values attained by the engineered strain. A comparison of this culture strategy against traditional fed-batch culture of W3110 is presented. This study shows that high cell and recombinant protein concentrations are attainable in simple batch cultures by circumventing overflow metabolism through metabolic engineering. This represents a novel and valuable alternative to classical bioprocessing approaches.     

Effect of various factors on ethanol yields from lignocellulosic biomass by Thermoanaerobacterium AK₁₇

The ethanol production capacity from sugars and lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates (HL) by Thermoanaerobacterium strain AK(17) was studied in batch cultures. The strain converts various carbohydrates to, acetate, ethanol, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. Ethanol yields on glucose and xylose were 1.5 and 1.1 mol/mol sugars, respectively. Increased initial glucose concentration inhibited glucose degradation and end product formation leveled off at 30 mM concentrations. Ethanol production from 5 g L(-1) of complex biomass HL (grass, hemp, wheat straw, newspaper, and cellulose) (Whatman paper) pretreated with acid (0.50% H(2) SO(4)), base (0.50% NaOH), and without acid/base (control) and the enzymes Celluclast and Novozyme 188 (0.1 mL g(-1) dw; 70 and 25 U g(-1) of Celluclast and Novozyme 188, respectively) was investigated. Highest ethanol yields (43.0 mM) were obtained on cellulose but lowest on hemp leafs (3.6 mM). Chemical pretreatment increased ethanol yields substantially from lignocellulosic biomass but not from cellulose. The influence of various factors (HL, enzyme, and acid/alkaline concentrations) on end-product formation from 5 g L(-1) of grass and cellulose was further studied to optimize ethanol production. Highest ethanol yields (5.5 and 8.6 mM ethanol g(-1) grass and cellulose, respectively) were obtained at very low HL concentrations (2.5 g L(-1)); with 0.25% acid/alkali (v/v) and 0.1 mL g(-1) enzyme concentrations. Inhibitory effects of furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural during glucose fermentation, revealed a total inhibition in end product formation from glucose at 4 and 6 g L(-1), respectively.     

Linear correlation between online capacitance and offline biomass measurement up to high cell densities in Escherichia coli fermentations in a pilot-scale pressurized bioreactor

To yield high concentrations of protein expressed by genetically modified Escherichia coli, it is important that the bacterial strains are cultivated to high cell density in industrial bioprocesses. Since the expressed target protein is mostly accumulated inside the E. coli cells, the cellular product formation can be directly correlated to the bacterial biomass concentration. The typical way to determine this concentration is to sample offline. Such manual sampling, however, wastes time and is not efficient for acquiring direct feedback to control a fedbatch fermentation. An E. coli K12-derived strain was cultivated to high cell density in a pressurized stirred bioreactor on a pilot scale, by detecting biomass concentration online using a capacitance probe. This E. coli strain was grown in pure minimal medium using two carbon sources (glucose and glycerol). By applying exponential feeding profiles corresponding to a constant specific growth rate, the E. coli culture grew under carbon-limited conditions to minimize overflow metabolites. A high linearity was found between capacitance and biomass concentration, whereby up to 85 g/L dry cell weight was measured. To validate the viability of the culture, the oxygen transfer rate (OTR) was determined online, yielding maximum values of 0.69 mol/l/h and 0.98 mol/l/h by using glucose and glycerol as carbon sources, respectively. Consequently, online monitoring of biomass using a capacitance probe provides direct and fast information about the viable E. coli biomass generated under aerobic fermentation conditions at elevated headspace pressures.     

Effect of feeding strategy on Zymomonas mobilis CP4 fed-batch fermentations and mathematical modeling of the system

In this work, the effect of the feeding strategy in Zymomonas mobilis CP4 fed-batch fermentations on the final biomass and ethanol concentrations was studied. Highest glucose yields to biomass (0.018 g/g) and to ethanol (0.188 g/g) were obtained in fed-batch fermentations carried out using different feeding rates with a glucose concentration in the feed equal to 100 g/l. Lower values (0.0102 g biomass/g glucose and 0.085 g ethanol/g glucose) were obtained when glucose accumulated to levels higher than 60 g/l. On the other hand, the highest biomass (5 g/l) and ethanol (39 g/l) concentrations were obtained using a glucose concentration in the feed equal to 220 g/l and exponentially varied feeding rates. Experimental data were used to validate the mathematical model of the system. The prediction errors of the model are 0.39, 14.36 and 3.24 g/l for the biomass, glucose and ethanol concentrations, respectively. Due to the complex relationship for describing the specific growth rate, a fed-batch culture in which glucose concentration is constant would not optimize the process. Received: 30 November 1999 / Received revision: 24 March 2000 / Accepted: 7 April 2000     

Effect of substrate concentration on ethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis on cellulose hydrolysate

Summary A cellulose hydrolysate from Aspen wood, containing mainly glucose, was fermented into ethanol by a thermotolerant strain MSN77 of Zymomonas mobilis. The effect of the hydrolysate concentration on fermentation parameters was investigated. Growth parameters (specific growth rate and biomass yield) were inhibited at high hydrolysate concentrations. Catabolic parameters (specific glucose uptake rate, specific ethanol productivity and ethanol yield) were not affected. These effects could be explained by the increase in medium osmolality. The results are similar to those described for molasses based media. Strain MSN77 could efficiently ferment glucose from Aspen wood up to a concentration of 60 g/l. At higher concentration, growth was inhibited.Nomenclature S glucose concentration (g/l) - X biomass concentration (g/l) - P ethanol concentration (g/l) - C conversion of glucose (%) - t fermentation time (h) - q_S specific glucose uptake rate (g/g.h) - q_p specific ethanol productivity (g/g.h) - YINX/S biomass yield (g/g) - Y_p/S ethanol yield (g/g) - specific growth rate (h^-1)     

Improvement of cloned alpha-amylase gene expression in fed-batch culture of recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae by regulating both glucose and ethanol concentrations using a fuzzy controller

The effect of ethanol concentration on cloned gene expression in recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain 20B-12 containing one of two plasmids, pNA3 and pNA7, was investigated in batch cultures. Plasmids pNA3 and pNA7 contain the alpha-amylase gene under the control of the SUC2 or PGK promoter, respectively. When the ethanol concentration was controlled at 2 to 5 g/L, the gene expressions were two times higher than those at 20 g/L ethanol. The increase the gene expression by maintaining both the ethanol and glucose concentrations at low levels, a fuzzy ontroller was developed. The concentrations of glucose and ethanol were controlled simultaneously at 0.15 and 2 g/L, respectively, in the production phase using the fuzzy controller in fed-batch culture. The synthesis of alpha-amylase was induced by the low glucose concentration and maintained at a high level of activity by regulating the ethanol concentration at 2 g/L. The secretory alpha-amylase was induced by the low glucose concentration and maintained at a high level of activity by regulating the ethanol concentration at 2 g/L. The secretory alpha-amylase activities of cells harboring plasmids pNA3 and pNA7 in fed-batch culture were 175 and 395 U/mL, and their maximal specific activities 7.7 and 12.4 U/mg dry cells, respectively. These values are two to three times higher in activity and three to four times higher in specific activity than those obtained when glucose only was controlled. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Kinetics of ethanol fermentations in membrane cell recycle fermentors

Ethanol fermentation by yeast was carried out in a cell filtration recycle system with a hollow-fiber membrane filter. Maximum biomass concentrations up to 210 g dry wt/L were obtained, but in normal operation concentrations they were between 100 and 150 g/L. The ethanol productivity using 14% glucose feed was 85 g/L h, with an ethanol concentration of 65 g/L and an ethanol yield of over 90%. The ethanol productivity and yeast growth rate decreased as the cell concentration increased beyond a certain level. The cell mass in the reactor was maintained by a proper manipulation of diluticn rate and bleed ratio depending on the growth rate.     

Growth characteristics in fed-batch culture of hybridoma cells with control of glucose and glutamine concentrations

An online system using HPLC was developed for the measurement of glucose, glutamine, and lactate in a culture broth. Using the system, the glucose and glutamine concentrations were controlled simultaneously by an adaptive-control algorithm within the ranges of 0.2 to 2.0 and 0.1 to 0.6 g/L, respectively. When the glucose concentration was controlled at the low level of 0.2 g/L, the intracellular lactate dehydrogenase activity decreased by one-half and the lactate concentration by one-third, whereas the uptake rates of serine and glycine were about twice as high, compared with the amounts when the glucose concentration was controlled at 1.0 g/L. On the other hand, ammonia production increased when the glucose concentration was kept low. To reduce the production of inhibitory metabolites such as ammonia and lactate and improve the antibody production rate in a hybridoma cell culture, the concentrations of glucose and glutamine were controlled at 0.2 and 0.1 g/L, respectively. With these low concentrations of glucose and glutamine, the cell concentration (4.1 x 10(6) cells/mL) and antibody production (172 mg/L) both increased about twofold compared with the amounts when the glucose was controlled at higher levels. From these results, simultaneous control of the glucose and glutamine concentrations was shown to be useful in the production of antibody by hybridoma cell cultivation. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Oxygen uptake and citric acid production by Candida lipolytica Y 1095

The rates of oxygen uptake and oxygen transfer during cell growth and citric acid production by Candida lipolytica Y 1095 were determined. The maximum cell growth rate, 1.43 g cell/L . h, and volumetric oxygen uptake rate, 343 mg O(2)/L . h, occurred approximately 21 to 22 h after inoculation. At the time of maximum oxygen uptake, the biomass concentration was 1.3% w/v and the specific oxygen uptake rate was slightly greater than 26 mg O(2)/g cell . h. The specific oxygen uptake rate decreased to approximately 3 mg O(2)/g cell . h by the end of the growth phase.During citric acid production, as the concentration of dissolved oxygen was increased from 20% to 80% saturation, the specific oxygen uptake and specific citric acid productivity (mg citric acid/g cell . h) increased by 160% and 71%, respectively, at a biomass concentration of 3% w/v. At a biomass concentration of 5% w/v, the specific oxygen uptake and specific citric acid productivity increased by 230% and 82%, respectively, over the same range of dissolved oxygen concentrations.The effect of dissolved oxygen on citric acid yields and productivities was also determined. Citric acid yields appeared to be independent of dissolved oxygen concentration during the initial production phase; however, volumetric productivity (g citric acid/L . h) increased sharply with an increase in dissolved oxygen. During the second or subsequent production phase, citric acid yields increased by approximately 50%, but productivities decreased by roughly the same percentage due to a loss of cell viability under prolonged nitrogen-deficient conditions. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Kinetics and modelling of kojic acid production by Aspergillus flavus Link in batch fermentation and resuspended mycelial system

An unstructured model based on logistic and Luedeking-Piret equations was proposed to describe growth, substrate consumption and kojic acid production by Aspergillus flavus Link strain 44-1 in batch fermentation and also in a resuspended cell system. The model showed that kojic acid production was non-growth associated. The maximum kojic acid and cell concentrations obtained in batch fermentations using the fermenter with optimized dissolved oxygen control (32.5 g/l and 11.8 g/l, respectively) and using a shake-flask (36.5 and 12.3 g/l, respectively) were not significantly different. However, the maximum specific growth rate and a non-growth-associated rate constant for kojic acid formation (n) for batch fermentation using the fermenter (0.085/h and 0.0125 g kojic acid/g cell.h, respectively) were approximately three and two times higher than the values obtained for fermentation using a shake-flask, respectively. Efficient conversion of glucose to kojic acid was achieved in a resuspended pellet or mycelial system, in a solution containing only glucose with citrate buffer at pH 3.5 and at a temperature of 30 °C. The resuspended cell material in the glucose solution was still active in synthesizing kojic acid after prolonged incubation (up to about 600 h). The rate constant of kojic acid production (n) in a resuspended cell system using 100 g glucose/l was almost constant at an average value of 0.011 g kojic acid/g cell.h up to a cell concentration of 19.2 g/l, above which it decreased. A drastic reduction of n was observed at a cell concentration of 26.1 g/l. However, the yield based on glucose consumed (0.45 g/g) was similar for all cell concentrations investigated.     

High-cell-density fed-batch cultivation of the docosahexaenoic acid producing marine alga Crypthecodinium cohnii

The heterotrophic marine alga Crypthecodinium cohnii is known to produce docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a polyunsaturated fatty acid with food and pharmaceutical applications, during batch cultivation on complex media containing sea salt, yeast extract, and glucose. In the present study, fed-batch cultivation was studied as an alternative fermentation strategy for DHA production. Glucose and acetic acid were compared as carbon sources. For both substrates, the feed rate was adapted to the maximum specific consumption rate of C. cohnii. In glucose-grown cultures, this was done by maintaining a significant glucose concentration (between 5 and 20 g/L) throughout fermentation. In acetic acid-grown cultures, the medium feed was automatically controlled via the culture pH. A feed consisting of acetic acid (50% w/w) resulted in a higher overall volumetric productivity of DHA (r(DHA)) than a feed consisting of 50% (w/v) glucose (38 and 14 mg/L/h, respectively). The r(DHA) was further increased to 48 mg/L/h using a feed consisting of pure acetic acid. The latter fermentation strategy resulted in final concentrations of 109 g/L dry biomass, 61 g/L lipid, and 19 g/L DHA. These are the highest biomass, lipid, and DHA concentrations reported to date for a heterotrophic alga. Vigorous mixing was required to sustain aerobic conditions during high-cell-density cultivation. This was complicated by culture viscosity, which resulted from the production of viscous extracellular polysaccharides. These may present a problem for large-scale industrial production of DHA. Addition of a commercial polysaccharide-hydrolase preparation could decrease the viscosity of the culture and the required stirring.     

碳源对粉核油球藻生长和脂肪酸组成特性的影响

研究了不同碳源类型（CO2、NaHCO3和葡萄糖）及其浓度对粉核油球藻（Pinguiococcus pyrenoidosus CCMP 2078）生长及脂肪酸组成的影响。结果表明：（1）培养液中适量添加碳源促进了粉核油球藻的生长,三种碳源的适宜添加浓度分别是0.5% CO2,5mmol/L NaHCO3和20g/L葡萄糖,对数生长末期的细胞密度分别是对照的3.10倍、1.47倍和2.78倍;（2）除了低浓度葡萄糖外,其他碳源类型和浓度均降低了TPUFA和EPA占总脂肪酸的比例,提高了TSFA的比例,胞内EPA和TSFA含量均下降;（3）低浓度碳源提高了TSFA和EPA产量。通入0.5% CO2培养的EPA和TSFA产量分别是对照的2.30倍和2.69倍,5mmol/L NaHCO3培养的TSFA产量是对照的1.85倍,5g/L和10g/L葡萄糖培养的EPA和TSFA产量最高分别可达对照的2.11倍和1.58倍。因此,通入低浓度CO2最有利于粉核油球藻的生长以及EPA和饱和脂肪酸的生产,EPA和饱和脂肪酸含量的提高主要是通过生物量的增大来实现的。     

Glucose-stat, a glucose-controlled continuous culture

A predictive and feedback proportional control algorithm, developed for fed-batch fermentations and described in a companion paper (G. L. Kleman, J. J. Chalmers, G. W. Luli, and W. R. Strohl, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 57:910-917, 1991), was used in this work to control a continuous culture on the basis of the soluble-glucose concentration (called the glucose-stat). This glucose-controlled continuous-culture system was found to reach and maintain steady state for 11 to 24 residence times when four different background glucose concentrations (0.27, 0.50, 0.7, and 1.5 g/liter) were used. The predictive-plus-feedback control system yielded very tight control of the continuous nutristat cultures; glucose concentrations were maintained at the set points with less than 0.003 standard error. Acetate production by Escherichia coli B in glucose-stats was found not to be correlated with the level of steady-state soluble-glucose concentration.