Dynamics of growth in batch and continuous cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during shifts from aerobiosis to anaerobiosis and reverse

Summary Saccharomycescerevisiae H 1022 was cultivated in batch and continuous culture on a glucose substrate. The yeast was subjected to a sudden change from aerobic to anaerobic growth conditions by switching the inlet-gas stream from air to dinitrogen. The dynamics of growth and product formation during the periods of adaptation were studied. A structured growth model based on Monod-Blackman-kinetics was applied to simulate these shift-experiments. The immediate switch of the yeast to maximum anaerobic growth and ethanol production predicted by this model was confirmed very well in the chemostat-experiments. However, a slow adaptation was evident for the switch from anaerobiosis back to aerobiosis.Gesellschaft für Biotechnologische Forschung mbH, Mascheroder Weg 1, D-3300 Braunschweig-Stöckheim, Federal Republic of Germany