A new sensor,the “filtration probe,” for quantitative characterization of the penicillin fermentation. I. Mycelial morphology and culture activity

In this article the filtration resistance of fungal (Penicillium) mycelia is shown to be quantitatively related to the morphology of the cells. On this basis, it was possible to determine the intracellular volume by simple filtration measurements. Since the dry weight of the cells can also be measured, a morphological variable-the “hyphae density” (dry weight hyphae/volume hyphae)-can be quantified. This variable typically is measured to have values in the range of 0.35–0.20 g/cm³; the lower values represent the final stages of the fermentation. It can be shown that this loss of cell material during fermentation is limited to cytoplasmic components, and that most (70%) of the components which disappear are proteins. Concurrent with and linearly related to this loss of proteins, the culture activity in terms of both cell maintenance energy (respiration activity) and penicillin synthesis also decreased. The hyphae density measured by filtration is therefore a direct measure of the metabolic potential of the organism.