Systems analysis of the culture physiology in acetone-butanol fermentation

The Pronounced differences in performance of a strain of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 were analyzed by the method of systems analysis. The mechanism for cellular transport of substrate (glucose), solvents, and acids was studied and mathematically formulated. The systems analysis approach in the treatment of data from culture experiments pointed out the cell membrane malfunction indicated by its altered permeability and reflected in the altered number of active sugar transport sites. Experimental results obtained from the study of the cell uptake of 3-0-methyl glucose (0.7mM) by the "normal culture" and the "retarded culture" confirmed the theoretical predictions regarding a slower transport in the retarded culture. The initial uptake rate and the accumulation coefficient of the sugar in the normal culture were 15.0 and 4.1 times higher, respectively, than those for the retardedculture. Adjustment of the culture pH resulted in further increases in these parameters by factors of 3.0 and 3.5, respectively.