The Requirements of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Dissociants for Carbon,Nitrogen, and Phosphorus

Quantitative data on the nutritional requirements of microorganisms are necessary to predict the behavior of bacterial populations and to control their cultivation. The requirements of the R, S, and M dissociants of P. aeruginosa for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus were derived from the results of 88 cultivation experiments. For each of the dissociants, we derived a coefficient that relates the optical density and the number of cells in the dissociant culture, determined the time when the cultures entered the stationary growth phase, studied cultural changes induced by transfer to the stationary phase, and determined what nutrients limit the growth of particular dissociants. The nutritional requirements of the dissociants are discussed in relation to our earlier data.