Continuous culture = open system of microbial culture of fixed volume
fresh medium is added at a constant rate while equal number of culture is removed; this is the dilution rate
- Chemostat = most common type of continuous culture
- "wherein both growth rate and cell density can be controlled independently"
these two factors control growth rate + cell density: 1) dilution rate 2) concentration of a limiting nutrient
- hey a concept:
- at too high of a dilution rate, the organism cannot grow fast enough to keep up and is washed out. at too low of a dilution rate, cells may die from starvation because the limiting nutrient is not being added fast enough to support minimal cell metabolism.
cell density is controlled by a limiting nutrient. increasing limiting nutrient concentration will increase cell density but not increase growth rate