Growth of the obligate methylotroph Methylobacillus flagellatum under stationary and nonstationary conditions during continuous cultivation.

The growth characteristics of a chemostat culture of the obligate methylotrophic bacterium Methylobacillus flagellatum have been determined. Steady-state cultures growing at a rate of 0.73-0.74 h(-1), equal to the maximal growth rate, were obtained under oxyturbidostat cultivation conditions. The response of a chemostat culture to a pulse increase of methanol concentration was studied. It was shown that slow and rapidly growing cultures of M. flagellatum responded differently to pulse methanol addition. The growth characteristics of slow-growing cultures decreased after methanol addition compared to those of stationary chemostat cultures. The growth characteristics of rapidly growing cultures were practically unchanged with and without pulse methanol addition.