Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

The renaissance of continuous culture in the post-genomics age.

Bull, Alan T. (2010) The renaissance of continuous culture in the post-genomics age. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology, 37 (10). pp. 993-1021. ISSN 1476-5535. (doi:10.1007/s10295-010-0816-4) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:26295)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10295-010-0816-4

Abstract

The development of continuous culture techniques 60 years ago and the subsequent formulation of theory and the diversification of experimental systems revolutionised microbiology and heralded a unique period of innovative research. Then, progressively, molecular biology and thence genomics and related high-information-density omics technologies took centre stage and microbial growth physiology in general faded from educational programmes and research funding priorities alike. However, there has been a gathering appreciation over the past decade that if the claims of systems biology are going to be realised, they will have to be based on rigorously controlled and reproducible microbial and cell growth platforms. This revival of continuous culture will be long lasting because its recognition as the growth system of choice is firmly established. The purpose of this review, therefore, is to remind microbiologists, particularly those new to continuous culture approaches, of the legacy of what I call the first age of continuous culture, and to explore a selection of researches that are using these techniques in this post-genomics age. The review looks at the impact of continuous culture across a comprehensive range of microbiological research and development. The ability to establish (quasi-) steady state conditions is a frequently stated advantage of continuous cultures thereby allowing environmental parameters to be manipulated without causing concomitant changes in the specific growth rate. However, the use of continuous cultures also enables the critical study of specified transition states and chemical, physical or biological perturbations. Such dynamic analyses enhance our understanding of microbial ecology and microbial pathology for example, and offer a wider scope for innovative drug discovery; they also can inform the optimization of batch and fed-batch operations that are characterized by sequential transitions states.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/s10295-010-0816-4
Subjects: Q Science
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Biosciences
Depositing User: Susan Davies
Date Deposited: 29 Jun 2011 15:38 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:04 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/26295 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.