What is the Difference Between Chemostat and Turbidostat?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚Chemostat and turbidostat are two continuous culture systems used in microbiology for growing microorganisms. The main differences between them are:
- Growth Rate Control: In a chemostat, the growth rate is controlled by the availability of a single nutrient component in the culture medium, while in a turbidostat, the growth rate is controlled by maintaining a constant culture density.
- Nutrient Concentration: Chemostats have a constant flow rate and a single component of the culture medium, while turbidostats maintain a constant biomass concentration.
- Method of Growth Rate Control: In a chemostat, the growth rate of the culture is controlled by the limiting nutrient, whereas in a turbidostat, the growth rate is controlled by the biomass concentration.
- Biomass Concentration: In a chemostat, the biomass concentration is not constant, while in a turbidostat, it is kept constant.
Both systems are continuous culture systems, open culture systems, and have constant culture volumes, environmental conditions, and indefinite culture durations.
In summary, chemostats control the growth rate by limiting the availability of a single nutrient, while turbidostats control the growth rate by maintaining a constant culture density.
Comparative Table: Chemostat vs Turbidostat
Here is a table comparing the differences between chemostat and turbidostat:
Feature | Chemostat | Turbidostat |
---|---|---|
Growth Rate | Constant growth rate, limited by a single nutrient | Growth rate varies, controlled by optical density of culture |
Nutrient Supply | Continuous supply of fresh nutrients at a constant rate | Fresh medium is added in response to increased optical density, controlling cell density |
Cell Density | Adjusted according to the supplied essential nutrients | Constant cell density, determined by the control settings on the photometer |
Flow Rate | Constant flow rate of culture medium | Variable flow rate, determined by the control settings on the photometer |
Method of Growth Rate Control | External, by controlling the concentration of substrates | Internal, by controlling the optical density of the culture |
Effect of Increasing Concentration of All Nutrients in the Medium Reservoir | Increase in biomass concentration | Biomass concentration will only be increased if the control settings on the photometer are changed |
Suitability for Experiments Requiring Maximum Growth Rate | Not suitable, as nutrients are limited | Suitable, as no limitation of nutrients is applied, allowing cells to proliferate at their maximum growth rate |
Both chemostats and turbidostats are continuous culture systems used in microbiology to study microbial growth under controlled conditions. The key difference between them is that a single nutrient can limit the microbial growth inside the chemostat, while a turbidostat maintains a constant cell density by controlling the optical density of the culture.
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