Quantitative Characterization of the Growth of Deinococcus geothermalis DSM-11302: Effect of Inoculum Size, Growth Medium and Culture Conditions

Due to their remarkable resistance to extreme conditions, Deinococcaceae strains are of great interest to biotechnological prospects. However, the physiology of the extremophile strain Deinococcus geothermalis has scarcely been studied and is not well understood. The physiological behaviour was then studied in well-controlled conditions in flask and bioreactor cultures. The growth of D. geothermalis type strains was compared. Among the strains tested, the strain from the German Collection of Microorganisms (Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen DSM) DSM-11302 was found to give the highest biomass concentration and growth rate: in a complex medium with glucose, the growth rate reached 0.75 h(−1) at 45 °C. Yeast extract concentration in the medium had significant constitutive and catalytic effects. Furthermore, the results showed that the physiological descriptors were not affected by the inoculum preparation steps. A batch culture of D. geothermalis DSM-11302 on defined medium was carried out: cells grew exponentially with a maximal growth rate of 0.28 h(−1) and D. geothermalis DSM-11302 biomass reached 1.4 g·L(−1) in 20 h. Then, 1.4 g(DryCellWeight) of biomass (X) was obtained from 5.6 g glucose (Glc) consumed as carbon source, corresponding to a yield of 0.3 Cmol(X)·Cmol(Glc)(−1); cell specific oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production rates reached 216 and 226 mmol.Cmol(X)(−1)·h(−1), respectively, and the respiratory quotient (QR) value varied from 1.1 to 1.7. This is the first time that kinetic parameters and yields are reported for D. geothermalis DSM-11302 grown on a mineral medium in well-controlled batch culture.