Comparative growth studies of the extreme thermophile Sulfolobus acidocaldarius in submerged and solidified substrate cultures

• An attempt was made, for the first time, to exploit cultures on solidified substrates (SSC) as an alternative to submerged cultures (SmC) for growing extremophilic micro-organisms. The extreme thermophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus acidocaldarius was grown on a number of carbon sources and, in all experiments, biomass yields and growth rates were always higher in SSC than in the corresponding SmC. Inoculum age significantly affected growth characteristics on both types of fermentation. Heavy growth of the micro-organism in SSC was observed on low-cost carbon sources such as starch. Wheat bran significantly enhanced growth characteristics when used to supplement starch media. The results of this work show that cultures on solid surfaces could be a promising alternative method for growing extreme thermophiles.

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