A kinetic model describing <i>Shewanella oneidensis</i> MR‐1 growth, substrate consumption, and product secretion

Abstract Aerobic growth of Shewanella oneidensis MR‐1 in minimal lactate medium was studied in batch cultivation. Acetate production was observed in the middle of the exponential growth phase and was enhanced when the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration was low. Once the lactate was nearly exhausted, S. oneidensis MR‐1 used the acetate produced during growth on lactate with a similar biomass yield as lactate. A two‐substrate Monod model, with competitive and uncompetitive substrate inhibition, was devised to describe the dependence of biomass growth on lactate, acetate, and oxygen and the acetate growth inhibition across a broad range of concentrations. The parameters estimated for this model indicate interesting growth kinetics: lactate is converted to acetate stoichiometrically regardless of the DO concentration; cells grow well even at low DO levels, presumably due to a very low K m for oxygen; cells metabolize acetate (maximum specific growth rate, µ max,A of 0.28 h −1 ) as a single carbon source slower than they metabolize lactate ( µ max,L of 0.47 h −1 ); and growth on acetate is self‐inhibiting at a concentration greater than 10 mM. After estimating model parameters to describe growth and metabolism under six different nutrient conditions, the model was able to successfully estimate growth, oxygen and lactate consumption, and acetate production and consumption under entirely different growth conditions. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2007;96: 125–133. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.