THE MEDIA

Nutritional Requirements

The facts

Microorganisms obtain energy for support of

biosynthesis and growth from their
environment in a variety of ways
nutritional requirements are as complex and
varied
Not only are the types of microorganisms
diverse (bacteria, molds, yeast), but the
species and strains become very specific; the
products
All microorgnism requires water, source of
energy, C, N, mineral elements, possibly
vitamins plus oxygen if aerobic

Required Medium

Produce max yield of prod. or biomass per g

substrate used
Produce max concentration of prod.
permit max rate of prod formation
Permit min yield of undesired prod
Consistent quality & available throughout year
Cause min problems during preparation
Cause min problems during production &
down stream process

.considering
availability

of nutrients required by
microorganisms: energy, grow,
production
fermentation conditions: substrate pH,
MC, incubation temperature
stage of growth of micro-organisms
presence of other competing microorganisms
Preparation & downstream process

Natural or formulated-defined
media?
Natural Media:

Cheaper
High variation/batch
Unpredictable
product/biomass
More complex in
down stream process
Difficult to detect
small yield
improvement

Formulated-MEDIA

Easily reproduce
Specific to the strain
More expensive
More predictable
result
More simple process
cheaper
Easier to detect
process improvement

MEDIA FORMULATION
Satisfy

for supporting of cell biomass &

metabolites production
Adequate supply of energy for
biosynthesis & cell maintenance
Considering stoichiometry for growth &
product formation
For aerobic fermentation:

C& energy+N+O2+others
biomass+P+CO2+H2O+heat
product

capacity min. biomas

nutrition requirement

Organism

Require materials for energy, biosynthesis of

cellular matter, products in cell operation,
maintenance and reproduction
predominant atomic constituents of organisms, C,
H, N, 0, P, and S, making up the molecules of
living matter.
All living cells on earth contain water as their
predominant constituent.
Cell: lipids, polysaccharides, nucleic acids,
proteins and few common salts
40-50% C, 30-50% O2, 6-8% H2, 3-12 N

Energy

Obtain energy from their environment for support of

biosynthesis and growth
Autotrophic use CO2 as principal C source
Heterotrophic use organic compounds
1. photoautotropic: light as energy source, CO2 as C
source (higher plants)
2. Photoheterotrophic: light as energy source, organic
comp. as C source
3. Chemoautotropic: chemical as energy source, CO2 as C
source; have ability to use reduced inorganic comp as
oxidizable energy sources (NH3, NO2, H2S etc)
4. Chemoheterotrophic: chemical as energy source, organic
comp. as C source (fungi, great number of bacteria)

Water
Major comp. require in fermentation Use
for solvent within the cell
Different in percentage
it has some unusual properties ionizes into
acid and base, and has a propensity for
hydrogen bonding
May need treatments
Consider: pH, salts, mineral, effluent
contaminant

Carbon

Biomass 50% C (db); skeleton of all cellular molecules

Energy sources; secreted as CO2 & organic
compounds
Single comp for energy & C sources; add nutrients
Carbohydrates: C, O, H & energy 0.2-25% of media
3 classes: mono-, di-, & polysacharides
Breakdown of poly- & di- to simpler sugars with
enzyme help major source of energy-rich comp
Lab media glucose
Industrial media maltose, sucrose, fructose, xylose,
lactose

Nitrogen & Sulfur

N serve to build structural proteins, functional enzymes &

nucleic acids
N presents in cell as amino groups, S as sulfhydryl groups
N supplied as ammonia salts, amino acids, purines,
pyrimidines, and urea
Sulfur supplied as a sulfide, cysteine, ammonium sulfate,
potassium bisulfate or H2SO4 for pH adjustment

Trace elements

In mM level : N, P, S, K and Mg
In M level : Fe, Na, Ca, Cu, Co, Zn, Mn etc.
Supplied during cell cultivation
Various functions: serve in coenzyme, catalyse
reactions, vitamin synthesis, cell transport
very low levels; sometimes supplied from quantities
occurring in water or from leachates from
equipment
Primary metabolite production is usually not very
sensitive to trace element concentration, but not
for secondary metabolite production

metallic elements can be supplied as nutrients

in the form of the cations of inorganic salts
K, Mg, Ca and Fe are normally required in
relatively large amounts and should normally
always be included as salts in culture media
Not possible to generalize ionic requirements
Oxygen is always provided in water
Aerobic organisms require molecular oxygen
as terminal oxidizing agents to fulfill their
energetic needs through aerobic respiration.
For obligate anaerobes oxygen is a toxic
substance

Growth Factors

organic comp, require in very low concentration, perform

specific catalytic/structural roles
vitamin, sterol, amino acids, fatty acids etc)
Required when the addition stimulates microbial growth
Vitamins are growth factors which fulfill specific catalytic
needs in biosynthesis
required in only small amounts
Vitamin function as (part of ) coenzymes to catalyze
many reactions
The vitamins most frequently required are thiamin and
biotin.
Required in the greatest amounts are usually niacin,
pantothenate, riboflavin, and some folic derivatives,
biotin, vitamin B, and lipoic acid are required in
smaller amounts