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AAT Bioquest

What is the difference between continuous culture and batch culture techniques?

Posted December 16, 2020


Answer

While batch culture and continuous culture are both used to grow microorganisms or cells, there are some stark differences between the two techniques (see table below).

Batch CultureContinuous Culture
Microorganisms or cells are grown in an environment with a limited supply of nutrientsMicroorganisms or cells are grown in an environment where nutrients are continuously supplied
Nutrients are added at the start of the process and are a limiting factorNutrients are added continuously throughout the process
Growth is carried out in a closed systemGrowth is carried out in an open system
Lag, log and stationary phases occurLag and log phases are maintained
Less labor-intensiveLabor-intensive and costly
Low yielding processHigh yielding process
Low turnover rateHigh turnover rate
Used for the production of secondary metabolites (e.g. antibiotics)Used for the production of primary metabolites (e.g. amino acids)
Product is removed when fermentation has stoppedProducts are continuously removed
Low chance of contaminationHigh change of contamination
Additional resources

Use of batch culture and a two-stage continuous culture system to study the effect of supplemental alpha-lactalbumin and glycomacropeptide on mixed populations of human gut bacteria

CytoTrace™ Orange CMTMR *CAS 323192-14-9*

Cell Cycle and Proliferation