A biotechnology company monitors the growth of a bacterial strain and the production of a target pharmaceutical compound in a closed batch fermenter.
The graph below shows the changes in nutrient concentration, bacterial biomass, and metabolite concentration over time:
Which of the following statements correctly explains the trends shown or the operational principles of this fermentation process?
Curve C represents a primary metabolite, which is essential for basic microbial growth and is produced in proportion to active cell division.
To optimize the yield of the compound represented by Curve C, a continuous fermentation process should be used to maintain the bacterial population in the exponential phase.
The entry of the microbial population (Curve B) into the stationary phase occurs when cell division is balanced by cell death, triggered by limiting factors such as nutrient depletion (Curve A).
During the lag phase, the rapid decline in nutrient concentration (Curve A) is driven by the high rate of cell division as the bacteria adapt to the fermenter environment.
