title: Dielectric monitoring of growth and sporulation of Bacillus thuringiensis.
abstract: On-line permittivity and optical density measurements have been used to monitor biomass concentration and sporulation status during growth of a spore-forming bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, in fed-batch culture. The correlation between permittivity, optical density and other observations showed three distinct phases of growth: growth itself, transition and sporulation. The permittivity variations during the transition and sporulation phases could be related to the sporulation development: the evolution pattern of the ratio of optical density to permittivity was representative of the culture state, and during the sporulation phase, a permittivity index could be build to measure the extend of spore liberation.
authors.affiliation: UMR Ingénierie de la Réaction Biologique--Bioproductions, Université Montpellier II, 34095, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Sarrafzadeh
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Belloy
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Esteban
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ghommidh
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000254:growth & development*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D008954:Models, Biological; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*