Kinetics of Filamentous Growth and Branching

Abstract

Both Chapters 14 and 15 are concerned with quantification of fungal growth and morphology. This is frequently necessary for purely practical or technical reasons. For example, many physiological studies require information on the specific rate of growth or biomass yield. Similarly, large-scale industrial fermentations involving filamentous fungi can only be operated and controlled efficiently on the basis of quantitative information on, for example, changes in substrate, biomass and product concentrations. The ability to predict such changes accurately is a reflection of our understanding of the physiological mechanisms controlling growth. An elementary knowledge of microbial growth would enable the prediction that, during growth, biomass concentration will increase with time and substrate concentration will decrease.