The mechanisms of interaction between microorganisms and their environment in a stirred bioreactor can be modeled by a stochastic approach. The procedure comprises two submodels: a classical stochastic model for the microbial cell circulation and a Markov chain model for the concentration gradient calculus. The advantage lies in the fact that the core of each submodel, i.e., the transition matrix (which contains the probabilities to shift from a perfectly mixed compartment to another in the bioreactor representation), is identical for the two cases. That means that both the particle circulation and fluid mixing process can be analyzed by use of the same modeling basis. This assumption has been validated by performing inert tracer (NaCl) and stained yeast cells dispersion experiments that have shown good agreement with simulation results. The stochastic model has been used to define a characteristic concentration profile experienced by the microorganisms during a fermentation test performed in a scale-down reactor. The concentration profiles obtained in this way can explain the scale-down effect in the case of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fed-batch process. The simulation results are analyzed in order to give some explanations about the effect of the substrate fluctuation dynamics on S. cerevisiae.

BACKGROUND Single cell biology has attracted a lot of attention in recent years and has led to numerous fundamental results pointing out the heterogeneity of clonal cell populations. In this context, microbial phenotypic heterogeneity under bioprocessing conditions needs to be further investigated. In this study, yeast based processes have been investigated by using on‐line flow cytometry (FC) in combination with a fluorescent transcriptional reporter (GFP) and viability fluorescence tags (propidium iodide, PI). Methods aiming at expressing the dispersion of these fluorescence tags among the yeast populations have been investigated for different bioreactor operating conditions. RESULTS Yeast viability was determined on the basis of PI uptake. Segregation between PI negative and positive subpopulations could be efficiently quantified on the basis of the mean‐to‐median ratio or the amplitude of the interquartile range. On the other hand, the same quantification could not be made for the segregation occurring at the level of GFP synthesis. Indeed, when cells were exposed to sub‐lethal or mild stresses (such as in scale‐down reactors) two GFP subpopulations could be visualized by real‐time FC, but quantification by one of the above‐mentioned methods was not possible. CONCLUSIONS Yeast population heterogeneity was observed in representative bioreactor operating conditions. Difficulties for the determination of segregation at the level of GFP synthesis point out the fact that one needs to understand the segregation mechanisms for the applied fluorescent reporters, to judge whether simple mathematical tools may be applied or if more sophisticated computational tools are needed for quantification of the microbial population segregation. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry

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Background For biotechnological application, selected lactic acid bacteria strains belonging to the genera Lactobacillus (Lb) are proposed as an alternative to the antibiotics for the prevention and treatment of urogenital tract infections. Objectives Isolating and selecting vaginal lactobacilli strains for probiotic use based on their technological and probiotic aptitudes. Materials and Methods The vaginal isolates were examined for their essential characteristics as the potential probiotic such as low pH tolerance, bile-salt and simulated human intestinal fluid (SIF) resistance, adhesion to the vaginal epithelial cells (VECs), aggregation and coaggregation, surface hydrophobicity, antimicrobial activity, acid production, antibiotic resistance, and resistance to spermicides. The best strain was identified by PCR. Results From 70 lactobacilli isolates and according to the 16 rDNA sequences, isolates B6 and B10 showed the closest homology (99%) to the Lb. gasseri and Lb. plantarum respectively. They produced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), tolerant to acid, bile, simulated human intestinal fluid, present a strong adhesion, highest percentages of aggregation, and antibacterial activity. These strains are resistant to the spermicide and actively acidify the growth medium. Conclusions Strains Lb. plantarum B10 and Lb. gasseri B6 have a strong potential probiotic confirming their value as a tool for prevention against urinary and vaginal infections.