Comparison of complex organic media for the cultivation of the temperature-sensitive mutant Tetrahymena thermophila SJ180

Tetrahymena in the Laboratory: Strain Resources, Methods for Culture, Maintenance, and Storage

“…Increasing interest in the industrial use of Tetrahymena (Ethuin et al, 1995; Jayaram et al, 2010; Kiy and Tiedtke, 1992; Weide et al, 2007) spurred the examination of less expensive media for large scale culture, in particular the use of skim milk based media (Table I). In a bioreactor under conditions of high cell density fermentation and cell retention, skim milk based medium has supported the culture of Tetrahymena at cell densities of more than 2.2 × 10 7 cells/ml, equivalent to 48 g dry weight (Weide et al, 2006).…”

Suspension Culture of Protozoan Organisms

“…This work can be seen as providing vital momentum in the development of the biotechnology of protozoan species because, for the first time, not only continuous feeding strategies had been successfully applied but also dry weights of 54 g l À1 in the bioreactor had been achieved. Moreover, Ethuin et al developed a very simple medium for mass cultivation of T. thermophila composed of yeast extract and glucose [25]. In parallel they also demonstrated successful high cell density fermentation for another ciliate species, Colpidium campylum [23].…”

“…Chemically defined media were also developed for T. thermophila as early as for higher animal cells [47]. However, maximum attainable cell density is significantly lower than with media supplemented with skimmed milk or peptone components [25]. Proteose peptone-based media, as complex medium compositions, are currently the most common choice for mass cultivation of T. thermophila .…”

“…Cells are counted either by means of using manual counting chambers [22] or electronically using a Coulter counter [25]. The preferred starting titer is approximately 5 Â 10 4 cells ml À1 .…”

“…The resistance of Tetrahymena to typical flow stress produced by raising bubbles has been demonstrated by several authors using air spargers [19,[25][26][27]67] and aeration rates between 0.25 and 2.0 vvm. As Tetrahymena is not sensitive to the interaction with air bubbles, supply of oxygen is not critical.…”