Cultivation of Dictyostelium discoideum on an improved synthetic medium in a conventional bioreactor

An improved fully synthetic medium was presented recently [Process Biochem. (in press)] based on the synthetic medium formulated by Franke and Kessin in 1977 [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74 (1977) 2157]. This novel medium was called SIH instead of the classical FM medium. The improved medium leads to even higher cell densities, a more balanced uptake of amino acids and a better utilisation of glucose. However, the growth behaviour had only been assessed during shake-flask cultivation. Here it is shown that Dictyostelium discoideum can be cultivated in conventional stirred tank-type bioreactors, if the operating conditions take care about the shear sensitivity of the cells. A batch as well as a fed-batch cultivation show that mass cultivation of D. discoideum can be achieved during growth on synthetic media. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.