COMPARISON OF GROWTH-PARAMETERS FOR GEOTR ICHUM-CANDIDUM GEO17 AND PENICILLIUM-CAMEMBERTI LV2 IN SOLID AND LIQUID CULTURES

The main purpose of this paper was to compare the growth of filamentou s fungi in a lactate and yeast extract medium on solid and in submerge d pure cultures. The organisms used were Geotrichum candidum and Penic illium camemberti: both were known to play an important role in ripeni ng of camembert cheese. Fungal growth on the surface of an uniformly i noculated solid medium was measured by means of dry cellular weight pe r surface unit. For submerged cultures, total biomass concentration wa s continuously monitored by means of turbidity, after calibration with respect to dry cellular weight concentration. Both fungi displayed a long linear growth phase, on solid as well as in weakly aerated submer ged cultures; the ratios of the linear growth rates (solid/liquid) obs erved for both moulds were the same within the experimental error; thi s clearly showed that for both culture methods the limiting substrate was oxygen. Both organisms displayed approximatively the same autolysi s extent on solid medium (24-28%) 4 days after the end of linear growt h phase.