MICROBIAL-GROWTH ON SUBSTITUTABLE SUBSTRATES - CHARACTERIZING THE CONSUMER-RESOURCE RELATIONSHIP

In this article, we consider the growth of microorganisms on mixtures of carbon sources and characterize the consumer-resource relationship for this system. The characteristic features observed for the growth o f a single microorganism on a pair of carbon sources allow a represent ation of this relationship based on a general paradigm for resource cl assification. This representation is verified using a comprehensive mo del for microbial growth on carbon sources. The results show that for the same pair of carbon sources the qualitative nature of the consumer -resource relationship changes with changing specific growth rate, and therefore a change in the identity of the rate-limiting substrate(s). (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.