Biology q....?
Im stumped.........
With the aid of diagrams, compare and contrast the production of a typical primary metabolite, such as ethanol, with that of a secondary metabolite such as penicillin, during the growth cycle of a microbial fermentation.
what the hell does this mean? Ive googled growth cycle of microbial fermentation an i got nothin
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Here are some clues:
1. Make sure you know what primary and secondary metabolites are.
2. Know the difference between continuous fermentation and batch fermentation.
3. Penicillin is a secondary metabolite, produced in large quantities only towards the end of the growth period of the fungus (see the graph below) therefore it is essential for all of the mycelium to reach peak growth at the same time. This is why batch fermentation is appropriate for penicillin manufacture.
4. Production of primary metabolites occurs simultaneously with growth - a continuous process.
5. Consider what the growth curve for a microbe would look like with primary and secondary metabolite production superimposed.