Transient response of Enterobacter aerogenes under a dual nutrient limitation in a chemostat.

Utilizing a chemostat with a dual nutrient limitation of nitrogen and phosphate, we examined the transient response of the culture following a pulse of one of the limiting nutrients (ammonia). This method provided quantitative evidence that cells can be grown under dual nutrient limitation. Furthermore, the pattern of response was consistent with the hypothesis that phosphate limitation restricts nucleic acid synthesis in the cell and that nitrogen limitation restricts protein synthesis. The net result is that under a phosphate limitation there is a restricted biosynthetic capacity which we feel is closely associated with the RNA content of the cell.