End products and fermentation balances for lactic streptococci grown aerobically on low concentrations of glucose.

Maximum acetate produced aerobically by Streptococcus diacetilactis and Streptococcus cremoris was 14% of 1 to 7 mumol of glucose/ml in a partially defined medium that contained lipoic acid. Y (glucose) values were 35.3 (S. diacetilactis) and 31.4 (S. cremoris) with low concentrations (1 to 7 mumol/ml) of glucose in the medium and 21 (S. diacetilactis) with higher concentrations (6 to 15 mumol/ml). Y (adenosine 5'-triphosphate) values for the bacteria, determined by taking into account the end products produced, were 15.6 and 13.9 for S. diacetilactis and S. cremoris, respectively, in the partially defined medium containing 1 to 7 mumol of glucose/ml and higher (21.5 and 18.9, respectively) in a complex medium that contained 2 mumol of glucose/ml. Addition of citrate in addition to glucose did not result in higher molar growth yields.