Adaptation of the acetogen Clostridium thermoautotrophicum to minimal medium.

Clostridium thermoautotrophicum was adapted to minimal medium and cultivated at the expense of glucose, methanol, or H2-CO2. No supplemental amino acids were required for growth of the adapted strain, and nicotinic acid was the sole essential vitamin. Neither N2 nor nitrate could replace ammonium as the nitrogen source, and biotin was preferentially stimulatory for glucose cell lines. Growth in minimal medium yielded substantially higher acetate concentrations per unit of biomass formed than did growth in undefined medium.