Effect of carbon dioxide on the formation of alpha-amylase by Bacillus subtilis growing in continuous and batch cultures.

The influence of CO2 on the information of alpha-amylase by Bacillus subtilis NCIB 8646 growing in continuous and batch cultures was investigated. Different levels of CO2 examined in the batch cultures stimulated the formation of alpha-amylase, with the highest activity being obtained using 6% CO2 (v/v). The additions of CO2 inhibit the growth and division of vegetative cells of B. subtilis when CO2 is present in a concentration of more than 3% (v/v). In chemostat cultures, air containing 8% CO2 (v/v) increased the specific enzyme productivity almost three times over the control, without affecting the cell growth. An attempt is made to correlate the obtained results with the alesis.