Carbohydrate-limited Growth Kinetics of Tobacco (Nicotiana rustica L.) Callus

Logistic curves were fitted to sigmoidal growth data obtained from tobacco (Nicotiana rustica L.) callus grown on media prepared with 0.1, 0.03, 0.01, and 0.003 m sucrose. Analysis of the growth curves indicated that final yields and specific growth rates were influenced by the initial sucrose concentration. Growth yields from the four treatments were similar (0.61 +/- 0.04 gram dry tissue per gram sucrose supplied). Initial specific growth rates exhibited a Michaelis-Menten dependency on initial sucrose concentration such that the V(max) = 0.18 g g(-1) day(-1) and Km = 0.0037 m sucrose.