[Determining the Bacillus subtilis biomass increase coefficient in weightlessness].
This paper presents the results of a microbiological experiment carried out by the Soviet and GDR scientists onboard Salyut-6. The experiment was performed using a Bacillus subtilis suspension in the Jena unit. The purpose of the experiment was to study the time-course variations of the cell biomass increase in zero-g. The cell culture development was measured with respect to the utilization rate of glucose or casein hydrolyzate in the nutrient medium and the rate of protein accumulation in cells. It has been shown that the rate of biomass increment in zero-g lags behind the 1 g level. It can be concluded that the decreased metabolic activity of bacterial cells in zero-g is associated with changes in the cell population distribution and physicochemical parameters of the nutrient medium.