CONFERENCE
At our monthly meeting, we coordinated progress and next steps with colleagues from BIOSAN SIA and scientists from the University of Latvia (Latvijas Universitāte). This is precisely where engineering constraints meet biological reality: flow/fluid control, mixing, sensor integration, sterility, and repeatability in balance with how mixed cultures actually behave in real time.
One "truth" of microbiology that we often return to: in complex microbial communities, the fastest and most viable tend to dominate if there is no consciously designed structure for stability. Competitive exclusion, resource (nutrient and oxygen) gradients, and stochastic population processes can gradually exclude slower-growing but functionally critical species from the community.
Therefore, our focus on controlled biomass/mass exchange between parallel cultivation reactors is not just a mechanical function; it is an approach to maintaining community diversity and function under dynamic growth conditions.
