Deterministic interpretation of the temperature response of microbial growth.

A deterministic approximation of the thermal deactivation process is undertaken by structuring growth kinetics of cell populations on the activity level. Growth data of the green microalga Scenedesmus obliquus under forced periodic conditions of light intensity have been used for model verification. The model considers a straightforward extension of normal growth kinetics in such a way that different growth activities can be adjusted in the context of a thermal damage and repair mechanism. The nonlinear fitting of the measured response renders parameter values as a function of the light availability per unit biomass.