Editing Bacterial growth (section)

== The 5th phase: Long-term stationary phase ==
Long-term stationary phase, unlike early stationary phase (in which there is little cell division), is a highly dynamic period in which the birth and death rates are balanced. It's been proven that after death phase ''E. coli'' can be maintained in batch culture for long periods without adding nutrients.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Steinhaus EA, Birkeland JM | title = Studies on the Life and Death of Bacteria: I. The Senescent Phase in Aging Cultures and the Probable Mechanisms Involved | journal = Journal of Bacteriology | volume = 38 | issue = 3 | pages = 249–261 | date = September 1939 | pmid = 16560248 | pmc = 374517 | doi = 10.1128/jb.38.3.249-261.1939 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Finkel SE, Kolter R | title = Evolution of microbial diversity during prolonged starvation | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 96 | issue = 7 | pages = 4023–4027 | date = March 1999 | pmid = 10097156 | pmc = 22413 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.96.7.4023 | bibcode = 1999PNAS...96.4023F | doi-access = free }}</ref> By providing sterile distilled water to maintain volume and osmolarity, aerobically grown cultures can be maintained at densities of ~10<sup>6</sup> [[colony-forming units]] (CFUs) per ml for more than 5 years without the addition of nutrients in batch culture.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Finkel SE | title = Long-term survival during stationary phase: evolution and the GASP phenotype | journal = Nature Reviews. Microbiology | volume = 4 | issue = 2 | pages = 113–120 | date = February 2006 | pmid = 16415927 | doi = 10.1038/nrmicro1340 | s2cid = 3337959 }}</ref>