The stationary phase is forced on the culture by a depletion of the nutrients and possibly due to an accumulation of cellular wastes. If the culture is kept in stationary phase for a prolonged period the cells may die. Batch cultures are maintained by subculturing. They are used for initiation of cell suspensions, which may be used for cloning, cell selection or as seed cultures for scaling up or for continuous cultures. They are, however, unsuitable for studies on cell growth and metabolism because there is a constant change in cell density and nutritional status of the medium. But batch cultures are much more convenient than continuous cultures and, as a result, are routinely used.
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