Final answer:
When growing bacteria in continuous culture, you need to know their nutritional requirements, optimal growth conditions, and growth rate to maintain a steady state of the bacterial population.
Step-by-step explanation:
When operating a continuous culture to grow bacteria, there are several critical pieces of information you need to know about the bacteria you are growing. First, you must be aware of the nutritional requirements of your bacterial strain. Different bacteria have varied needs for growth, including the types of nutrients they consume and their preferred energy sources. Second, understanding the optimal growth conditions, such as temperature, pH, and oxygen levels, is essential to provide a conducive environment for the bacteria. Lastly, knowledge of the bacteria's growth rate is important to ensure that the culture is maintained at a steady state, where cell growth and division are balanced with removal rates.