What is the doubling time for E Coli?
Under optimal growth conditions the doubling time for E. coli is 20 minutes. This is however, a textbook figure and in practice the doubling time is slightly longer. Under standard, non-bioreactor type laboratory conditions, aerated (shaking) E coli cultures grown in LB or similar media will have a doubling time of around 30 minutes. Note that growth rates differ between strains, B strain derivatives (often used for protein expression) grow faster than K strain derivatives (generally used for cloning). Also, strains harboring plasmids and strains grown under selective pressure will often have longer doubling times.
