Abstract:
|
Data from electric particle analysis, light diffraction and flow cytometry analysis
provide information on changes in cell morphology. Here, we report analyses of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae populations growing in a batch culture using these techniques. The size distributions were determined by electric particle analysis and by light diffraction in order to compare their outcomes. Flow cytometry parameters
forward (related to cell size) and side (related to cell granularity) scatter were also determined to complement this information. These distributions of yeast properties were analysed statistically and by a complexity index. The cell size of
Saccharomyces at the lag phase was smaller than that at the beginning of the exponential phase, whereas during the stationary phase, the cell size converged with the values observed during the lag phase. These experimental techniques, when
used together, allow us to distinguish among and characterize the cell size, cell
granularity and the structure of the yeast population through the three growth phases. Flow cytometry patterns are better than light diffraction and electric particle
analysis in showing the existence of subpopulations during the different phases,
especially during the stationary phase. The use of a complexity index in this context
helped to differentiate these phases and confirmed the yeast cell heterogeneity. |