determining growth rate

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determining growth rate

by Thomas Davis-3 :: Rate this Message:

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Hi everyone,
 
 I am an entomologist trying to study the microbial community associated with an herbivorous beetle species. As such, our lab is rather limited in terms of microbiological sophistication. We have tentatively isolated a wealth of yeast colonies from the glandular mycangia of these insects, and would like to conduct some performance-type experiments using our yeast isolates and chemical treatments. Our isolations are currently being done on 2% MEA, and appear to mostly be in the genera Pichia, Saccharomyces, and Candida.
 
 My question to the group is this:
 
 What is a reliable, quick, and easily interpreted method for assessing growth rates of yeast colonies? We are familiar with the technique of colony forming unit count via serial dilutions, however, this seems to be a laborious means of assessing growth rate over time with many strains and (potentially) multiple chemical treatments. Or is it simply best to try to obtain a single 'snapshot' of growth rate?
 
 Any advice that could be offered would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
Seth Davis

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