ZYMOMONAS-MOBILIS CELL VIABILITY - MEASUREMENT METHOD COMPARISON

Comparison of three different cell viability methods: slide count, pla te count and methylene blue staining techniques, applied on Zymomonas mobilis cultures, was performed. The slide technique proved to be fast er and more accurate than the plate count method, and both of them far more reliable than the standard methylene blue method which constantl y overestimated the Zymomonas cell viability. The slide technique is a dvantageous also because it gives information on the cell morphology c hanges, notably the abnormal cell elongation, in the ethanol fermentat ion.