Use of fluorescence spectroscopy to differentiate yeast and bacterial cells

Hemant Bhatta*, Ewa M. Goldys, Robert P. Learmonth

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    66 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This study focuses on the characterization of bacterial and yeast species through their autofluorescence spectra. Lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus sp.), and yeast (Saccharomyces sp.) were cultured under controlled conditions and studied for variations in their autofluorescence, particularly in the area representative of tryptophan residues of proteins. The emission and excitation spectra clearly reveal that bacterial and yeast species can be differentiated by their intrinsic fluorescence with UV excitation. The possibility of differentiation between different strains of Saccharomyces yeast was also studied, with clear differences observed for selected strains. The study shows that fluorescence can be successfully used to differentiate between yeast and bacteria and between different yeast species, through the identification of spectroscopic fingerprints, without the need for fluorescent staining.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)121-126
    Number of pages6
    JournalApplied Microbiology and Biotechnology
    Volume71
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jun 2006

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