A mathematical model of Saccharomyces cerevisiae growth in response to cadmium toxicity.

Microbial growth can be described using models derived by differential equations, but available mathematical models have yet to adequately describe lag phase related cell growth or cell mortality in response to chemical toxicity. Lag phase cell behavior, however, dictates the onset of exponential growth and the number of actively growing cells available to initiate exponential growth, important factors in the success of remediation efforts. In this study, a five-parameter polynomial ratio (PR) model was used to characterize the growth, from lag through stationary phase, of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in response to cadmium toxicity.