The impact of ultraviolet radiation on Saccharomyces cerevisiae survival

Abstract

Liquid cultures of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were irradiated with the Mineralight® short wave ultraviolet lamp model UVS-11. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of irradiation of UV radiation on S. cerevisiae. The study included experiments where densities of 2.54 x 10-7 cells/mL and 3.56 x 10-7 cells/mL of yeast were irradiated for 5, 15 and 35 minutes. Then, with the use of a hemocytometer, we counted the cells within the grid. The population densities were based on cell counts per volume of yeast culture. The survival ratio was calculated by dividing final population density over initial density. While there was a trend for the population to drop according to time exposed, it was not statistically significant, and our results were inconclusive. We were not able to support the hypothesis that exposure to ultraviolet light will reduce the population density of yeast, and we fail to reject our null hypothesis.