In this experiment you will measure the dry weight and RNA content of a single bacterial cell.
Cells grown in different media have different compositions as well as different sizes and weights.
Rapidly growing cells are larger and contain more RNA than cells growing slowly. The purposes of this experiment are to demonstrate techniques that are used often by microbiologists working in laboratories and to acquaint each student with methods of quantitative analysis of macromolecules. The parameters used to measure growth must be carefully chosen and defined. Dry weight is sometimes, but not always, the most meaningful expression of growth of a bacterial population. Cell numbers are not always a good indicator of growth because cells often enlarge without multiplying.