The MTT [3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide] Assay Is a Fast and Reliable Method for Colorimetric Determination of Fungal Cell Densities

• DOI: 10.1128/aem.65.8.3727-3729.1999
• Publication Date: 2019-12-19T19:55:35Z
• Authors: Florian M. Freimoser; Claude A. Jakob; Markus Aebi; Urs Tuor
• Keywords: Entomophthorales; Thiazoles; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Colony Count, Microbial; Tetrazolium Salts; Colorimetry; Mycology; Culture Media

ABSTRACT

The entomopathogenic fungus Neozygites parvispora (Entomophthorales: Zygomycetes) grows in vitro as irregularly rod-shaped hyphal bodies in a complex medium. In order to simplify the medium composition and determine growth-promoting compounds for the cultivation of this fungus, we were looking for a rapid and quantitative method to estimate the number of living cells in small volumes of liquid culture. A colorimetric method for the determination of cell densities using MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] proved to be more accurate and timesaving than conventional hemocytometer counting.