It’s well known that bacteria morphometric measurements by microscopy or image processing (usually after staining) can be converted into carbon or dry weight using conversion factors available in the literature (Posch et al. 2001). I’ld like to know if there is a conversion factor for converting bacteria density estimates by agar plate counting, into carbon or dry weight. Indeed, in the frame of a simulation test that I’m planning to run, I’ld like to use the datas that I found in the literature and which are expressed in bacteria density unit.
It is just my opinion. Considering the fact that standard colony number counting represent only part of bacterial cells in any sample (minus non-cultivable, cells that need other nutrients in agar medium for fast growth, etc) and the viable bacteria in the sample may have very different growth stage, and thus, size, weight and C-content per cell, such calculation cannot not give correct result. The image processing can estimate the actual bacteria density and average size, and calculate dry weight, and C-content but growth of the cells on agar may have no correlation to such data.
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