Raghavendran, V. orcid.org/0000-0002-2021-2786, Olavarria, K. and Gombert, A.K. (2018) Elucidating the Importance of Numeracy Skills for Undergraduate Students in Life Sciences Using the Oxygen Requirement in Yeast as an Example. MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract
Current education in biology is devoid of mathematics in many countries, probably because many relevant biological processes are explained from a qualitative point of view rather than addressing the quantitative aspects of these phenomena. Here, we employ a case study from the yeast physiology to illustrate the importance of numeracy skills for a deeper understanding of relevant biological problems. Yeast anaerobic growth on sugars is a widespread process as it is the basis for beer, bread, and winemaking and it is much akin to lactic acid fermentation in muscle cells in response to an increased energy demand. To study the physiology of yeasts under controlled conditions and being able to compare the results quantitatively, one ought to perform measurements and calculations involving concentrations of oxygen, biomass, and organic compounds. To set-up an “anaerobic” culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a defined medium, one needs to calculate how much oxygen must enter the cultivation system, to meet the requirements for ergosterol and oleic acid biosyntheses, both of which require oxygen. Using basic physicochemical principles and simple mathematical skills, students will be able to compute the oxygen requirement for yeast growth under such “anaerobic” conditions.
Metadata
Item Type: | Other |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | diffusion; gas transfer; fermentation; uptake rate; physio-chemical |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 30 Apr 2018 08:21 |
Last Modified: | 30 Apr 2018 08:21 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201803.0019.v1 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.20944/preprints201803.0019.v1 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:128755 |