Thermodynamics of yeast cell osmoregulation: Passive mechanisms

International audience; The response of yeast cells to osmotic pressure variations of the medium were studied through the kinetics of cell-volume modifications corresponding to the mass transfer of water and solutes. Osmotic variations were made by modification of the concentration of an external binary solution (polyol/water) without nutritive components. Two phases were distinguished in the thermodynamic response. A transient phase following an osmotic shift, which is characterised by rapid water transfer across the cell membrane and whose kinetics determine cell viability; then, a steady-state phase is reached when the cell volume becomes quasi-constant. The response of the cell during t…