Survival of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y5 during starvation in the presence of osmotic supports.

The viability of starved or dying Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y5 cells was extended for up to 1,500 h by adding osmotic supports (0.6 M sorbitol or mannitol) to the starvation media. Replacement of these polyols with 0.3 M KCl, 0.5 M MgSO4, or 0.2 M MgCl2 postponed the death of cells incubated in N-free medium, but accelerated it in distilled water.