Fig. 4

Profiles of the distribution of subpopulations with different cell diameters at elapsed fermentation time 47 h (a), and 82 h (b). Plotted are the normalized cell counts (NCC) versus the cell diameter from 2 to 11 microns (µm) using Vi-CELL XR Viability Analyzer. Cell count values were normalized by total count for each sample measurement and averaged. Vertical dashed-lines indicate the three ranges of cell diameter, 3.5–5.0, 5.0–8.0, and 8.0–11.0 µm. Above every cell diameter range, the typical associated morphologies observed for those cell sizes. Horizontal dashed-line located at 200 NCC is a reference to assess the relative changes of the subpopulation NCCs as fermentations progressed to the end (82 h EFT) where the change trends are indicated by the arrows