Stochastic modelling of bacterial lag phase

In order to study the lag distribution of the individual cells in a bacterial population, a stochastic birth model is used in this study. An integral formula is applied to transform the assumed lag distribution into a growth function describing the transition between lag and exponential phase of the cell population. By means of this formula, it is pointed out that traditional viable count curves are not suitable to identify the distribution of individual cells' lag time. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.