On the relation between dry matter and volume of bacteria

Microb Ecol. 1987 Mar;13(2):95-101. doi: 10.1007/BF02011246.

Abstract

Dry matter and volumes of 337 individual bacterial cells with volumes in the range 0.01-7μm(3) from different origins were measured. An allometric relation was established between dry matter and volume, such that smaller bacteria tended to have a higher dry matter to volume ratio than larger bacteria. The results are compared to results from similar work on algae. The implications for the use of conversion factors are discussed.