Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I was just wondering if anyone knows how bakers yeast is affected by salt. This might sound like a stupid question but does bakers yeast eat salt? I was thinking that I could use bakers yeast to somehow decrease salinity in the soil and improve plant health. Kind of like a fertilizer.

Hi there,

Great idea for a project! I believe that could really be a good, applicable science project. I'd suggest rewording your question so it reads more scientifically, specifically removing the word "eat" and perhaps replacing it with something like "can baker's yeast digest/absorb/etc." To find the correct wording, you'll have to do some background research! Look up chief metabolisms of yeast, as that will help you articulate your question. Then, set up an experiment with varying levels of yeast, for example, and a way to measure salt concentration!

Please post back with more questions! I hope this helped.

Thanks!

Ok thanks. I guess I could do my own small experiment to answer my question. Store-bought yeast works, right? If so, what's the best kind? This isn't for a specific science project, I'm just curious and it's spring break so I might as well try this.

Store bought yeast should be fine. Good luck!

Cheers,
Colin

Sounds good. Store-bought yeast should work well. Good luck!

I found some articles saying that salt inhibits yeast growth (that is applicable in cooking) https://www.preparedpantry.com/howyeastworks.htm
This and other articles suggest that yeast will grow slowly on a salt rich medium. I think your project idea is excellent but you may think about using a different organism, or maybe yeast/fungi species that grows well under high salt conditions. I still encourage you to test how well bakers yeast can grow under different salt concentration- later you can also test different microorganisms using the same assay/technique.
Here is an article describing a salt tolerant yeast: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12689638
See what else you can find and we can discuss what the most suitable organism would be.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
Gosia

Hi - I like your idea of trying to find a way to use a living organism to improve soil.

One thing to remember, though is that cells (yeast are cells) are affected by the amount of salt and other solutes in their water environment.
Have you studied about osmosis and diffusion yet in your science class? Did you do any experiments that demonstrate how cells shrink when placed in solutions that contain more solutes than the % of solutes on the inside of the cell?
What will happen to a cell that is composed of almost 80% water when it is put into a more 'salty' environment (hypertonic)? If the cell looses water to the environment, how will all the processes of life inside the cell be affected? So, consider researching the environment that yeast cells need to live.

Good luck

Thanks everyone. I haven't studied high school biology yet.