The effects of combinatorial treatments with stress inducing molecules on growth of E. coli colonies

Stress inducing molecules affect both the mean behavior of bacterial growth and also variations in the growth. While the mechanisms that cause changes in the mean behavior are well understood, little is known about changes in the variation of the population. A true understanding of how organisms respond to stress must include an understanding of the mechanisms and purposes of changes in variation and the distribution not directly related to changes in the mean of the population. We have explored the results of combinatorial treatments using EDTA, copper sulfate, hydrogen peroxide, and hydrochloric acid as stress inducing molecules on bacterial colony formation and area on LB-agar plates. Three different combinations of X-gal and IPTG were used to create different background conditions. Some treatments alter the variation and/or the distribution of the area without having a significant effect on the mean, others affect the mean without altering the distribution, and yet others affect distribution and the mean.