Detection of bacterial populations in oyster tissue homogenates using direct microscopic counts and thymidine incorporation

Acridine orange direct counts and incorporation of ³H]thymidine (³H]TdR) were used to determine the effectiveness of an antibiotic treatment on reducing bacterial activity in oyster tissue. Cell counts, as well as total ³H]TdR incorporation into the acid insoluble pool, were significantly lower in antibiotically treated oyster tissue homogenates than in untreated controls. However, rates of ³H]TdR incorporation were not significantly different between treatments, indicating increased metabolic activity (on a per cell basis) in the antibiotically treated bacterial population versus the control population.