SPOCK, an R based package for high-throughput analysis of growth rate, survival, and chronological lifespan in yeast
Eric M. Small, Daniel P. Felker, Olivia C. Heath, Ryla J. Cantergiani, Christine Robbins, Mary Ann Osley, Mark A. McCormick
Abstract
Plate-reader based methods for high-throughput measurement of growth rate, cellular survival, and chronological lifespan are a compelling addition to the already powerful toolbox of budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae genetics. These methods have overcome many of the limits of traditional yeast biology techniques, but also present a new bottleneck at the point of data-analysis. Herein, we describe SPOCK (Survival Percentage and Outgrowth Collection Kit), an R-based package for the analysis of data created by high-throughput plate reader based methods. This package allows for the determination of chronological lifespan, cellular growth rate, and survival in an efficient, robust, and reproducible fashion.