Assaying Glycogen and Trehalose in Yeast

Organisms store carbohydrates in several forms. In yeast, carbohydrates are stored in glycogen (a multi-branched polysaccharide) and in trehalose (a disaccharide). As in other organisms, the amount of stored carbohydrate varies dramatically with physiological state, and accordingly, an assay of stored carbohydrate can help reveal physiological state. Here, we describe relatively easy and streamlined assays for glycogen and trehalose in yeast that can be applied either to a few samples, or in a moderately high-throughput fashion (dozens to hundreds of samples).