Isolated microbial single cells and resulting micropopulations grow faster in controlled environments.

Singularized cells of Pichia pastoris, Hansenula polymorpha, and Corynebacterium glutamicum displayed specific growth rates under chemically and physically constant conditions that were consistently higher than those obtained in populations. This highlights the importance of single-cell analyses by uncoupling physiology and the extracellular environment, which is now possible using the Envirostat 2.0 concept.