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Mermans F, Mattelin V, Van den Eeckhoudt R, García-Timermans C, Van Landuyt J, Guo Y, Taurino I, Tavernier F, Kraft M, Khan H, Boon N. Opportunities in optical and electrical single-cell technologies to study microbial ecosystems. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1233705. [PMID: 37692384 PMCID: PMC10486927 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1233705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
New techniques are revolutionizing single-cell research, allowing us to study microbes at unprecedented scales and in unparalleled depth. This review highlights the state-of-the-art technologies in single-cell analysis in microbial ecology applications, with particular attention to both optical tools, i.e., specialized use of flow cytometry and Raman spectroscopy and emerging electrical techniques. The objectives of this review include showcasing the diversity of single-cell optical approaches for studying microbiological phenomena, highlighting successful applications in understanding microbial systems, discussing emerging techniques, and encouraging the combination of established and novel approaches to address research questions. The review aims to answer key questions such as how single-cell approaches have advanced our understanding of individual and interacting cells, how they have been used to study uncultured microbes, which new analysis tools will become widespread, and how they contribute to our knowledge of ecological interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Mermans
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Oral Health Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Valérie Mattelin
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Ruben Van den Eeckhoudt
- Micro- and Nanosystems (MNS), Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Cristina García-Timermans
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Josefien Van Landuyt
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Yuting Guo
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Irene Taurino
- Micro- and Nanosystems (MNS), Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Semiconductor Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Filip Tavernier
- MICAS, Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Michael Kraft
- Micro- and Nanosystems (MNS), Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Institute of Micro- and Nanoscale Integration (LIMNI), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hira Khan
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Nico Boon
- Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Yao L, Huang Y, Chen L, He Y. Potential influence of overwintering benthic algae on water quality. J Environ Sci (China) 2022; 117:58-70. [PMID: 35725089 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2022.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Overwintering benthic algae not only directly impact drinking water safety, but also affect the algae recruitment in warm spring seasons. Thus, understanding the characteristics of overwintering benthic algae can provide scientific references for formulating preventative strategies of reasonable water resource. However, they have received less attention. In this study, the spatiotemporal variation of benthic algae and their harmful secondary metabolites were studied from autumn to summer in Qingcaosha Reservoir. Benthic algae (picophytobenthos accounting for 55.42%) had a high biomass during overwintering, and the groups of overwintering benthic algae included pico-Cyanobacteria, pico-Cryptomonas, pico-Chlorophyta, pico-Diatoms, Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta, Cryptomonas and Diatoms, which were consistent with the planktonic algae species in warm seasons. In oligotrophic or mesotrophic water bodies, micronutrients of iron and manganese were key nutrient factors influencing the biomass of benthic algae. Furthermore, picophytobenthos were important potential contributors of harmful secondary metabolites. The content of microcystins, anatoxin-a, geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol in sediment were 15.75 µg/kg·FW, 48.16 µg/kg·FW, 3.91 ng/kg·FW, and 11.76 ng/kg·FW during winter, which had potential to be released into water bodies to impact water quality. These findings indicate that water quality monitoring programs need to consider sediment in winter as a potential source of toxins and preventative measures to prevent excessive proliferation of algae should be implemented in winter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lefan Yao
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yuansheng Huang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Lei Chen
- National Engineering Research Center of Urban Water Resources, Shanghai 200082, China
| | - Yiliang He
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
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Liu C, Lei J, Zhang M, Wu F, Ren M, Yang J, Wu Q, Shi X. Optimization of Preservation Methods Provides Insights into Photosynthetic Picoeukaryotes in Lakes. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0255721. [PMID: 35546573 PMCID: PMC9241741 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02557-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
As the key contributor to plankton biomass and nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems, photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (PPEs) have been recently investigated in freshwater ecosystems. However, the limited access to remote areas creates challenges for PPE sample preservation before sorting and counting by flow cytometry (FCM) in the laboratory. Here, we explored the effects of different preservation methods on the PPE community by combining FCM sorting and high-throughput sequencing. Our results showed that dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) cryoprotection could destroy the fluorescence and cell structure of the PPEs, making the subsequent FCM analysis and sorting difficult. Aldehyde fixation maintained the PPE fluorescence, and the fixed samples were of sufficient quality for abundance analysis and sorting by FCM. However, the sequencing results showed that, after preservation by aldehydes, the proportion of PPEs dramatically decreased to approximately 10%, in comparison to 90% in the fresh samples, and the sequences of Ascomycota significantly increased. In contrast, preservation with Pluronic F68 (F68) not only could maintain the PPE abundance close to the initial value but also could keep the PPE community similar to that in the fresh samples over a storage time of 6 months. Thus, F68 cryopreservation is a suitable preservation method for PPE communities from freshwater lakes. IMPORTANCE PPEs contribute significantly to primary productivity in freshwater ecosystems. The combination of FCM sorting and high-throughput sequencing has been shown to be a powerful approach and can largely improve our view of the PPE diversity. However, the water samples could not be counted and sorted immediately after sampling from many lakes due to the inaccessibility of FCM in the field. Thus, the comparison of different preservation methods that allow subsequent analysis of the community structure by high-throughput sequencing is an urgent need. Our results indicated that F68 cryopreservation could maintain the PPE abundance close to the initial value and keep the community similar to that in the fresh samples over a storage time of 6 months.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changqing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jin Lei
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Min Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Fan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Mingdong Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jinsheng Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Qinglong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiaoli Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Regional Modern Agriculture and Environmental Protection, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaiyin, China
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