scholarly journals Flow cytometric measurements as a proxy for sporulation intensity in the cultured macroalga Ulva (Chlorophyta)

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omri Nahor ◽  
Cristina F. Morales-Reyes ◽  
Gianmaria Califano ◽  
Thomas Wichard ◽  
Alexander Golberg ◽  
...  

Abstract Controlling the life cycle of the green macroalga Ulva (Chlorophyta) is essential to maintain its efficient aquaculture. A fundamental shift in cultivation occurs by transforming the thallus cells into gametangia and sporangia (sporulation), with the subsequent release of gametes and zoids. Sporulation occurrence depends on algal age and abiotic stimuli and is controlled by sporulation inhibitors. Thus, quantification of sporulation intensity is critical for identifying the biotic and abiotic factors that influence the transition to reproductive growth. Here, we propose to determine the sporulation index by measuring the number of released gametes using flow cytometry, in proportion to the total number of thallus cells present before the occurrence of the sporulation event. The flow cytometric measurements were validated by manually counting the number of released gametes. We observed a variation in the autofluorescence levels of the gametes which were released from the gametangia. High autofluorescence level correlated to phototactically active behaviour of the gametes. As autofluorescence levels varied between different groups of gametes related to their mobility, flow cytometry can also determine the physiological status of the gametes used as feedstock in seaweed cultivation.

2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 7948-7954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Pianetti ◽  
Tania Falcioni ◽  
Francesca Bruscolini ◽  
Luigia Sabatini ◽  
Elivio Sisti ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The presence of Aeromonas spp. in water can represent a risk for human health. Therefore, it is important to know the physiological status of these bacteria and their survival in the environment. We studied the behavior of a strain of Aeromonas hydrophila in river water, spring water, brackish water, mineral water, and chlorinated drinking water, which had different physical and chemical characteristics. The bacterial content was evaluated by spectrophotometric and plate count techniques. Flow cytometric determination of viability was carried out using a dual-staining technique that enabled us to distinguish viable bacteria from damaged and membrane-compromised bacteria. The traditional methods showed that the bacterial content was variable and dependent on the type of water. The results obtained from the plate count analysis correlated with the absorbance data. In contrast, the flow cytometric analysis results did not correlate with the results obtained by traditional methods; in fact, this technique showed that there were viable cells even when the optical density was low or no longer detectable and there was no plate count value. According to our results, flow cytometry is a suitable method for assessing the viability of bacteria in water samples. Furthermore, it permits fast detection of bacteria that are in a viable but nonculturable state, which are not detectable by conventional methods.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Viktória Temesfői ◽  
Kinga Molnár ◽  
Péter Kaltenecker ◽  
Barbara Réger ◽  
Árpád Szomor ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Recent studies proved that metabolic changes in malignant disorders have an impact on protein glycosylation, however, only a few attempts have been made so far to use O-GlcNAc analysis as a prognostic tool. Glucose metabolism is reported to be altered in hematological malignancies thus, we hypothesized that monitoring intracellular O-GlcNAc levels in Rai stage 0-I (Binet A) CLL patients could give deeper insights regarding subtle metabolic changes of progression which are not completely detected by the routine follow-up procedures. OBJECTIVE: In this proof of concept study we established a flow cytometric detection method for the assessment of O-GlcNAcylation as a possible prognostic marker in CLL malignancy which was supported by fluorescence microscopy. METHODS: Healthy volunteers and CLL patients were recruited for this study. Lymphocytes were isolated, fixed and permeabilised by various methods to find the optimal experimental condition for O-GlcNAc detection by flow cytometry. O-GlcNAc levels were measured and compared to lymphocyte count and various blood parameters including plasma glucose level. RESULTS: The protocol we developed includes red blood cell lysis, formalin fixation, 0.1% Tween 20 permeabilisation and employs standardized cell number per sample and unstained controls. We have found significant correlation between O-GlcNAc levels and WBC (R2= 0.8535, p< 0.0029) and lymphocyte count (R2= 0.9225, p< 0.0006) in CLL patients. Interestingly, there was no such correlation in healthy individuals (R2= 0.05664 for O-GlcNAc vs WBC and R2= 0.04379 for O-GlcNAc vs lymphocytes). CONCLUSION: Analyzing O-GlcNAc changes in malignant disorders, specifically in malignant hematologic diseases such as CLL, could be a useful tool to monitor the progression of the disease.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1320
Author(s):  
Kristýna Pekárková ◽  
Jakub Soukup ◽  
Marie Kostelanská ◽  
Jan Širc ◽  
Zbyněk Straňák ◽  
...  

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from liquid biopsies are extensively analyzed by flow cytometry, a technology that is continuously evolving. Thresholding utilizing a violet 405 nm laser side scatter (VSSC) has recently been implemented. Here, we collected set of large EV (lEV) samples from cord blood, which we analyzed using a standard flow cytometer improved via a 405 nm laser side scatter. Samples were analyzed using two distinct thresholding methods—one based on VSSC, and one based on VSSC combined with fluorescence thresholding on stained phosphatidylserine. Through these thresholding methods, we compared lEVs from pre-term births and control cord blood. Double-labeled lEVs with platelet CD36+/CD41+, activated platelet CD41+/CD62P+ and endothelial CD31+/CD105+ antibodies were used. Apart from comparing the two groups together, we also correlated measured lEVs with the thresholding methods. We also correlated the results of this study with data analyzed in our previous study in which we used a conventional 488 nm laser SSC. We did not find any difference between the two cord blood groups. However, we found highly concurrent data via our correlation of the thresholding methods, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.80 to 0.96 even though the numbers of detected lEVs differed between thresholding methods. In conclusion, our approaches to thresholding provided concurrent data and it seems that improving the cytometer with the use of a VSSC increases its sensitivity, despite not being particularly critical to the validity of flow cytometric studies that compare pathological and physiological conditions in liquid biopsies.


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