Visualizing bacterial swimming in 3D
Researchers at FOM Institute AMOLF have developed a new method to very efficiently follow the fast movements of bacteria in three dimensions. The technique enables 3D tracking of bacteria at very low cost using a standard biological microscope, while delivering performance comparable to previous methods that required advanced machinery. A better understanding of bacterial mobility plays an essential role in medical, environmental and industrial research. For example, the treatment of bacterial infections with antibiotics. The researchers publish their findings on 2 November 2015 in Nature Communications.
'3D glasses' for standard microscopes
The new method to follow fast moving bacteria in three dimensions is a joint project of the AMOLF research groups led by Tom Shimizu and Sander Tans. The researchers replaced advanced equipment with a standard low-cost microscope, a video camera and a computer. "The secret is in the software that we developed", explains AMOLF postdoc Katja Taute. "The computer programme works more or less like 3D glasses. It enables us to get 3D information from the images instead of the customary 2D information." Because the required equipment is relatively simple, the researchers expect that their invention to follow bacterial mobility in three dimensions will be used by researchers in a broad range of fields, to help answer fundamental research questions as well as applied ones. For example in medical, environmental and industrial research.
Tracking how bacterial 'individuality' affects populations
Another benefit of the new 3D microscopy method is that it enables researchers to follow large numbers of bacteria simultaneously. The resulting large amount of data enables the researchers to answer questions that go beyond the behaviour of an 'average bacterium'. For instance, the researchers saw that bacteria with exactly the same DNA can behave very differently, and that this diversity in individual behavior can influence migration of the entire population. Understanding this process is, for instance, important to treat bacterial infections with antibiotics.
The research was financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
Reference
K.M. Taute, S. Gude, S.J. Tans, and T.S. Shimizu, High-throughput 3D tracking of bacteria on a standard phase contrast microscope, Nature Communications, 2 November 2015, doi:10.1038/ncomms9776.