Interested in measuring “Single-Cell Growth Rates…”?

Our full text, open-access, manuscript, “Single-Cell Growth Rates in Photoautotrophic Populations Measured by Stable Isotope Probing and Resonance Raman Microspectrometry” just reached a new milestone: over 1000 views since its publication in August!  If you, too, are interested in this application and/or the incredible Raman capabilities right here at Stony Brook University, then I encourage you to visit the homepages of our NAno-RAMAN Molecular Imaging Laboratory and its director, Prof. Gordon Taylor.

Professor Gordon Taylor and lab technician Tatiana Zaliznyak with Raman microspectrometer, atomic force microscope and control center in background.

“Single-cell Growth Rates…” now published

Our full text, open-access, manuscript is now available from Frontiers in Microbiology.  Thanks to Gordon Taylor and his team for putting together a great project:

Taylor, G. T., E. A. Suter, Z. Q. Li, S. Chow, D. Stinton, T. Zaliznyak, and S. R. Beaupré. (2017). Single-Cell Growth Rates in Photoautotrophic Populations Measured by Stable Isotope Probing and Resonance Raman Microspectrometry. Frontiers in Microbiology 8. http://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01449

Abstract: “A new method to measure growth rates of individual photoautotrophic cells by combining stable isotope probing (SIP) and single-cell resonance Raman microspectrometry is introduced. This report explores optimal experimental design and the theoretical underpinnings for quantitative responses of Raman spectra to cellular isotopic composition. Resonance Raman spectra of isogenic cultures of the cyanobacterium, Synechococcus sp., grown in 13C-bicarbonate revealed linear covariance between wavenumber (cm−1) shifts in dominant carotenoid Raman peaks and a broad range of cellular 13C fractional isotopic abundance. Single-cell growth rates were calculated from spectra-derived isotopic content and empirical relationships. Growth rates among any 25 cells in a sample varied considerably; mean coefficient of variation, CV, was 29 ± 3% (σ/x), of which only ~2% was propagated analytical error. Instantaneous population growth rates measured independently by in vivo fluorescence also varied daily (CV ≈ 53%) and were statistically indistinguishable from single-cell growth rates at all but the lowest levels of cell labeling. SCRR censuses of mixtures prepared from Synechococcus sp. and T. pseudonana (a diatom) populations with varying 13C-content and growth rates closely approximated predicted spectral responses and fractional labeling of cells added to the sample. This approach enables direct microspectrometric interrogation of isotopically- and phylogenetically-labeled cells and detects as little as 3% changes in cellular fractional labeling. This is the first description of a non-destructive technique to measure single-cell photoautotrophic growth rates based on Raman spectroscopy and well-constrained assumptions, while requiring few ancillary measurements.”

Accepted! “Single-Cell Growth Rates in Photoautotrophic Populations…”

How do you measure the growth rates of single cells?  With lasers and isotopes, of course!  Just ask Prof. Gordon Taylor and his team at SoMAS.  Or, better yet, read our newly accepted manuscript:

Taylor G. T., Suter E. A., Li Z. Q., Chow S., Stinton D., Zaliznyak T. and Beaupré S. R. (2017). Single-Cell Growth Rates in Photoautotrophic Populations Measured by Stable Isotope Probing and Resonance Raman Microspectrometry. Frontiers in Microbiology. Available at: http://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01449

For more information on Raman measurements at Stony Brook University, please visit Prof. Taylor’s NAno-RAMAN Molecular Imaging Laboratory website

Congratulations to friend of the lab, Dr. Roy Price, on his recent review of shallow water hydrothermal vent systems.

Price R. E. and Giovannelli D. (2017) A Review of the Geochemistry and Microbiology of Marine Shallow-Water Hydrothermal Vents. In Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences Elsevier. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.09523-3

Hurowitz et al., “Redox stratification of an ancient lake in Gale crater, Mars”

Congratulations to friends of the lab, Joel Hurowitz (Stony Brook University) and Woody Fischer (Caltech), on their most recent publication:

Hurowitz, J. A., Grotzinger, J. P., Fischer, W. W., McLennan, S. M., Milliken, R. E., Stein, N., et al. (2017). Redox stratification of an ancient lake in Gale crater, Mars. Science, 356(6341), eaah6849. http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah6849

IsoCaRB: the microbial radiocarbon breathalyzer does it again!

Curious?  Check out our new paper in Environmental Microbiology:

Mahmoudi, N., Beaupré, S. R., Steen, A. D., & Pearson, A. (2017). Sequential bioavailability of sedimentary organic matter to heterotrophic bacteria. Environmental Microbiology. http://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.13745