title: A compact multi-channel apparatus for automated real-time monitoring of bioluminescence.
abstract: We have developed a multi-channel apparatus for automated monitoring of bioluminescence in real time. We designed this apparatus to be compact (230 mm wide, 600 mm deep, and 227.5 mm high) so that it can be operated in a relatively small commercially-available incubator. The apparatus can process 20 samples at maximum in a single run, providing enough processibility in small-scale experiments. We verified the reliability and sensitivity of the apparatus by observing circadian bioluminescence rhythms over one week from a bioluminescent reporter strain (E9) of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942 [Ishiura, M., Kutsuna, S., Aoki, S., Iwasaki, H., Andersson, C.R., Tanabe, A., Golden, S.S., Johnson, C.H., Kondo, T., Expression of a gene cluster kaiABC as a circadian feedback process in cyanobacteria, Science, 281 (1998) 1519-1523]. Our apparatus allows flexible experimental designs and will be effectively used for the studies of gene expression in various purposes.
authors.affiliation: Gene Research Center, Nagoya University, Furo, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishiura
authors.forename: Tatsuharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Torii
authors.forename: Setsuyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aoki
mesh_terms: D001331:Automation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D003624:Darkness; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D008027:Light; D049449:Luminescence; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity