title: Phenotypic heterogeneity within microbial populations at the single-cell level investigated by confocal Raman microspectroscopy.
abstract: Single cells in genetically homogeneous microbial cultures exhibit marked phenotypic heterogeneity that is considered to bolster the fitness of the whole population. Heterogeneity on the single-cell level is typically masked in conventional studies of microbial populations, which rely on data averaged across thousands or millions of cells in a sample. Here we introduce confocal Raman microspectroscopy as a method for investigating and illustrating the spatial heterogeneity of microbial cell populations. By the use of three different test organisms as model systems, we show pronounced cellular heterogeneity even in colonies cultivated under laboratory conditions.
authors.affiliation: P25-Biomedical Spectroscopy, Robert Koch Institute, Nordufer 20, D-13353 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Antje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hermelink
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brauer
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lasch
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Naumann
mesh_terms: D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000166:cytology*; D007875:Legionella / Q000166:cytology*; D010641:Phenotype; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman