title: Microbial nanoscopy: a closer look at microbial cell surfaces.
abstract: How cell envelope constituents are spatially organised and how they interact with the environment are key questions in microbiology. Unlike other bioimaging tools, atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides information about the nanoscale surface architecture of living cells and about the localization and interactions of their individual constituents. These past years have witnessed remarkable advances in our use of the AFM molecular toolbox to observe and force probe microbial cells. Recent milestones include the real-time imaging of the nanoscale organization of cell walls, the quantification of subcellular chemical heterogeneities, the mapping and functional analysis of individual cell wall constituents and the analysis of the mechanical properties of single receptors and sensors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Université Catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2/18, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dupres
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alsteens
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andre
authors.forename: Yves F
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Dufrêne
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D017510:Protein Folding; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins