title: Exploiting the autofluorescent properties of photosynthetic pigments for analysis of pigmentation and morphology in live Fremyella diplosiphon cells.
abstract: Fremyella diplosiphon is a freshwater, filamentous cyanobacterium that exhibits light-dependent regulation of photosynthetic pigment accumulation and cellular and filament morphologies in a well-known process known as complementary chromatic adaptation (CCA). One of the techniques used to investigate the molecular bases of distinct aspects of CCA is confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). CLSM capitalizes on the autofluorescent properties of cyanobacterial phycobiliproteins and chlorophyll a. We employed CLSM to perform spectral scanning analyses of F. diplosiphon strains grown under distinct light conditions. We report optimized utilization of CLSM to elucidate the molecular basis of the photoregulation of pigment accumulation and morphological responses in F. diplosiphon.
authors.affiliation: Plant Research Laboratory, Department of Energy, Michigan State University, 106 Plant Biology Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1312, USA. jbordowitz@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Juliana R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Bordowitz
authors.forename: Beronda L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Montgomery
mesh_terms: D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D005453:Fluorescence; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D010788:Photosynthesis; D010860:Pigments, Biological
chemical_list: D010860:Pigments, Biological