title: Morphological Effects of Natural Products on Schizosaccharomyces pombe Measured by Imaging Flow Cytometry.
abstract: Gaining a full understanding of the mechanisms of action of natural products as therapeutic agents includes observing the effects of natural products on cellular morphology, because abnormal cellular morphology is an important aspect of cellular transformations that occur as part of disease states. In this study a set of natural products was examined in search of small molecules that influence the cylindrical morphology of fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Imaging flow cytometry of large populations of S. pombe exposed to natural products captured cell images and revealed changes in mean length and aspect ratio of cells. Several natural products were found to alter S. pombe's morphology relative to control, in terms of elongating cells, shrinking them, or making them more round. These results may facilitate future investigations into methods by which cells establish and maintain specific shapes.
  Gaining a full understanding of the mechanisms of action of natural products as therapeutic agents includes observing the effects of natural products on cellular morphology, because abnormal cellular morphology is an important aspect of cellular transformations that occur as part of disease states. In this study a set of natural products was examined in search of small molecules that influence the cylindrical morphology of fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Imaging flow cytometry of large populations of S. pombe exposed to natural products captured cell images and revealed changes in mean length and aspect ratio of cells. Several natural products were found to alter S. pombe's morphology relative to control, in terms of elongating cells, shrinking them, or making them more round. These results may facilitate future investigations into methods by which cells establish and maintain specific shapes.
authors.affiliation: University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL USA.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heisler
authors.affiliation: University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL USA.
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Elvir
authors.affiliation: University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL USA.
authors.forename: Farah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barnouti
authors.affiliation: University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL USA.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO USA.
authors.forename: Tom D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Wolkow
authors.affiliation: University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL USA.
authors.forename: Radha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pyati
keywords: Aspect ratio; Fission yeast; Imaging flow cytometry; Morphology; Natural products; Schizosaccharomyces pombe