title: Applications of Imaging Flow Cytometry for Microalgae.
abstract: The ability to image large numbers of cells at high resolution enhances flow cytometric analysis of cells and cell populations. In particular, the ability to image intracellular features adds a unique aspect to analyses, and can enable correlation between molecular phenomena resulting in alterations in cellular phenotype. Unicellular microalgae are amenable to high-throughput analysis to capture the diversity of cell types in natural samples, or diverse cellular responses in clonal populations, especially using imaging cytometry. Using examples from our laboratory, we review applications of imaging cytometry, specifically using an Amnis(®) ImageStream(®)X instrument, to characterize photosynthetic microalgae. Some of these examples highlight advantages of imaging flow cytometry for certain research objectives, but we also include examples that would not necessarily require imaging and could be performed on a conventional cytometer to demonstrate other concepts in cytometric evaluation of microalgae. We demonstrate the value of these approaches for (1) analysis of populations, (2) documentation of cellular features, and (3) analysis of gene expression.
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. mhildebrand@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hildebrand
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Aubrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Raffaela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Abbriano
authors.affiliation: Amnis part of EMD Millipore, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Haley R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Pugsley
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jesse C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Traller
authors.affiliation: Integrative Oceanography Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Roshan P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Orna
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Eva L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kalpana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Manandhar-Shrestha
authors.affiliation: Amnis part of EMD Millipore, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Alderete
mesh_terms: D002708:Chlorella / Q000166:cytology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods*; D019044:Image Cytometry / Q000379:methods*; D058086:Microalgae / Q000166:cytology*
keywords: Imaging cytometry; Intracellular processes; Microalgae; Phytoplankton; Population heterogeneity