title: Microbial Nanoscopy: Breakthroughs, Challenges, and Opportunities.
abstract: Studying the structure, properties, and interactions of microbial cells is key to understanding the functions of the microbiome. Recent advances in nanotechnology have offered new tools to probe microbes at the single-molecule and single-cell levels. In this issue of ACS Nano, Kumar et al. present an atomic force microscopy method that is capable of imaging the nanoscale organization of bacterial proteins in native, curved membranes. This study represents an important step forward in the development of nanoscopy techniques for analyzing biological systems with large curvature and vertical dimensions, such as membrane vesicles and bacterial cells.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Université Catholique de Louvain , Croix du Sud, 4-5, bte L7.07.06., Louvain-la-Neuve B-1348, Belgium.|Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and Biotechnology (WELBIO) , Avenue Pasteur, 6, Wavre 1300, Belgium.
authors.forename: Yves F
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7289-4248
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Dufrêne
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D036103:Nanotechnology
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins