title: Tracking the Movement of a Single Prokaryotic Cell in Extreme Environmental Conditions.
abstract: Many bacterial species move toward favorable habitats. The flagellum is one of the most important machines required for the motility in solution and is conserved across a wide range of bacteria. The motility machinery is thought to function efficiently with a similar mechanism in a variety of environmental conditions, as many cells with similar machineries have been isolated from harsh environments. To understand the common mechanism and its diversity, microscopic examination of bacterial movements is a crucial step. Here, we describe a method to characterize the swimming motility of cells in extreme environmental conditions. This microscopy system enables acquisition of high-resolution images under high-pressure conditions. The temperature and oxygen concentration can also be manipulated. In addition, we also describe a method to track the movement of swimming cells using an ImageJ plugin. This enables characterization of the swimming motility of the selected cells.
authors.affiliation: The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research/Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (WPI-iCeMS), Kyoto University, Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan. mnishiyama@icems.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masayoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishiyama
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, 1-8, Mihogaoka, Ibaraki, 567-0047, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arai
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004777:Environment; D005407:Flagella / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D011387:Prokaryotic Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*
keywords: Archaea; Bacteria; Extreme environment; Flagella; High-pressure microscopy; Motility machinery; Prokaryote; Tracking system