One Cell at a Time: Advances in Single-Cell Methods and Instrumentation for Discovery in Aquatic Microbiology
Studying microbes from a single-cell perspective has become a major theme and interest within the field of aquatic microbiology. One emerging trend is the unfailing observation of heterogeneity in activity levels within microbial populations. Wherever researchers have looked, intra-population variab...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.881018/full |
| _version_ | 1811339515924578304 |
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| author | Vesna Grujcic Gordon T. Taylor Rachel A. Foster |
| author_facet | Vesna Grujcic Gordon T. Taylor Rachel A. Foster |
| author_sort | Vesna Grujcic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Studying microbes from a single-cell perspective has become a major theme and interest within the field of aquatic microbiology. One emerging trend is the unfailing observation of heterogeneity in activity levels within microbial populations. Wherever researchers have looked, intra-population variability in biochemical composition, growth rates, and responses to varying environmental conditions has been evident and probably reflect coexisting genetically distinct strains of the same species. Such observations of heterogeneity require a shift away from bulk analytical approaches and development of new methods or adaptation of existing techniques, many of which were first pioneered in other, unrelated fields, e.g., material, physical, and biomedical sciences. Many co-opted approaches were initially optimized using model organisms. In a field with so few cultivable models, method development has been challenging but has also contributed tremendous insights, breakthroughs, and stimulated curiosity. In this perspective, we present a subset of methods that have been effectively applied to study aquatic microbes at the single-cell level. Opportunities and challenges for innovation are also discussed. We suggest future directions for aquatic microbiological research that will benefit from open access to sophisticated instruments and highly interdisciplinary collaborations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:27:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bc1ec307f6d8480f841f8f9b70c65d4b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:27:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-bc1ec307f6d8480f841f8f9b70c65d4b2022-12-22T02:35:11ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2022-05-011310.3389/fmicb.2022.881018881018One Cell at a Time: Advances in Single-Cell Methods and Instrumentation for Discovery in Aquatic MicrobiologyVesna Grujcic0Gordon T. Taylor1Rachel A. Foster2Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SwedenSchool of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United StatesDepartment of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SwedenStudying microbes from a single-cell perspective has become a major theme and interest within the field of aquatic microbiology. One emerging trend is the unfailing observation of heterogeneity in activity levels within microbial populations. Wherever researchers have looked, intra-population variability in biochemical composition, growth rates, and responses to varying environmental conditions has been evident and probably reflect coexisting genetically distinct strains of the same species. Such observations of heterogeneity require a shift away from bulk analytical approaches and development of new methods or adaptation of existing techniques, many of which were first pioneered in other, unrelated fields, e.g., material, physical, and biomedical sciences. Many co-opted approaches were initially optimized using model organisms. In a field with so few cultivable models, method development has been challenging but has also contributed tremendous insights, breakthroughs, and stimulated curiosity. In this perspective, we present a subset of methods that have been effectively applied to study aquatic microbes at the single-cell level. Opportunities and challenges for innovation are also discussed. We suggest future directions for aquatic microbiological research that will benefit from open access to sophisticated instruments and highly interdisciplinary collaborations.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.881018/fullmass spectrometry imagingRaman microspectroscopysingle-cell activitysingle-cell genomicssingle-cell genomicssingle-cell transcriptomics |
| spellingShingle | Vesna Grujcic Gordon T. Taylor Rachel A. Foster One Cell at a Time: Advances in Single-Cell Methods and Instrumentation for Discovery in Aquatic Microbiology Frontiers in Microbiology mass spectrometry imaging Raman microspectroscopy single-cell activity single-cell genomics single-cell genomics single-cell transcriptomics |
| title | One Cell at a Time: Advances in Single-Cell Methods and Instrumentation for Discovery in Aquatic Microbiology |
| title_full | One Cell at a Time: Advances in Single-Cell Methods and Instrumentation for Discovery in Aquatic Microbiology |
| title_fullStr | One Cell at a Time: Advances in Single-Cell Methods and Instrumentation for Discovery in Aquatic Microbiology |
| title_full_unstemmed | One Cell at a Time: Advances in Single-Cell Methods and Instrumentation for Discovery in Aquatic Microbiology |
| title_short | One Cell at a Time: Advances in Single-Cell Methods and Instrumentation for Discovery in Aquatic Microbiology |
| title_sort | one cell at a time advances in single cell methods and instrumentation for discovery in aquatic microbiology |
| topic | mass spectrometry imaging Raman microspectroscopy single-cell activity single-cell genomics single-cell genomics single-cell transcriptomics |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.881018/full |
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