{"id":11676,"date":"2017-11-30T14:08:43","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T13:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.embl.de\/?p=11676"},"modified":"2024-03-22T11:45:36","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T10:45:36","slug":"new-technique-imaging-life-aquatic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/new-technique-imaging-life-aquatic\/","title":{"rendered":"New technique for imaging the life aquatic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many of nature\u2019s diverse microorganisms have never actually been seen by researchers. That includes the miniscule predators, photosynthesisers, and symbionts that call the ocean home. A new automated microscopy technique<\/a> makes it faster to 3D image and correctly classify microorganisms in marine samples. EMBL\u2019s Luis Pedro Coelho<\/a> explains the new technique and how this could lead to a better understanding of how some of the ocean\u2019s smallest creatures live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did you do?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The e-HCFM workflow applied to Tara Oceans samples. IMAGE: Coelho\/EMBL<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We developed a quick method to get detailed 3D images of diverse organisms in any sample taken directly from the environment. In our study, we looked at microscopic eukaryotes, a type of nucleus-containing organism, suspended in sea water that had been collected by from across the world\u2019s oceans as part the Tara Oceans Expedition<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trouble with existing methods of imaging environmental samples is that they only work well for organisms that were larger than the miniscule ones we wanted to analyse. The big challenge we faced was how different the organisms were from one another. This meant that the best conditions for imaging one organism didn\u2019t work for another. You end up with a short blanket problem \u2013 if you pull it up, your feet are cold but if you pull it down, the top of your torso isn\u2019t covered. Using our method of environmental high-content fluorescence microscopy, it\u2019s possible to image the different organisms that require different imaging conditions within the same sample. What\u2019s more, we\u2019ve automated the process. The imaging by the microscope and the analysis, which includes classifying the organisms, are done automatically. This saves researchers a lot of work. Before, it took hours to image only a few hundred organisms, now it only takes an hour of manual work to image tens of thousands of organisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is it important?<\/h3>\n\n\n