Confocal Microscopy

- imaging interactions

The Section of Microbiology has a confocal ZEISS LSM 800 with Airyscan microscope for 2, 3 and 4D visualization. We have used it to investigate microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions at the microscale.

The versatility of the Zeiss LSM 800 confocal microscope allows us to implement advanced imaging techniques to supplement a wide range of ongoing research. A combination of four lasers allows the excitation of fluorophores at wavelengths extending from 405 nm (violet) to 640 nm (red). This allows us to see what species of bacteria are where, who their neighbours are and an indication of what they are doing.

For technical details please follow the link: Zeiss LSM 800 Airyscan

Examples of use

	Area of research	Impact
Soil biodiversity	Identifying what bacteria are together where a function such as copper resistance is observed	Valuation of ecosystems services, based on soil biodiversity index and microbial resilience
HGT and adaption	Microbial gene transfer and its relation to complex interactions	Identification of key members in interactive microbial networks that share a common gene pool and mechanisms used to share those genes
Social microbiology	General principles of microbial evolution conferred by social interactions in microbial communities	Reveal spatial organization enabling coexistence of otherwise exclusive species
Industrial biotech	Microbial interactions governing digestion of recalcitrant biomass.	Identification of environmentally friendly industrial technologies.
Living in communities	Microbial interactions in multispecies biofilms.	Identification of specific interactions relevant for multispecies biofilm succession + Evaluation of the role of multispecies biofilms as plasmid reservoirs