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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

In Situ Measurement and Correlation of Cell Density and Light Emission of Bioluminescent Bacteria
Published on: June 28, 2018
Bioluminescence intensity difference observed in luminous bacteria groups with different motility
1School of Bionics, Tokyo University of Technology, Tokyo, Japan. sasaki@bs.teu.ac.jp
Aims:
The aim of this study was to compare the luminescent intensity of bioluminescence from marine luminous bacteria with different motility.
Methods And Results:
Luminescent bacteria were separated according to their motility using a microfluidic device. The cell densities of the separated samples were measured using a counting plate. The luminescent intensity of the separated samples was measured using a luminometer. The luminescent intensity per cell was calculated, and the values from the mobile (swimmers) and the nonmobile cells (nonswimmers) per single cell were compared; as a result, the former were proved to be larger than the latter.
Conclusions:
Microfluidics were shown to be effective for the separation of bioluminescent bacteria and the bioluminescent intensity difference per cell was recognized with this experiment.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
This study introduced for the first time a method to examine the individual cell function of Photobacterium kishitanii.
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